Film Critique Essay

InA Brief Guide to Writing from Readings, Wilhoit defines a critique as an evaluation of a “source text’s quality or worthy according to a set of established criteria,” and in doing so, “assert some judgment concerning the text—whether the reading was effective, ineffective, valuable, or trivial” (111). In this argumentative essay, you are asked to engage with mainstream films that either effectively or ineffectively/ethically or unethically represent Native Americans. You will be asked to apply discipline-specific criteria; that is, you will be focusing primarily on racial and cultural representation, and how these concepts are manifested in dialogue (or lack of dialogue), costume choices, the dimensionality of the characters, etc. You will be asked to engage in “analysis…evaluation…[and] explanation,” in order to write a convincing and effective argument concerning the representation taking place in the film you choose. This paper will be 5-6pages long, and you are required to incorporate at least five sources, using proper methods of incorporation and the rules of M.L.A. citations in order to do so.

You will choose a film that contains Native American cast members (whether primary characters or extras) and in which these characters advance the narrative in a meaningful way. The movie you choose can be live action or animated (Last of the Mohicans; Peter Pan); there are a number of films that you can choose from, as we will discuss in class. You may adopt one of the following approaches, or come up with your own (please speak with me if you wish to do so):

Write a positive or negative view of a film that discusses the “behind the scene” work that the directors or producers engaged in in reference to the portrayal of Native people in the movie (such as the recent controversy of Johnny Depp being cast in Lone Ranger film).
Write a positive or negative review of a film that discusses it as a final product, such as the acting, dialogue, costuming, themes, makeup, etc. contribute to your opinion of the film.
Do the above task, but employ a more specific lens, perhaps looking at how the gender of the Native characters (masculinity and femininity) are presented, or if the film accurately portrays cultural norms and practices, such as language, dress, setting, etc.

In order to write a successful film critique, you need to give yourself a narrow focus so that you can discuss these themes and elements in careful, thoughtful detail. You need to support your evaluations not only with your own opinion, but also with relevant evidentiary support. Remember that you are “expected to evaluate the [film] according to an established set of standards,” which we will create together as a class. Also, make sure that your final draft is polished and carefully edited.

You will be expected to write this Film Critique in a formal, focused manner. Your audience will be your teacher and your classmates, so even though most film critiques are less formal, I am asking you to use an academic perspective in this work.

Format and submission guidelines are included in the course syllabus and you will be expected to follow them.

Additional resources for assignment