For the first unit, your assignment will be to write a summary of and response to one of the essays we read about The Dark Knight. In your essay, you should assume that your reader is familiar with The Dark Knight, but unfamiliar with the essay that you are summarizing and responding to. After briefly introducing the overall topic in an introductory paragraph, your essay will include two major sections: a summary and a response. A paragraph at the conclusion of the essay will restate your thesis and apply your ideas to a broader context.Steps in the process:1. Choose one of the following essays for your response:• • •“The Dark Knight and the Evilness of Evil” by Ashley Cocksworth “The Exceptional Darkness of The Dark Knight” by Todd McGowan“What do you believe in? Film scholarship and the cultural politics of the Dark Knight franchise” by Martin FradleyRead the essay and write an annotation for it (example on BeaconLearning).Outline the major points of the essay. Then outline your own response, clearly identifying your main thesis.Write a summary and response essay.The summary section of your essay (200-300 words) should clearly and objectively present the main ideas, as well as the important sub-points, of the essay you have chosen to write about. The summary should be written almost entirely in your words; only use particularly important quotations when they are necessary to your summary. The response section of your essay (400-600 words) should include an original idea as its main thesis. While the summary is objective, the response is subjective and presents your ideas on the subject. The response can take one of the following forms: (1) an explanation of your agreement or disagreement with the author’s claim(s)(If you choose to agree, you must go beyond simply saying you feel similarly by presenting new information or reasons that you feel the author’s position should be supported.) (2) an evaluation of the author’s presentation of his or her argument. Your response should present evidence from your own knowledge and experience to support your argument. You do not need to use additional sources in this essay.Length: 700-900 words ( 2 1⁄2 - 4 pages)Turning in your work: Along with your final essay, turn in the annotation and the outline you have made about the article you are responding to, and any process work you have done while writing this essay. Compile all components of the essay into one Word document, and upload to BeaconLearning (directions to follow).

VERTIGO1. Do the reading for this unit on the music of Herrmann in Vertigo. Click here to go to the reading.ANSWER: Using your textbook, define "ostinato". How does Herrmann use ostinato - what effect does this compositional technique create in the viewer? Cite your sources.2. Find the clip "Kim Novak in Vertigo (1958)" a. Watch this clip TWICE! First with NO SOUND, second time WITH SOUND! b. ANSWER: What information does the music give you about the characters that you would not know otherwise (there is no dialogue in this scene). 3. Find the clip "Vertigo (10/11) Movie CLIP - Judy Becomes Madeleine (1958)" on the Viewing and Listening page in the Unit: Movie Music 1 a. Watch the entire clip. b. ANSWER: How does Herrmann's music work in this scene? At what point in the action does the music reach its high point? How is this reflected in the visual (the lighting effects in particular?) Cite your sources.

  explore one of the topics below, comparing and contrasting Sundiata and Popul Vuh, and write a 6-10 paragraph essay arguing for and supporting your conclusions to submit as a well-developed essay.  This assignment will build your writing and analysis skills. You may be able to further flesh out the writing you have already done in discussions towards these goals.  If you choose a different topic than the ones you have already written, the discussion posts and responses may still be useful and inspiring.  However, be careful you don't plagiarize your classmates' work.  We encourage you to use the background material in the course to flush out your own original interpretations and arguments; researching other secondary sources is not required for this assignment, of other sources will not be tolerated.  Tasks: First, choose one of the following two topics: Topic #1:  One of the Five Great Themes of World Literature is “Sacred & Secular.” As stated in Unit 1B of this course, “We will find in our study of literary masterpieces from the past many intricate negotiations between the divine and the earthly realms.” Discuss what we learn about how divine powers and earthly beings interact in Sundiata (in an area with a syncretic religion) and Popol Vuh (which is not a sacred text but presents the Mayan cosmology).  Which values embodied by these interactions are considered significant by their societies? One of the passages you should quote (all or in part) and analyze is the following: At the time when Sundiata was preparing to assert his claim over the kingdom of his fathers, Soumaoro was the king of kings, the most powerful king in all the lands of the setting sun. The fortified town of Sosso was the bulwark of fetishism against the word of Allah. For a long time, Soumaoro defied the whole world. Since his accession to the throne of Sosso he had defeated nine kings whose heads served him as fetishes in his macabre chamber. . . .  So his countless sofas were very brave since they believed their king to be invincible. But Soumaoro was an evil demon and his reign had produced nothing but bloodshed. Nothing was taboo for him. His greatest pleasure was publicly to flog venerable old men (41). Topic #2:  Both Sundiata and Popol Vuh deal centrally with a heroic quest.  Unit 1B's introduction to the Five Great Themes of World Literature states concerning the hero:  "The surest way to understand what a culture of the past most values is to focus on what it considers heroic, in that a culture recognizes its heroes as embodying its most important ideas, the values that are essential."  Discuss what forces Sundiata and the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque have to overcome and how they go about doing it. For Sundiata your presentation will probably focus on Sundiata’s historical destiny; in Popol Vuh, the Twins’ quest will have a more mythic quality, but you probably will focus on the meaning for the Mayan culture of the mythic events.  One of the passages you should quote (all or in part) and analyze is the following: Hunahpú was sacrificed by Xbalanqué; one by one his arms and his legs were sliced off, his head was cut from his body and carried away; his heart was torn from his breast and thrown onto the grass. All the Lords of Xibalba were fascinated. They looked on in wonder, but really it was only the dance of one man; it was Xbalanqué. "Get up!" he said, and instantly [Hunahpú] returned to life . . .  "Do the same with us! Sacrifice us!" they said. "Cut us into pieces, one by one!" Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé said to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.  . . . And so it happened that they first sacrificed the one, who was the chief and [Lord of Xibalba], the one called Hun-Camé, king of Xibalba. And when Hun-Camé was dead, they overpowered Vucub-Camé, and they did not bring either of them back to life (Part II, Ch. 13). Second, write an essay presenting your argument.  Include quotations from the texts as well as additional details that illustrate and enhance the points you are making.  Use the following as an outline of what to include: Explain the general topic and relevant themes (e.g. sacred and secular, heroes' journeys) and any relevant terms for that topic (suggested 1-2 paragraphs). State your thesis - a general statement about your conclusions. Apply that topic to both Sundiata and Popul Vuh