Another way in which cultures tend to express themselves is through art, whether that be music, painting, or acting, among other forms. In American culture, movies and television play a significant role in the lives of individuals and families, and these movies and television shows oftentimes become a commentary on differences between groups of people. For this activity, each student will identify a movie that has a racial/ethnic or other minority issue as a MAJOR theme in the movie. A good example of a movie with racial/ethnic issues as a major theme might be Monster’s Ball (2001; Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry) whereas a bad example might be Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989). NOTE: Consider using the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com/) if you are having trouble identifying a movie. The student will watch the movie, dissect the movie based on constructs relevant to the course and then provide a review of the movie using topics and terms from the class in identifying where the movie accurately portrayed the issue(s) and where the movie was inaccurate in presenting the salient issues.
When you choose a movie for this assignment, make sure the racial/ethnic or other minority issue is a MAJOR theme of the movie. It can’t be a small scene but carries throughout the whole film. Please do not write a review and not relate it to the themes of this class or it will just be a regular movie review. The assignment requires a minimum of three full pages and a maximum of six pages, so do not underwrite or overwrite. The cover page and reference page do not count toward pages. You will need a reference page since you will be citing from the textbook and movie source. Make sure the paper is in APA 7 format, which includes: double-spacing, 1” margins, Times New Roman font 12, and correct referencing.
The grading rubric has three main points that your paper should have:
- The paper identified the racial/ethnic issue
- The paper referenced topics and terms from the course
- The paper explains how the movie accurately portrayed the issue(s) and where the movie was inaccurate in presenting the salient issues.
I would have three separate paragraphs for each point. You can number them if you like.