Genre Essay: Film Analysis

Order Description
Assignment: Write a 4-5 page essay that analyzes the film Avatar directed by James Cameron based on a named genre.

PLEASE USE THE REFERENCES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS DESCRIPTION

Background: The purpose of this assignment is to continue your development of analytical writing; this essay will formally analyze a selected film based on a chosen
film genre.
Explanation: “A French word meaning “kind,” genre is a category for classifying films in terms of common patterns of form and content. Many of us casually practice the
categorizing behind genre studies when we view movies: often we identify a set of similar themes, characters, narrative structures, and camera techniques, that link
movies together as westerns, musicals, film noir, road movies, melodramas, or sci-fi films [to name a few genres]. […] In analytical writing, a discussion of genre is
frequently an effective way to begin examining how a film organizes its story and its audience’s expectations.” —Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing about Film
• The paper will discuss choices made by the director to portray the film’s subject in terms of a certain genre. These choices present the film’s subject in an
extremely specific and calculated manner that they seek to affirm, break or re-invent the genre’s tradition.
• The genre selected will require definition, which may be the writer’s own or be informed by research. You MUST include a peer-reviewed source to define your film
genre. Please use ONE of the sources included on Academic Research for Film Genres page
• The essay should provide a statement of fact, establishing the director’s interpretation of the genre and list the specific characteristic/ criteria of the genre.
• The paper should focus on explaining why a film supports or strays from these established characteristics. In such a short paper, it is impossible to fully explain
the entire film or look at each scene in the film.
• Each supporting paragraph will isolate a scene from the film and analyze that scene against one of the genre’s characteristics/ criteria. At no point will this essay
resemble a plot summary of the film.
• The supporting paragraphs will balance description of the scene selected with an explanation of how that scene fits one characteristic of the genre.
• This assignment will ask that you include two pieces of credible research in your essay (research). Research needs to be either an original source (interview or
commentary from the director) or academic in nature (peer-reviewed).
• The essay must follow APA guidelines for formatting and documentation. A reference page (the film + two pieces of research) must be included as well as the use of
parenthetical citations.

References MUST be these, based on my outline:

Cameron, J. (Director). (2010). Avatar [Motion picture on DVD]. America: Twentieth century
Fox home entertainment
Laetz, B. & Johnston, J. J. (April 2008). What is Fantasy? Retrieved from

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/238883

Potts, S. W. (2012). Critical Insights: Hero’s Quest. In S. W. Potts (ed.), One for All: The
Fantasy Quest in The Hobbit, The Wizard of Oz, and His Dark Materials. (pp221-236) Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com.db15.linccweb.org/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=lkh&AN=83406995&site=lrc-plus

Cornea, C. (2007). Introduction: The Formation of the Genre. In C. Cornea (Ed.), Science
Fiction Cinema: Between Fantasy and Reality (pp1-28) Retrieved from https://db15.linccweb.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=198498&site=ehost-live