American Psycho Film Ideological Analysis
Order ID |
53563633773 |
Type |
Essay |
Writer Level |
Masters |
Style |
APA |
Sources/References |
4 |
Perfect Number of Pages to Order |
5-10 Pages |
Description/Paper Instructions
American Psycho Film Ideological Analysis
Ideology is a system of ideas, beliefs, and representations that fundamentally shapes how we understand the world around us. Ideologies we have discussed in class include white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy, gender, heteronormativity, and Euro-American exceptionalism. In their essay “Cinema/Ideology/Criticism,” the French film critics Jean-Louis Comolli and Jean Narboni outline how films are “inserted” into a particular ideological framework. Some films, they argue, easily transmit and thus reinforce dominant ideologies. By contrast, others may militate against such values. For your paper, you are to compose an “critical ideological analysis” of American Psycho (USA, Mary Harron, 2000) following the basic precepts outlined by Timothy Corrigan, who writes,
“In critical writing attuned to ideology, any cultural product or creation carries, implicitly or explicitly, ideas about how the world is or should be seen and how men and women should see each other in it; the clothes you wear express social values just as the films you watch communicate social values. Whether we agree or disagree with the values expressed in a particular movie, the ideological critic maintains that these movies are never innocent visions of the world and that the social and personal values that seem so natural in them need to be analyzed” (A Short Guide to Writing About Movies, 111)
Ask yourself — do American Psycho critique or reinforce dominant ideologies, and which ones? Do these filmmakers employ certain stylistic features (mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing, and narrative organization) that allow their films to either “crack” at the seams, i.e. reveal contradictions that the films cannot fully reconcile? Or do they “attack” conventional cinematic representation at the levels of form and content? Do they succeed or fail?
Your essay must demonstrate an engagement with our readings on film and ideology. You must situate the film of your choosing in one of the categories outlined by Comolli and Narboni. Your argument/thesis will be to justify why you have chosen to put your particular film in that category.
Make sure to review the appropriate lecture slides and your lecture notes on ideology. And remember that while your essay should use formal analysis to support its arguments, formal analysis is not the essay’s primary goal, so be sure to focus on the pertinent formal features that support your argument. Your main goal is to asses how these films express ideology via their formal and narrative choices as well as the literal content they elect to include.
In addition to drawing on Comolli and Narboni, you must engage with either Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” or Peter Wollen’s “Godard and Counter-Cinema.”
A strong essay will:
Articulate a clearly formulated argument about where your chosen film falls into Comolli and Narboni’s typology. This is your thesis. You must have a thesis.
Offer a brief summary of the film’s plot (2–3 sentences should be enough). Never assume that your reader knows the film quite as well as you do, so provide a general sense of the film’s story to help situate your reader as you lead them through your argument. At the same time, keep this short – the bulk of the paper should be spent on executing your critical analysis, not a blow-by-blow of the plot.
An example of a concise plot summary would be: “David Locke (Jack Nicholson) takes on the identity of a dead businessman while working on a documentary about the civil war in Chad. Unbeknownst to him, the man he has chosen to impersonate, named Robertson, is a gun runner who has been dealing arms to the guerrillas. As the film unfolds, Locke joins up with a mysterious woman (Maria Schneider), and flees not only his past life, but also the geopolitical intrigues of Robertson’s affairs. The film culminates with Locke/Robertson’s death during a decidedly ambiguous sequence where the cause and culprit of his killing remains unclear.”
Provide intelligent formal analysis to support your argument. This should include a close analysis of at least one scene or sequence. Use technical language to be precise about what you’re describing, but also do not over-describe and instead advocate for what you consider most significant. Be synthetic in your formal analysis.
Here’s an example of concise, synthetic formal analysis: “Editing is fundamental to how we experience the intrigue at the heart of Rear Window. By way of a shot/reverse-shot pattern, comprised of a close-up on the protagonist, point-of-view shots, and reaction shots, the filmmakers continually show us not only what Jeff sees, but also provide us with his response. The effect is to cue us to interpret the events as he does. As Jeff draws upon increasingly intricate optical instruments (first a pair of binoculars and then an oversized telephoto lens), Hitchcock brings us closer to and thus deeper into the action, increasing the suspense as we glean more clues about the possible murder.”
Be efficient within the page limitations of the assignment. For example, instead of beginning your essay in an overly broad way (“Since the dawn of time, man has enjoyed entertainment in many forms…”), use that space to dive into the specifics of your film and what is conceptually and formally at stake in your argument.
Proofread and error-free.
Use parenthetical citations, i.e. (Wollen, 418).
NOTE: outside sources are not required for this assignment, but if they are used, they should be properly cited. In fact, the only sources you should consult are your class notes and the four readings on ideology.
Your paper is to be 5 pages, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman Font
RUBRIC
QUALITY OF RESPONSE |
NO RESPONSE |
POOR / UNSATISFACTORY |
SATISFACTORY |
GOOD |
EXCELLENT |
Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
20 points out of 50: The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. |
30 points out of 50: The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately. Elements of the required response may also be lacking. |
40 points out of 50: The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples. The answer is complete. |
50 points: The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples. No aspects of the required answer are missing. |
Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). |
Zero points: Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. |
5 out 20 points: Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. |
10 out 20 points: References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated. Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. |
15 out 20 points: Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors. There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. |
20 points: Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented. APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. |
Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
5 points out of 20: The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors |
10 points out 20: The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors |
15 points out of 20: The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. |
20 points: The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. |
Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) |
Zero points: Student failed to submit the final paper. |
3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. |
5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. They can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements. The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper |
7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. |
10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally, the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper. |
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