Long Assignment 2 (Due the Monday after we return from Spring Break: Monday March 22nd)

What you will be doing for this assignment is producing a 5-6 page paper that does two main things:

1: Within the movie, locate and briefly define the particular social, scientific, cultural, or political "issue" that you will be analyzing. Then, analyze how the movie (or movies) interacts with that issue in terms of both its iconic imagery, as well as its actual plot. We will broadly define "issues" in class to allow for the inclusion of most topics. This brief exploration of the nature of the debate will analyze not the issue itself, but, rather, how the movie uses images, plot, characters, dialog, etc, the language to engage the issue; this aspect of the project will be supported through research. The research can either be directly related to the chosen movie, or the issue you are discussing, or perhaps both.

2: Analyze and argue where this debate fractures along the Lines of Power; while most debates can easily be categorized along many of the Lines of Power, what you will want to do here is locate the heart of the issue, and decide which one or two of the LoP are most relevant to your argument. For example, if you feel that "The Little Mermaid" and "Wedding Crashers" are both movies about marriage, for example, how does the portrayal of marriage in each movie differ, along the lines of gender, sex, sexuality, age, etc., and what plot and image details can you use to support this claim.

Notes on research: You must use at least 3 sources for this essay, but may use more. They must be cited in text and in an additional bibliography according to the format used in class. Also, I'm going to ask you to use a variety of sources. One source must come from a scholarly journal of your choice; I will show you how to access and search these. One source must come from a reputable print source - something in either the book or magazine holdings from your own Purdue libraries. The third required source can be taken from anywhere you like. (Remember, sometimes a "bad" source is a good source...)

Movies

V for Vendetta

The Little Mermaid

Wedding Crashers

Law Abiding Citizen