CMNS 425 (Film and Genre) – Rhetorical Analysis of a National Film Board Production

The purpose of this assignment is to analyze a film produced and disseminated by the National Film Board that is available to your tutor through streaming.  Hundreds of films are available through the NFB website . Interviews with prominent film- and policy-makers as well as discussions of the narrative strategies employed in many Canadian films can be found at this Athabasca University site: Canadian Film Online and on Canadian Film Encyclopedia Site. The Canadian Film Online site also allows you to develop timelines relating film production to policy-making, maps indicating film production by location and networks of film professionals.

You will analyze the chosen film based on its genre, its key words and images and rhetorical techniques used.  Note that the chosen film should include a monologue or dialogue to enable the use of the tools for rhetorical analysis.  This rhetorical analysis, supported by the TAPor site in the e-Lab’s Virtual Tool Cupboard, or your choice of another on-line rhetorical analysis tool, focuses on the rhetorical and linguistic choices made by the filmmakers to convey their main messages.  You will also consider how these texts relate to the film and genre theory featured in the course, particularly as these apply to its genre and generic elements.

Here is an example of an award-winning documentary entitled Alter Egos (Laurence Green, 2004) that features two filmmakers at very different places in their lives and careers: http://www.nfb.ca/film/alter_egos.  A rhetorical analysis of this film would include a brief synopsis of the film itself and analytical information that explains what the filmmaker is trying to say and how he is presenting this information.  In order to produce an effective rhetorical analysis of a chosen film, you would first have to watch the film while taking notes and copying down some of the dialogue for the purpose of running this through an on-line rhetorical analysis tool featured in the e-lab tool cupboard.  You will need roughly 750 words of monologue/dialogue from the film to generate a meaningful sample and analysis. 

Your tutor is available to assist you with the selection of an appropriate film based on your strengths and interests.  Note that the National Film Board website includes effective tools for narrowing down your selection based on year of production, theme and year of production.  The chosen film should be at least 20 minutes in length.   

Rhetorical Analysis Tools

Once your film is selected, watched and annotated, choose one rhetorical analysis tool from the e-lab on-line tool cupboard.  These tools serve a variety of functions, such as identifying word patterns, linguistic repetition, correlations between and among words used in a text, etc.  Use these tools to develop some of the analytical content of your essay.  Note that your tutor is available to help you navigate the choices available.   You may find the Rhetorical Analysis Tutorial of some use in preparing your assignment.

Another good starting point for your consideration is the e-Lab’s Rhetorical Theory Scenario, as pertinent and interactive information is featured there.

Assignment Details

A suggested outline is presented below as well as a marking rubric that will be used to evaluate your work.  You finished paper will be roughly 1500 words in length, doubled-spaced and formatted in MLA or APA style; please advise your tutor if you require guidance or resources in this respect.  Note that the Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab (OWL) offers current information on both styles of academic formatting, which could be of great use to you in this respect: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ the Athabasca University Write Site also presents useful tools and information on academic writing and formatting: http://www2.athabascau.ca/services/write-site/.   Before you write the essay, please also carefully read the section in the Student Manual entitled Writing Essays. 

It is essential to include textual proof within your essay; quotes and citations taken directly from the text should appear within your content, properly cited, to support the arguments presented. 

The recommended development sections that follow may comprise more than one paragraph, depending on your writing approach and style.  Your tutor is available to review an outline of your intentions before you begin writing your essay.  Please review the following information on developing and outline before you begin:  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/01/   

Introduction

In your introduction, summarize and contextualize the chosen text (or related texts) and their provenance.  In your own words, explain the purpose of the organization and their objectives.  Within the introduction, identify the key elements of the rhetorical situation:

• What is prompting the message?
• What circumstances are prompting the communication? 
• Who is the sender of the message and their intention? 
• Who is the intended audience?
• What is the main message conveyed by this/these text/s and how is this conveyed?
• What is the genre of this film and how does it respond to the parameters of its genre?

In your own thesis statement, briefly outline the rhetorical approaches you will discuss in your development as well as the content analysis techniques used to deconstruct the text (which on-line rhetorical analysis tools you used).

Development 1 – Focus on Content

Use the on-line rhetorical analysis tools chosen to analyze the excerpt of monologue/dialogue noted from the film. Discuss your observations and conclusions in this section as they pertain to the subject film.  The content and direction of this section will depend on the conclusions you draw based on the results of your analysis.  Key points to consider in this section:

• Which words are repeated by the speaker?
• What are the relationships between these words?
• Which effects are produced by the use of these words (associations, images, impressions)?
• How does this relate to the main messages and intentions specified above?

Development 2 – Focus on Rhetorical Technique  

In this section, respond to the following questions as they pertain to the chosen film.  Note that these questions are directly related to the course concepts presented in Units 1 and 2. 

• What is the genre of the chosen film? 
• How is the film organized?
• Which principles of literary genres are present in this film?
• How would you characterize the style and tone of the film?
• Which images, techniques, devices have been borrowed from literature to enhance the communication of the film’s message?

Development 3 – Focus on Rhetorical Effectiveness

In this section, respond to the following questions as they pertain to the effectiveness of the delivery of the intended message.  Use your knowledge of film and genre as well as your own response to the film to guide your response.

• Does the genre serve to effectively communicate the main message of the film (filmmaker’s thesis)?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of this film in regard to its generic elements?
• Do the rhetorical techniques used in the texts compliment the content?
• Is the content effectively delivered through the rhetorical strategies used?
• Does the message succeed in delivering the filmmaker’s main message?
• If so, how does it achieve this?
• If not, how could the message be delivered more effectively?  Through another genre?  Other rhetorical techniques?

Conclusion

In your conclusion, revisit the main ideas and arguments presented in your paper.  Restate whether you, in the end, feel that the film fulfills its intended purpose.  Consider whether the document effectively addresses all elements of the rhetorical situation: purpose, audience, stakeholders and context.