Major Research Essay
DRAFT DUE: Tuesday 24 May
ENG 103
Every movie portrays the world in which it takes place with varying degrees of realism. For this paper you will compare the world a movie offers against the actual world as it was at that time--and in both cases the world will be that of New York City.
Choose one from the following list of movies (we will go over the list in class to choose topics and ensure two people are not working on the same); all of the movies are set in New York City and, some to a higher and some to a lesser degree, depict life in the city at the time it was filmed or at the time their story takes place (and sometimes both). You will write a paper where you will argue how realistically the movie portrayed the social, political, and economic life of the time: did it seek to portray it realistically, to idealize it, or perhaps to completely ignore life in the city? The answer to this question will be your thesis.
You will then give some introduction to the economic, social, and political reality of the city at the time of the movie’s production or the movie's setting. This part should not be more than two or three pages. You can talk about the US in general but the main bulk of discussion should be on NYC. In this part you will need to provide some data about the financial life of the city, (example: average salary, average rent, cost of certain items etc that will help the readers form an idea about the economic reality of the city). Also talk about important political events (if any), social trends and phenomena that form life in the city at the time etc. You will need solid research for all the information you will provide here.
Next you will talk about the movie: some information about its production and some basic information about the plot. This should a page more or less.
Finally, you should provide your argument comparing life in the movie and the historical reality at the time and how realistic it is or not. You can use both your own observations after watching the movie and reading the research on the historical period, and reviews or articles about the movie you found which address this particular issue (treatment of reality). In this part you will also need to comment on whether the movie realistically portrays the financial reality you analyzed earlier--for instance, does it show working class people live in places they could not realistically afford or does it in fact give an accurate picture etc. Draw direct comparisons between the movie and the financial data you have. Do the same for the social and political picture your research has provided. Also note that some of these movies did not simply portray reality but actually shaped our expectations about life in the city at the time.
(NOTE: the above is a suggested blue-print which you can modify if you feel confident you will deliver a stronger paper with some modifications; however, the required elements must be present in whatever form you choose to arrange them).
I have chosen movies set before 2000 with the belief that you probably were not an adult at the time and need to read about these time periods The internet is not the preferred source for this paper (journal databases from the library as well as newspapers from that year available online are fine) although if there is a particularly relevant and credible online source you can include it. You should aim for a minimum of four different sources, though quality will be more important than quantity. No single source should dominate your paper so that it turns into a book report.
List of possible movies:
On The Waterfront (1954) Shannon
Rear Window (1954) Anna
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
West Side Story (1961) Chasidy
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
The Godfather (1972) Jhani
Mean Streets (1973)
Serpico (1973)
The Great Gatsby (1974)
Network (1976)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Annie Hall (1977)
Saturday Night Fever (1977) David S
Kramer vs Kramer (1979)
Manhattan (1979)
Fame (1980) Marlita
Escape from New York (1981) Victor
Trading Places (1983) Jared
The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
The Cotton Club (1984)
Once Upon A Time in America (1984) Carlos
The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
Wall Street (1987)
Do The Right Thing (1989) Irene
Harlem Nights (1989) Melvin
Look Who's Talking (1989) Samantha
Rooftops (1989) Josh
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1990) Chris
Jungle Fever (1991) Okorie
New Jack City (1991) Eddy
Queens Logic (1991) Elena
Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
The Basketball Diaries (1995) Magaly
Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)
Gia (1998) Jayleen
The Siege (1998) David R
Summer of Sam (1999) Paula
You can substitute one of these movies for some other set in NYC before 2000 but this will have to happen in class so I can note the substitution. You cannot do so at a later point.
