Critical Film Analysis Prospectus Assignment A fundamental assumption underlying this assignment is that a thorough and revealing analysis of a popular television series such as Mindhunter will not come along unless we pay attention to the contexts in which the text was composed. While this is primarily a close reading of Mindhunter that analyzes certain episodes or scenes, your outside research, framework for analysis, and focus are also key in shaping an effective paper. Thus, your job is to examine your chosen context or framework, and relate it to your analysis of Mindhunter in your prospectus and, ultimately, in your final paper. Your four outside sources will help you do this, though you must consistently close read the series. A number of contexts can be identified to read a particular text: historical context (how time affects the creation and reception of a text), cultural context (what cultural values are key in reading the text), social context (what are the relevant social values that affect the reading), political context (what kind of political atmosphere exist surrounding the text), theoretical context (a particular theoretical framework that helps us read the text such as class, race, or gender), or psychological context (how does the text present psychology in a certain way). Be aware that your paper may be framed by one context or a combination of them, depending on the focus of your analysis. Your proposal will include an introduction, research questions, and methodology. The Introduction: For the proposal, you need to set up the background and context to a social issue, theoretical framework, or critical problem related to the series by including a literature review in the introduction. The literature review can establish the context from which you will examine Mindhunter. You need to set up the established views of the issue from a particular theoretical or disciplinary lens. For example, find a study or theoretical text on Millennials and relationships. Or find studies or theories on gender, discussing how Dev and Rachel fulfill or don’t fulfill expectations. Or include studies on race or psychology and discuss how they are helpful in understanding the characters (though don’t “diagnose” the characters ultimately). Research Questions: Next, you will introduce your primary question(s) (2-3) about the series or statements of focus. You should address the research you’ve conducted and relate the research to the show. The question(s) should guide your critical analysis. Methodology: Finally, you will discuss some of the features, characters, relationships, episodes, scenes, or cinematic qualities you will analyze and why. You need to justify your choices as well. Discuss potential episodes that interest you the most, for example, or scenes. Also, explore any problems with the series critically, without the evaluative and casual tone of the review assignment. Does the show present ideological problems or cultural stereotypes that have negative effects? Why is your particular reading important? What exactly will you examine and why? Formatting: This prospectus should be 3-4 pages in length, double-spaced, using Garamond or Times New Roman size 12 font and 1” margins. Use MLA format and include a Works Cited (not included in the page length).
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