6 to 8 page research essay on LGBTQ/race film English 102
Structure and content
Your 6-8 page paper, written entirely in the third person, should be structured thus:
Introduction:
identifies the film and its year of release;
provides an original (i.e., your own words) overview of the film’s plot (up to two sentences);
identifies what you have determined to be the relevant theme you will analyze and explains how the film treats the theme;
identifies relevant real world events during the period of the film’s release;
ends with a thesis asserting how the film’s relevant theme relates to these real world events.
Body, part 1 (maximum 2 paragraphs):
an explanation of what contemporary reviews say about the film in terms of its LGBTQ+ representations;
a transitional statement assessing the degree to which the reviews align with your interpretation of how the film depicts LGBTQ+ themes (avoid using the first person);
an analysis of one specific scene that demonstrates how the scene supports what you claim about the film’s treatment of the theme.
Body, part 2 (3 to 5 pages):
a transitional statement connecting the film portrayal to contemporary events;
a number of paragraphs aggregating the reportage of at least one and no more than two relevant ongoing historical events of the period of the film’s release. This section consists of your evaluation and summary of primary popular sources in the form of news reports, editorials, and letters to the editor. (Be sure to include clear attributions that make the sources easy to cross-reference with the list of works cited.) These sources must be located using library databases and should number in the dozens. You should aim for roughly 33% to 50% of the primary sources coming from the New York Times. This part gives little or no attention directly to the film plot.
Conclusion:
A final section that reconnects the events and the film and explains how the primary sources add to the understanding of the context of your chosen film. Do not summarize the articles again here, but do address how the events illuminate the historical period.