Blog Entry 12: Moving Arguments in Film

You’ve all been doing fascinating analyses of the visual rhetoric in Black Swan (2010). Looks like you have some good direction for your papers! Let me know if you have any questions; writing center appointments are also good for brainstorming, and a great way to make sure you’re off on the right track!

Now we’re going to extend the discussion we’ve been having on Black Swan and psychoanalytic theory and generalizing it a bit. As we’ve already seen, film is an extraordinary medium for visual argument; because so much can be captured through film, and now with the increasing popularity of 3-D film (re-released Titanic, anyone?), film is truly a multimodal means of constructing an argument. As film watchers, we are making meaning through the vast array of visual material that bombards our senses and coming up with an understanding of the film maker’s purpose(s) or argument(s).

Your task: (in 300-600 words)

Analyze a film or part of a film that you think makes a superior visual argument or big-picture statement. Find a work that makes a truly moving impression on the viewer. Think of emotional responses you’ve had to film, ones that have shaken you to the core. The kind of emotion can run the gamut–joy, sorrow, terror, hilarity.

ANALYZE specific examples of effective visual rhetoric that the film making team utilizes in the film. As we’ve learned in Black Swan, these techniques can range from the colors used in costume choices, the angles of the shot or the use of lighting, the composition of a frame, the details in the setting, the body language/facial expressions of actors as they deliver dialogue, etc. etc.

ARGUE what the big-picture is. Why is this film so effective in communicating, and what is it that the film communicates?

ANALYZE those visual rhetoric details that you see, and provide examples to support your claims.

INCLUDE either a YouTube link or a still shot from somewhere in the film that helps visually articulate what you’re talking about.

Try to avoid total cliche films or ones that you’ve already written about. Shorts, indie films, etc. could work too, though I’d steer clear of works that have dual purposes and are very brief (such as commercials or music videos, which, although they can undoubtedly be quite powerful, will perhaps muddy the analytical waters here, so to speak).

Respond to your peers using comments of 100+ words in length; evaluate the quality of their analysis and the strength of how they represented the argument of the film, and provide feedback accordingly.

Have fun with this and don’t let it stress you out too much! Hopefully just in reading this prompt you’ve thought of several films that were powerful that you might write about. FIRST: do a quick scroll of what’s been posted and write about something that no one else has.