Film Assignment on review film

As we have discussed in class, studying film reception offers a different way of understanding film culture and even films themselves. In this assignment you will examine the contexts of online film reception in order to think about how it differs from public and collective forms of moviegoing.

To complete this assignment, you must watch a film of your choice online and take detailed notes about the context and the experience. For this assignment choose a feature film, at least 70 minutes in length, of the kind you would normally expect to see released in movie theatres or at a film festival feature films produced by Netflix or Amazon are ok, but do not choose a serialized TV show or a video made for youtube, etc, There are two parts to this assignment:

Part I Description (200-400 words) (5 points)

Write a detailed description of your online viewing experience. This part of the assignment doesnt need to include any analysis just document your experience in as much detail as possible. Your description should include the following:

• The film title, date, and platform used to watch the film (Netflix, youtube, etc).
• A description of how you came to watch this film: Was it suggested to you by someone you know? Part of an online festival? Did you read about it or hear about it through the media or advertising? Was it featured on your streaming platform or suggested by the algorithm? Etc.
• A detailed description of the physical space where you watched the film: Did you watch the film at your home or somewhere else? What room in the home were you in? Were you sitting up or lying down? What kind of device did you use? How big was the screen and how far away? Did you use headphones, regular TV speakers, or a more elaborate home theatre system? Etc.
• A description of how you watched the film: Did you watch attentively or were you distracted? Were you doing anything else while you were watching the film (talking, social media, homework, etc)? Were you moved by the film? Did you laugh, cry, or have any other reaction? What snacks did you eat? Did you watch the film all at once or were you interrupted? Were you alone or did you watch the film with others? Were you joined by others in your home or virtually through Netflix Party, social media, or some other technology? Was this a spur of the moment choice or a planned event? Did you talk to anyone during the film or after it was done? Etc
• Feel free to include any other details that are relevant to your viewing experience
• This portion of the assignment can be written in the first person (ie “I watched…”)

Part II – Analysis (600-900 words) (20 points)

Explain how the context for your online film viewing experience (everything you described in Part I) affected your reception of the film. How was your experience of the film shaped by where, when, how, and with whom you watched it? Compare and contrast your experience with a theatrical moviegoing experience (this can be a specific experience or a comparison to a typical theatrical experience). Consider one or more of the following questions in your essay: How does watching online differ from the experience of watching a film in a movie theatre? How is watching in private different from watching in public? Does the loss of the public and social aspects of moviegoing mean that cinema has changed fundamentally? Movie theatres are starting to reopen after the COVID shutdown, do you think people will go back to the movies? Why or why not? 

• In this portion of the assignment avoid using the first person when making your argument and drawing conclusions (avoid phrases like “I think…” or “I believe…”), but it is fine to use the first person when referring to your own experiences.

Readings

I have posted two readings to Canvas as part of Module 7. These readings will help you to understand how mobile viewing and online platforms are changing the way we watch films both in terms of the physical spaces for viewing and the ways we encounter films online:  

• Chuck Tyron, Make Any Room Your TV Room Digital Delivery and Media Mobility in On-Demand Culture: Digital Delivery and the Future of Movies
• Neta Alexander, Catered to Your Future Self, Netflixs Predictive Personalization and the Mathematization of Taste in The Netflix Effect : Technology and Entertainment in the 21st Century

Please use parenthetical in-text citation when referring to these readings or the textbook (eg. Alexander, 84 or Corrigan and White, 140). There is no reason to use any additional outside sources for this assignment. There is no need to include a works cited list unless you do use outside sources which are not required or recommended.

Evaluation

This assignment will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Part I: Description (5 points) you should provide a thorough and detailed description of your film viewing experience answering as many of the questions in the prompt as are relevant to your experience.
• Part II: Argument (10 points) your analysis should be structured as an argument, including a clear and coherent thesis statement.
• Part II: Evidence (10 points) your analysis should use specific and relevant examples from your description and, where appropriate, concepts from the readings to support your argument.

Writing Tips

The handout with tips for writing about film and the short video on writing clear and compelling thesis statements that I posted for the shot-by-shot assignment are still relevant for this assignment.

Remember, all writers benefit from the drafting and revision process. You are strongly encouraged to seek assistance at the librarys Student Learning Commons. There are additional resources for those who speak/write English as an additional language. The Student Learning Commons has moved online and you can still make an appointment to discuss your papers.  Visit http://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slcLinks to an external site. for more information.