Course:ASIA325/2023/Will's Test 2
Research Project Title Create an attractive research project title. The title should include keywords from your thesis statement/argument, and it should NOT be a long and complicated question (an eye-catching and provocative rhetorical question is fine). For instance, a possible format could be: “Keyword A, Keyword B, (or Keyword C): …….” . It is important for you to come up with a thematic idea in the first place because this will help you organize and focalize your writing and analysis in the remaining sections. Ideally, your title should comprise two parts, such as "By Way of Mass Commodities: Love in Comrades, Almost a Love Story." (notice here Comrades, Almost a Love Story is the title of the film under review/discussion). Please follow "Title Case" or "Headline Style" to format your title, which capitalizes the first letter of certain key words. In Title Case (or “Headline Style”), you will need to capitalize the first letter of the following (NOT including prepositions):
- The first words of titles and subtitles
- Nouns, noun phrases, and pronouns
- Verbs and verb phrases
- Adverbs and adjectives
Group Members' Contributions
Display a list of group members (and specify your group's internal division of labor). Please only include the acronyms of your first name and last name. For instance, if your name is Stephen Chow, you only write S C, followed by the parts that you write out. If there are several members contributing to the same section, specify the different contributions each member has made, or how different members worked together on this section.
An introduction
Write a short introduction that includes all the basic information so that the film can be easily identified and there is no confusion. Note the name, the director, main cast, and the characters in the story, along with the year (and possible date) of the premiere, as well as a roadmap and agenda of your following research-informed review. You should include 1-3 lines synopsis of the film's main story written by yourself. Please do not copy and paste the existing synopsis of the film's main story from Wikipedia or any other English-language resources. In the roadmap/agenda paragraph, you should specify the driving themes of your film review, or a few keywords that your groups are struggling with or focusing on. This introductory part should be written last -- after you finished all the following sections.
Stories Behind the Film
Dig out the stories behind the film. Include any interesting and peculiar facts about the film’s production process, the historical basis of the film's story, the cast and the crew, the budget and the shooting location. You may want to watch some behind-the-scenes footage or interviews with actors and crew to get a better picture of the production process. Be detailed and avoid making big claims or generalizations. It works best if the anecdote or peculiar facts you mentioned speak to the themes indicated in your title or introduction. No need to copy and paste the existing Wikipedia synopsis of the film's main story.
Histories of the Film’s Reception
Describe the histories of the film’s reception: how did the general public receive and review the film? Did the general audience entertain different or similar attitudes toward the film? Why? Summarize the general public’s divergent or convergent reception of the film and deliberate on why they entertain different or similar attitudes. One way to find out the reason is to investigate the socio-politico-historical background of the story in the film, as well as the historical time when the film was released. Be sensitive to two temporalities and their relationship: the historical setting within each film, and the time of the film’s debut in real life. The tension between these two temporalities will help you explain the film’s reception. Pay attention to the discussions going on in journalistic media and social media, the public’s ratings, and other reviews published in journals or newspapers when the film was released and put on. You also may want to pay particular attention to how the audience in general entertain and perceive the themes of the film -- the themes you already indicated in the title/introduction. Also note that for earlier films, the reception may change or evolve as time goes on. Compare and contrast, for instance, the reception of the film in the 1960s, the 1990s, and today if possible. You also want to pay attention to how the same film might be received differently among different ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups. For instance, for the same film, English-speaking audience may have different reactions towards it than Cantonese-speaking audience. Note the difference whenever possible and discuss why.
Scholarly Literature Review
Summarize scholarly literature review: include at least 3 English-language peer-reviewed academic articles/book chapters; Chinese scholarship is optional only when you cannot find enough English scholarship via library search engine and Google Scholar search): how scholars have studied this film in the English-speaking world (and this director and his/her works in general, if you cannot find enough scholarly articles/book chapters specifically or only about the film); correctly and succinctly summarize the major ideas in those scholarly studies. Scholarly literature review should preclude journalistic and impressionist writings, or writings published on public knowledge-sharing platforms such as Zhihu or Douban. If there are not enough English-language secondary literature, you can extend the scope to Chinese-language research articles/book chapters. Or you can pay more attention to the research articles or chapters that mentioned the film tangentially or compared the film briefly with other films. If there are too many secondary resources for your group, make sure you only review existing ideas and studies that speak to the themes your group decides to explore in the title/introduction. You can review up to 6 pieces of research articles or chapters.
Comparative Analysis
Conduct a comparative analysis: compare the film with another film (be it in Mandarin, Cantonese, or from any other language) that explores a similar theme but by a different director. You should find the second film you want to compare by yourself and confirm with the instructor. Compare the two films and elaborate on their similarities (at least three points) and differences (at least three points) with concrete audiovisual examples (you are encouraged to insert film stills or clips into your comparative analysis). You may pay attention to their different or similar historical contexts of production, different or similar film elements (mise-en-scene, acting, editing, soundtrack, cinematography), settings, characterizations, plots, scenic spectacles, tones, cinematographies, and expressed themes, etc. But you do not have to be comprehensive–only compare the formal aspects or film techniques that speak to the theme you chose to focus on. Let thematic analysis drive your comparison of the formal elements.
Alternative Interpretation
Seek an alternative interpretation--pick one or two distinctive scene(s) from the film that made a particularly strong impression on your group and analyze them in detail. The purpose is to give a refreshing, non-conventional, and thought-provocative interpretation of the film via close reading of the two scenes you selected. Pay attention to the actors’ performance, setting, music, light, characters’ behavior, and dialogue, but be selective in your analysis. This is to say, you do not need to give a shot-by-shot analysis in this section, but only focus on the formal aspects or film elements in detail that speak to your arguments. No need to list any “interesting” aspects of the mise-en-scene or cinematography that are irrelevant to your major arguments (as stated in the introduction) or central themes (as indicated in the title). You only want to mention a few aspects of those shots and interpret their meanings when such thematic analysis will either echo or challenge one point made in the scholarly literature review (in the 6th section above). Once again, thematic analysis should drive your formal analysis, and formal analysis could be the compelling evidence that can support your interpretation of the film's themes. Feel free to articulate your agreement or disagreement with existing scholarship that you have already reviewed in section 6. By "alterative interpretation," it means an interpretation different from any of the given interpretations in existing scholarship. No need to worry about spoilers.
Conclusion
Write a conclusion: briefly summarize and state what the general perception of the film was by the audience and the critics alike. Then focus on expressing your group’s personal opinion and either recommend the film (in this case, specify what audience will most likely enjoy it) or not recommend it (in this case, specify the reasons for not recommending it). Include the rationale for your evaluation.
Works Cited
</references>