Analytical Essay Assignment, CPOL128 BB0, Politics and Film, Summer 2013 (Revised)

Grade Weight: 20% of your final grade in this course.

Due Date: Wednesday July 24th, 2013, hard copy to be submitted in class.

IF you run into computer or printer problems, you may ask for permission to submit the essay by email before 11:59 pm that same day. This will be possible ONLY with advance permission, otherwise electronic versions of the essay will not be accepted.

Essay Specifications:
5 to 6 pages, double spaced, 12 point font (the Title page and Works Cited should be on separate pages and do NOT count in the page count). Please submit it WITHOUT any cover (plastic or otherwise) stapled together (a stapler will be provided on the due day if you do not have one) with a cover page and Works Cited (neither of which page will be part of the page count). The minimum length is 5 full pages; the maximum is 6. If you submit an essay that is less that 5 pages or more than 6, you risk losing ½ % per half page over or under.

Late essays will only be accepted with a doctor’s note or similar documentation to explain and support the late submission. HOWEVER: If you find yourself nowhere near finished as the deadline nears, please inform me; a one or two-day extensions may be granted if requested in advance. Don’t just give up and decide not to submit your essay. No one can afford to lose 20% of their final mark. Without documentation (described above) or without an extension, late essays will receive a zero.

PLEASE REMEMBER: Plagiarism of any kind, including faulty citation and group work/sharing, no matter how little it may be in your essay as a whole, is a VERY serious matter and could earn you a zero for the assignment and possible of Academic Misconduct, so don’t take this very risky shortcut that one or more students attempt every term. Just because the assignment is not being submitted online through Turnitin, does not mean you are safe from scrutiny! Consult the Senate policy on Academic Misconduct that is available online to all Ryerson students; not knowing the rules is no excuse.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Research:

Read Louis Althusser’s 1970 article “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: Notes Toward an Investigation” which you can find at the link below focusing your attention on understanding his perspective on the nature and roles of what he calls Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) and their relation to what he refers to as the Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) and its component institutions . Although you are expected to read the entire essay, when preparing your own essay, stay focussed primarily on the section (the equivalent of 14 pages in) entitled “The State Ideological Apparatuses”:http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm
(move the cursor to the link, then hit the Ctrl key and left click on your mouse to make the link work OR copy and paste it into the address area and press enter)

With this knowledge and understanding fresh in your mind, view ONE of the films listed below, carefully noticing how the film represents specific Ideological State Apparatuses and component institutions of the RSA. Which ISA (and if applicable, RSA) institutions are featured and explored in depth? Does the film challenge the behaviour of each ISA or RSA that is prominent in the film or does it simply reproduce their normative roles?

DO NOT use or include as part of your research any Wikipedia sources/plot summaries or reviews from anywhere. Your sources the article, the film and your interpretation, description and analysis of it.

The Essay

Write a 5 to 6 page essay in which you clearly demonstrate an understanding of Althusser’s views of the nature and roles of the RSA and ISAs by interpreting and defining his key concepts and applying them in an analysis of how your film either challenges or reinforces the roles of the key ISAs and RSA representatives in your selected film. The purpose of the essay is to show an understanding of Althusser’s theory and that you can interpret a film’s depiction of ISAs and RSAs, reflecting on whether and how the film is supporting the roles of these institutions or challenging them and suggesting the need for change. And what change the film suggests and in what way it suggests that need.

AVOID any temptation to state that your film “challenges or reinforces” ISAs or RSAs--it either does or it doesn’t and you have to prove it with evidence from your film; IF on the rare occasion it reinforces and challenges the same ISA or RSA, prove it. Avoid generalizations.

This is NOT an essay in which you prove that ISA and RSA institutions are present; focus instead on which specific ISAs or RSA is or are highlighted in the film and HOW the film brings it to life and explores in detail (for example, is the family shown to be an institution in which its members are taught to live effectively in society or is it an institution in which the members function to challenge such a role and challenge society itself?

Cite all sources (article, lecture, course documents) using either MLA or APA, whether you are paraphrasing your source or offering a word for word quoted passage. Anything described from the film does NOT require such citations as you will give the name, director and date of the film’s release at the start of the essay thus offering blanket coverage of all material you discuss from that film.

Begin your essay with a clear thesis statement offering your view of which ISAs and RSAs are in the film you are exploring and how the film’s representation of these institutions (using character, plot, dialogue, images, sound) reveals the strengths and weaknesses of these institutions in the society depicted in your film. The rest of the essay will offer a clear discussion of of Althusser’s views and detailed examples of how the film supports or challenges the role of ISAs and any RSA institutions in society.

The Film List (choose one film):

Please Note: If you choose a film shown and discussed in this course before the due date of the essay, make sure to avoid reproducing in-class discussion; offer something original and well supported and not discussed in depth in class; if you find yourself repeating what was said in class, select another film):
Silver Linings Playbook (USA, dir. David O. Russell, 2012);
The Perks of Being A Wallflower (USA, Stephen Chbosky, 2012);
The Hunger Games (USA, dir.Gary Ross, 2012);
Argo (USA, dir. Ben Affleck, 2012);
Brave (animation) (USA, dirs. Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews, 2012);
We Bought a Zoo (USA, dir. Cameron Crowe, 2011);
Maurice Richard/The Rocket (Canada, dir. Charles Binam, 2005);
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada, dir. Phippe Falardeau, 2011);
Rebelle/War Witch (Canada, dir. Kim Nguyen, 2012);
Midnight’s Children (Canada, Deepa Mehta, 2012);
The Impossible (Spain, dir. Juan Antonio Bayona, 2012);
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Britain, dir, Lasse Hallstrm, 2011);
Bully (documentary) (USA, dir. Lee Hirsch, 2011);
Sky fall (Britain, dir. Sam Mendes, 2012);
Serenity (U.S.A., Joss Whedon, 2005).

Make sure you choose a film to which you have access, so that you don’t find out the day before the essay is due that you can’t find a copy of the film to view.