For your finals essay, briefly answer ONE (1) of the following questions. Please answer the question by writing a brief, coherent essay. Short essays should be 1,500-2,500 words long, roughly 4 to 8 pages, double spaced using Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial, font size 12. Include a bibliography of at least 3 primary references at the end of your essay. You may use references from the course materials or do your own research, provided the references come from reputable sources. Points will be taken off if you have no reference list. Make sure that you are able to integrate your references into your answers.
The deadline for this essay is August 12th, 2023 at midnight.
Essay Questions (again – pick only 1!)
1. What is Queer Cinema? How have the representations of queerness evolved from early Hollywood to the more contemporary (in the last 3 decades)?
2. Examine the Marvel Universe and its representations of classical masculinity. Explore 3 common tropes about masculinity that have emerged from this film and tv franchise.
3. What happens if you flip the script on an action movie and have a female lead instead of a man? How is the woman action hero different from her masculine version? Pick 2 movies that exemplify your arguments.
4. Examine the homoeroticism in a popular male K-pop group represented through one or two of their music videos. How do these challenge ‘western’ notions of traditional masculinity?
5. What are the politics behind drag? Why has it become part of the contemporary culture war?
Pro-tips:
- Try to answer more difficult or challenging questions. These questions require more research, which will help you address the difficulty of these questions.
- NEVER use examples that we have already used in class – think of other media texts that we haven’t covered and analyze these based on the theory/frameworks or concepts we talked about in class.
- Remember that essays should have three distinct parts: The introduction (1-2 paragraphs, catches the reader’s attention and introduces your primary argument), the Body (4-8 paragraphs, builds on your argument by providing specific examples), and the Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs, re-iterates your argument and how you’ve supported that argument, can also suggest ways of moving the argument further). Don’t forget to use effective transitionsLinks to an external site. in your writingLinks to an external site..
- Do not forget to use in-text citations in your essay. If you need help with in-text or bibliographic entry, see the OWL at Purdue University Links to an external site.for guidelines.
- Use the Turnitin link to check for similarity ratings. Try to keep your rating at 5% or below – which means you will have to limit your use of quotations; paraphrase quotations from your references and put these in your own words.
- I always appreciate when students go the extra mile and look for credible references outside of those provided for in class or on cougar courses. Use the CSUSM LibraryLinks to an external site. strategically and be resourceful in your research. Avoid citing blogs or video essays from TikTok or YouTube, try to stick with peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, or textbooks.