PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO WATCH THE ENTIRE FILM IN ORDER TO CONTEXTUALIZE AND INTERPRET YOUR SHORTER CLIP.
I chose -She’s a Dream from Flashdance as my shorter clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-n8UZjXUxs
Your essay should include 3 main components: contextualization, description, and interpretation.
CONTEXTUALIZATION: Brief contextualization of the chosen dance scene. Include details such as –
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title of the film, name(s) of the director(s), year of the film’s release, Example: Dirty Dancing (directed by Emile Ardolino, 1987)
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title of the dance scene, Example: “Time of My Life”
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genre of the film,
Example: American romantic dance drama -
name(s) of the choreographer(s),
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names of the characters who perform the dance (and names of the actors who play
these characters), -
the time period and location in which the story is unfolding,
• where/when the chosen dance scene occurs in relation to the broader narrative of the film (or events of the storyline that surround the chosen excerpt).
Once you lay out this basic information (which generally appears in the introduction/first paragraph) you can move on to describing what happens in the dance scene.
DESCRIPTION: The main aim of this essay is to articulate how the filmic apparatus shapes dance on film. Thus, you need to provide:
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description of the dance, and
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description of how the filmic apparatus is used.
INTERPRETATION: Provide a brief interpretation based on/related to the description. What meaning do you make based on what you have described? What does this scene reveal? For example, you might articulate a personal viewpoint regarding what the scene reveals about the dance form(s) featured, the dancers, the narrative and so on. -
Formatting: Times New Roman font, size 12, double spaced. Include name on the first page and insert page numbers.
The assignment will be graded according to the following rubric:
Contextualization |
Appropriate contextual details provided in a concise manner. |
Description |
Excellent description of the dance and the filmic apparatus. |
Interpretation |
Impressive ability to make an interpretation (based on/related to the description). |