These are high school and college essays and stories (that were graded as essays) that I have written in the past.
This is to be a writing source for students to get inspiration when writing their essays!
Although these essays received A's or B's, y...
Disclaimer:Please remember, I provide these essays to you as an outline for your own. Plagiarism, using one's work as your own, can have severe consequences. There are many tools integrated into teaching software that can detect plagiarism. It's also as easy as plugging in one sentence into Google to find this essay. I want these to be available to all those that may need an outline or inspiration for their own assignments, however, I know some have used my work and have been caught. Please, don't just copy and paste my work and earn yourself a zero on the essay or fail your class. Thank you for reading and I truly hope that these essays will help. Good luck! If you ever need a peer reviewer for your essay, message me!
For reference, the specific class was "International Film Appreciation" (CINA 032). This isn't really an essay, but I figured it might help somebody.
" FILM
IDENTIFY THE FILM YOU WILL BE EXAMINING.WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS MOVIE?
LANGUAGE
IN WHAT WAYS DID THE FILM MANAGE TO 'SPEAK' TO YOU?Which Formal Techniques were most instrumental in overcoming the language barrier?Be sure to use SPECIFIC examples from the film to support your examination.Be sure to use correct film terminology when discussing Formal Techniques and describing how relate to your analysis.
IMPACT
IN WHAT WAYS DID THE EXPERIENCE OF VIEWING THIS FILM AFFECT YOU AND/OR YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF THE WORLD?
MERIT
DO YOU THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT AMERICANS, WHO HAVE THEIR OWN RICH CINEMATIC TRADITIONS THROUGH HOLLYWOOD, EXPLORE INTERNATIONAL CINEMA?Why or why not?"
If you'd like some more information on the topic/purpose of this essay, leave a comment!
Grade: 100%
FILM
The film I chose is The Seventh Seal directed by Ingmar Bergman from the arthouse cinema module. I chose this film because it's the film I genuinely enjoyed the most. I loved it from start to finish. Also, it was the only film to get me to laugh out loud!
LANGUAGE
As discussed throughout this unit, editing, sound design, cinematography, lighting, and mise-en-scéne have a great impact on the viewing experience and the finished film. For my response, I focus on lighting and mise-en-scéne.
In The Seventh Seal, lighting and mise-en-scéne were used to exaggerate and further develop story themes. Since this film is in black and white, it allows for lots of easy contrast. Although color associations are rarely universal, in western cultures at least, white tends to imply purity, innocence, and even divinity, while black tends to imply death and evil. These simple color associations are shown throughout the film through exaggerated lighting/shadows and the costume design for the characters. For example, Death is depicted wearing a deep black cloak and uses the black pieces in their chess game with Antonius. Furthermore, they're in shadow when they converse with Antonius in the initial building. Meanwhile, Antonius has a hard light illuminating his face which casts dark shadows from the bars across his face. Following this symbolism, these shadows could imply that Antonius is marked for death. And, to take this even further, the ending scene with the group on the hill with Death uses silhouettes to show them black against the light sky. This shows they're in a place where they cannot escape death versus the temporary shadows on Antonius' face at the beginning of the film.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
IMPACT
My perspective of the world wasn't impacted, primarily because this film wasn't set in the "present time." However, The Seventh Seal was so interesting to watch from a storytelling and story structure perspective. I loved the juxtaposition of the two groups—Antonius and his squire and the traveling actors—their individual and group interactions, and their different endings. I enjoyed the way the structure of the film, editing back and forth between the groups—their experiences and their outlooks—before putting them together, and finally, splitting them apart. Although the viewer is focused on these two groups, there's a third that's beautifully interwoven—the girl that is believed to be possessed/controlled by Satan. Unlike Antonius and the actors, her story isn't a constant, but we get to see their initial reaction to her/the type of people condemning her to death and their reaction to her death. This, along with the wonderful balance of fear, stress, and humor throughout the film was so inspiring as a writer.
MERIT
Finally, I think it's important for Americans to explore international films. American and Hollywood films have been influenced by the directors and techniques developed through cinematic movements in countries around the world. For example, Kurosawa's film The Hidden Fortress directly influenced the story of one of the most successful American film series: Star Wars. Furthermore, Kurosawa's cinematography and editing have influenced the style of American Westerns. Beyond the technical aspects of the movements, they also coincided with or followed important political and social changes. This resulted in films filled with depictions and themes surrounding the feel of the time. For example, the films of the Italian Neorealist movement, such as Bicycle Thieves, provide the viewer a peephole into the difficult, bleak post-WWII life of the average Italian. All in all, exploring international films can provide Americans insight into their favorite films, expose them to different techniques they may have never experienced, and offer a look into the lives and cultures of other people.
