DUE DATE: any time before 11:59pm on Dec 13, 2018—no late papers accepted!

by

Humanities


Length: 2 pages minimum

Prompt

How does this work INTERPRET its depicted period and place in history? Consider what MESSAGE the film sends to audience, and whether this message is effective or accurate. Please illustrate with examples from the film and the course.

Please do not simply recite a plot summary, obsessively rate acting or visual effects, or nitpick minor historical inaccuracies that do not affect the story. Focus instead on identifying and dissecting the film’s main THEME(S) about the history in question. For example, The Green Berets (1968) and Apocalypse Now (1979) both deal with the Vietnam War, but have essentially opposite interpretations of it as a noble and just struggle, or as a nihilistic quagmire, respectively.

Assorted Films

Below are some sample works that can be used for this assignment. You are not limited to choosing from these examples, but please make sure your choice fits within this class, and is not a documentary. Please check with me if you have any questions about your source’s suitability.

1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) Aguirre, the Wrath of God (German, 1972) Amistad (1997) Apocalypto (Maya, 2006) The Book of Negroes (miniseries, 2015) Cabeza de Vaca (Spanish, 1991) Captain from Castile (1947) Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil (Portuguese, 1995) The Crucible (French, 1957) Erendira Ikikunari (Spanish, Purépecha, 2006) Hamilton (theater, 2015) John Adams (miniseries, 2008) The Last of the Mohicans (1992) The Liberator (Spanish, 2013) The Mission (1986) The New World (2005) Northwest Passage (1940) The Other Conquest (Spanish, 2000) The Patriot (2000) Pocahontas (1995) Return to Aztlán (Nahuatl, 1990) The Road to El Dorado (2000) Roots (miniseries, 1977) Roots (miniseries, 2016) Toussaint Louverture (French, 2012)