Description

Choose one of the genres on the following page along with a pair of films on

which to write a 6 page paper, double spaced using both original analysis and

outside research. Mention the citations and sources used in the end. Ill

incorporate them on my own. Develop the thesis and then argue that thesis

with a coherent and organized discussion of the topic. Your thesis must make

a claim about how and why your genre has changed over time and engage

with the concepts on Genre and the Classical, Postclassical, and Modernist

periods (whichever apply to your films). Use the terminology from the

other terminology attachment.

Instructions:

This is, first and foremost, a paper about genre. Your films are illustrative

examples of the genre within a historical/cultural context that will help you

understand how and why it has changed over time. They will also help limit

your focus, as not every generic myth, convention, or icon will be relevant to

your films and your thesis. You are not simply discussing your films’

similarities and differences. Your argument and analysis must demonstrate a

historical understanding of the genre and how your films work within the

genre. You should examine the generic myths, conventions, and iconography

at work in the films, as well as the ways in which the style (or formal

elements) influence how audiences understand and interpret these various

generic elements. 

For example: How is the convention of the lone gunslinger

different in a classical versus a modernist Western? How is this difference

indicative of the broader changes in the genre between the two periods?

Movie OPTIONS to choose from: CHOOSE a set of movies from a genre and then compare the

two with respect to the instructions provided.

Adventure

•  The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Jaws (1975) 

•  The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) and Enter the Dragon ( 
1973)

•  Biography/Biopic

Queen Christina (1933) and Lady Sings the Blues (1972) 


The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) and The Great White Hope

(1970) 


Comedy

His Girl Friday (1940) and The Producers (1968)


You Can't Take It With You (1938) and The Bad News Bears (1976)

Melodrama:

•  Imitation of Life (1934) and Imitation of Life (1959) 

•  Morocco (1930) and Carmen Jones (1954) 

• Sci-fi:
• Metropolis (1927) and Planet of the Apes (1968)
• 
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and Solaris (1972)
• 
  
• Social Problem
• 
  
•  Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and Nothing But A Man
• (1964) 

• The Public Enemy (1931) and Superfly (1972)