The Coming of Age on the Characters of the Movies Girlhood and Boyhood

Write according to the professor's request, choose two movies from the following.
Red Balloon
Stand By Me
Searching for Bobby Fischer
The 400 Blows
Lady Bird
Hoop Dreams
Moonlight
Girlhood
Boyhood
Frances Ha
Hugo
Remember, it must be on two characters from different movies on this list. I have attached the directions for the assignment.

Film Analysis Paper

This paper is a form and content analysis on the coming of age of two characters from two different movies assigned in this class.

Specifics:

• Approximately 800 - 1000 words (3.5-4 pages)
• It is not necessary to summarize the plot.  Remember, the faculty reading the paper, have seen the films too. Stick to the directions for the paper.
• Typed, 12 point font, double-spaced
• Due to D2L Folder
• This is an academic analysis, and you are expected to use appropriate academic conventions. In other words: DO NOT USE FIRST PERSON. That makes the paper only about your insights—you must broaden that perspective.

Objectives: 

• Discern the key elements of plot in a complex film
• Organize key elements in a logical manner
• Show ability to differentiate between essential and non-essential elements of a film
• Analyze, using “close reading” techniques one scene of a film.

Directions:

Compare and contrast the way in which the coming of age of the two characters is portrayed—both narratively (content) and filmicly (form).   The purpose of this paper is to bring two films into conversation with each other.  At the beginning of the paper, you can describe each character.  After that, move beyond writing about each character separately.  Integrate your ideas about both characters into the body of your paper.

Use specific evidence from the films to describe how the characters came of age.  Evidence includes content (such as plot, character or other narrative elements) and form (filmic techniques such as mise-en-scene, montage, editing, sound, and music, etc.).

Here are some prompts to help you describe how the characters came of age.  You do not have to answer each prompt.  Use them to give you ideas for what to write about.Some of the prompts might not apply to the two characters and films you selected. 

• Was coming age portrayed as a single moment, or a gradual process?
• Was coming of age due to age and maturation, just normal growing up?
• Was there an event or experience that pushed the character into adulthood? 
• What do the directors do to highlight the process of coming of age by maturation?
• How do directors portray coming of age abruptly?
• What changes are seen in characters to show that they came of age or grew up?
• How is coming of age by growing up over time alike and different from coming of age abruptly due to an experience in the films?

In your conclusion, tell us about how the stories of the two characters combine to say something about the human condition in general.

Paper Heading: (n.b.: heading appears on the top left of ONLY the first page, and not on a separate piece of paper)

Your Name

Your TA’s name

CORE 1929 (insert your discussion section #)

Date

Title:

Papers need to have titles, which are centered and written in 12-point, Times New Roman font. The title is not bolded, underlined, or italicized, but if you are using the film (or book) title in the your paper title, put it in italics.

Page numbers:

Use page numbers and begin the paper on page 1.

Works Cited:

When citing a DVD, use the following format:

Title of movie. Director (abbreviated as Dir.). Distributor, year of release. DVD. (If you watched the movie in a different medium, this goes here.)

You may include other information such as the names of the writer, actors, producer, etc., between the title and distributor. When citing a DVD, include the original release date (if relevant) and the term DVD before the name of the distributor.

Example:

Gallipoli. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Mel Gibson and Mark Lee. 1981.Paramount, 1999. DVD.

Please note: when referring to only one work, the appropriate sub-heading is “Work Cited”

In-text Citation

Use italics when including the film title in your papers:

Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo stars Herzog's long-time film partner, Klaus Kinski. During the shooting of Fitzcarraldo, Herzog and Kinski were often at odds, but their explosive relationship fostered a memorable and influential film.

If you are using a direct quote, use parenthetical citation, in those instances where the title of a film is not obvious from the context of your paper:

This is an obvious homage to one of the most frequently mis-quoted lines in film: “Play, it Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By’” (Casablanca).