Tonight's Tuesday class will be meeting at the Gateway theater between 6:45 and the start of the film. I will have a few papers to return and then we can watch the film, Alfred Nobbs.
I have posted below a couple of links to reviews that I found online, each of which expresses mixed feelings about the overall impact of the story and the character at the center of it, Alfred Nobbs, a cross-dressing woman. Glenn Close is praised for her performance, and the director, Rodrigo Garcia, for his very credible depiction of late 19th century Dublin, and details of the life and manners of the variously stationed cast, the lowly servants and the more privileged members of the middle and upper classes. Still, each reviewer would have liked to see more drama from the story, less blandness overall. On the lack of emotionality in the central character's personality, James Berardinelli writes, "Nobbs is a sad character, but it's difficult to feel for him because he is, as one might say, a 'cold fish.' One doesn't doubt he has emotions but they are so deeply buried that they rarely surface." Laurie Coker writes, "Nobbs find herself trapped in a world of her own making – one that has her unable to find happiness."
So we will watch and form our own conclusion, and then write them up with precision and expressive detail. Remember to use specific examples–scenes, images, lines of dialogue–to recreate certain aspects of the film and to support your various points.
Essay 7: A Film Review: The essay should be 450-600 words, titled, and doubled spaced. Introduce the film by title, director, and release date and provide plot overview as needed for context. Advance a clear point (thesis) and supporting examples. You might also use quotations and document references from reviewers, if you borrow their ideas.
Enjoy the show!
http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=2404
http://welivefilm.com/albert-nobbs-review-by-laurie-coker/
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Thursday Class: Today we review the field reports you were to write sometime over the last several weeks. The field report, involving eye-witness observations, including statements or testimonials taken in informal conversation and documentary photography are considered primary research sources. So too are original interpretations of art works, including film, of course, formalized interviews of people whose knowlege and opinions may be germaine to your work (or the point of the work entirely), questionaires and surveys.
Secondary source material is the research conducted and composed by others, and upon which we often rely for our understanding of a subject. When writing about the work of others, as in summary, paraphrase, or direct quotation, it is important to identify the source by author, title, and publication source. The MLA guidelines are a specific set of rules governing how the various source, primary and secondary, you may use in your work are to be documented. We will look at the conventional rules today, in preparation for the short research report to be completed by week 10 (or at the latest week 11).
WE will also discuss the film/ field trip we have planned for next week, March 1, at the Gateway Theater.
I will have you sign a release form and provide directions for the meeting and assignment, which will be due the following week, week 9.
I also may require a short summary with quotations to continue practicing the skills involved. Your essays in response to an image (#6) will be returned today, with comments, and you may revise them if need be for a better grade.
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