Y200 Politics and Film
Spring 2009
First Paper
Assignment
Paper Length: 5 pages (double-spaced and typed)
Paper is due: Wedesday, February 25, 2009 at the beginning of class
The first paper assignment gives you a choice of one of the following three projects:
(1) Compare two films that deal with the war in
Apocalypse Now
Cutter's Way
The Deer Hunter
Coming Home
Born on the Fourth of July
Full Metal Jacket
Indochine
Heaven and Earth
Hearts and Minds (documentary)
Nixon
Platoon
In your essay be sure to talk about the problems of portraying the war without resorting to Hollywood war movie clichés (the good guys always win, there is no inter-racial or inter-ethnic conflict within the US military, nobody bleeds after they are shot, etc.), depicting the brutal tactics used by both sides in the war, and coming to terms with the complex motivations of combatants and civilians in the various countries participating in the war.
You might want to talk about how each of the films deals with the issues of anti-communism in the United States, the role of the antiwar movement in ending the war, the controversy in the United States over military tactics, and the reasons for the ultimate victory of the North Vietnamese.
(2) Write a short plot outline for a political movie that you would like to
make. You might want to watch The Player to see how a story is pitched
in
(3) Write an original entry for the Internet Movie Data Base or Wikipedia on some aspect of films about the war in Vietnam and provide written proof that your entry was accepted and published on the Internet.