FILM ANALYSIS PAPER
Learning Assignment: Film Analysis: Watch one of the films from the below film list and write a five to ten (5) page analysis of the film. Include a brief synopsis of the film and an analysis of the manner in which people with disabilities are represented in the film. Analyze the role(s) the person with disabilities plays using the seven common stereotypes detailed in the Black article from the work of Biklen and Bogdan (1977). These are: 1) pitiable and pathetic, 2) supercrip, 3) sinister, evil and criminal, 4) better-off dead, 5) maladjusted, his or her own worst enemy, 6) a burden, and 7) unable to live a successful life.
You are encouraged to read and include online reviews of the film but the analysis must be your own thoughts and work. You may find the examples of excellent Film Analysis papers from past students helpful (see below).
Other questions you may want to include:
Does the film promote stereotypes of the past or does it enhance the image of people with disabilities?
Was the film made before or after the disability rights movement? How does this affect the way the person or persons with disabilities are viewed or represented?
What are the stereotypical elements in the film?
Are people with disabilities utilized as actors? If not, how does having actors without disabilities affect the film? Include any of the readings from the course which support your analysis of the film.
Upload your analysis of the film in the Assignments tab by Sunday. See the Film Rubric and Checklist for more detail.
Web page catalog of films that may be helpful in selecting a film http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/films/
Optional Materials
Media’s Representation of People with Disabilities, Ashley Gagne. (2012). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGrRc-XT17o
What Movies Teach About Disability and Black Males, Vonzell Agosto (2014).
Media Representation of Disabled People http://www.disabilityplanet.co.uk/critical-analysis.html
Hayes, M.T. & Black, R.S. (2003). Troubling Signs: Disability, Hollywood Movies and the Construction of a Discourse of Pity. Disability Studies Quarterly, 23(2), 11-132. Retrieved from http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/419/585
Dr. Haller’s WordPress page https://mediadisability.wordpress.com/films-tv-documentaries/
The FDR Memorial: Who speaks from the Wheelchair? Rosemarie Garland-Thomson. Chronicle of Higher Education. 1/26/2001 47(20). Discussion of choosing the words to represent FDR as a person with a disability.
What Movies Teach About Dis-ability and Black Males 2016, Agosto.
