Essays and Research Papers on Film & Television

A 5 page analysis of violence as a factor in fiction and real life. This paper uses violence as portrayed in this film as an explanation for similar types of violence notable in real life. The role of affiliation as a factor in breeding moral ambiguity is emphasized. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses the way in which developed nations tell themselves lies in order to justify exploiting the developing world, drawing on examples from the film "Apocalypse Now" and the novella on which it is based, "Heart of Darkness." Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 7 page essay that summarizes and discusses 2 very different forms of narrative. Diabolique (1955, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot) is a masterpiece of film suspense. Persepolis (2003) is a memoir in graphic form by Marjane Satrapi. Both mediums are artistic works in black-and-white that present a narrative, which utilizes perspective and which focuses on ...

Many films are discussed—Little Children, The Graduate, To Kill a Mockingbird, Meet the Parents—in the context of this 8 page paper. This paper addresses changes in women's roles throughout the years as well as their negative portrayal by American filmmakers. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 5 page research paper that discusses the appeal of reality TV. Three dating shows are profiled, ElimiDATE, Next and Flavor of Love. The writer argues these shows are, first of all, gossip carried to a new level, but also a means for viewers to make social comparisons that assess the courtship norms of society. ...

This 6 page paper discusses the film "The Matrix" through the lens of Rene Descartes' philosophical meditations on the nature of reality and fantasy. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 10 page research paper that discusses Field of Dreams (1989, directed by Phil Alden Robinson for Universal Studios) as a film adaptation of W.P. Kinsella’s short story “Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa.” Examination of these two works and the adaptation process demonstrates that this is an instance where the filmmaker was extremely successful ...

This 4 page paper discusses the silent film classic with Lon Chaney as the title character. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses the 1984 film "Amadeus" from a postmodern viewpoint. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 7 page paper which examines the elements of sexism and racism in the film Trading Places. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines each respective director’s artistic vision, and then selects a key line from a chosen scene, and considers how the director elects to execute the scene and what artistic execution he employs in order to achieve the desired result. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 6 page essay that looks at T.C. Boyle's novel The Tortilla Curtain and Lawrence Kasdan's film The Grand Canyon, each of which picture male middle-class, white protagonists who undergo a traumatic and life-altering event that has racial overtones. In Boyle's novel, trauma substantiates Delaney's nascent racism into something concrete and compelling, which ...

An 8 page paper which examines a particular scene in terms of either mise-en-scene, slow-motion photography, camera angles, editing, manipulation of space, and sound, and relate the scene to the content of each of the films to explain how they are used to convey the directors’ thematic messages. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 4 page paper discusses Walter Benjamin's theory of historical materialism and relates it to the film "Hiroshima Mon Amour." Bibliography lists 3 sources.

3 pages in length. Housing Problems from 1935 about the reality of British slums, Triumph of the Will from 1934 long interpreted as propaganda for Hitler's reign and The Plough that Broke the Plains from 1936 that chronicles the detrimental impact soil erosion had upon the creation of dust bowls during the Depression all ...

A 4 page paper which examines elements of the film The Color Purple that are relevant to social work. No sources cited.

This 3 page paper explains why the recent film of the "Phantom of the Opera" has had such a powerful impact. Bibliography lists 1 source.

6 pages in length. One might readily argue how genre is little more than what humanity has spun into recognizable categories whereby films and television programs readily exist. The extent to which generic conventions are paramount to establishing the proper style of depiction a given movie or show portrays is both grand and ...

A 3 page paper which examines the films “Enter the Dragon” (1973) and “Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle” (2004) and how they may stereotype Asians. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page research paper/analysis of 2 films. The Last Samurai (2003, directed by Edward Zwick) is the quintessential action adventure film with sufficient battle scenes to interest a male audience. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961, directed by Blake Edwards) is a romantic comedy that focuses on a love story, and is therefore appealing to ...

A 3 page essay that discusses the influence of The Simpsons on American pop culture. The writer argues that it is one of the influential shows on television due to its biting satire and irreverent spoofing of American icons. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 3 page research paper that reports on the style of these two Belgian directors. The Dardenne brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc, of Belgium, began their film careers by producing documentaries for television in the late 1970s (Camhl). Their films La Promesse and Rosetta were motivated by the desire to educate the public as to the ...

This 9 page paper discusses the main characters in the movie "Grease" in terms of adolescent development. The emphasis is on Danny Zuko. Theories such as Erikson's psychosocial stages, Freud's psychosexual stages and Kohlberg's stages of moral development are used to are used to explain the behaviors of the characters in the film. Bibliography lists ...

This 3 page paper examines film viewing and argues it is better to go to the theater than wait until it comes out on DVD. Three reasons are given to support the thesis. No bibliography.

This 8 page paper discusses the film "Good Will Hunting" and the relationship of Will and Sean from the perspective of psychological understanding; it also discusses Will's ego functions. Bibliography lists 4 sources.