The Portrayal of Key Themes in the Film "Belle"

Prepare a short response of 3 pages that considers how the assigned film, supporting article/book chapter, and interview with the film’s creator speak to central themes from our course.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Students display knowledge about the origins and nature of contemporary issues and develop a foundation for future comparative understanding.
Students think, speak, and write critically about primary and secondary historical sources by examining diverse interpretations of past events and ideas in their historical contexts.
Getting Started
The Film Response will address how the film presents key themes concerning the history of women and gender in Early Modern Europe, and how the film relates to both the assigned article/book chapter and the sources we have studied in that unit. Instructions for this assignment include the complete prompt (see "prompt" below) and rubric (see "evaluation" below) for writing your response paper.
Over the past four weeks, we have studied gender in terms of its intersections with religion, power, and race in Early Modern Europe. Our discussions also built on earlier course content concerning women’s agency and their self-fashioning of their own identities. This short writing assignment is an opportunity to consider these questions alongside a film set in an Early Modern context and preoccupied with similar themes. The film that forms the basis of your essay is Belle (2014, rated PG)
Please read:
Gretchen H. Gerzina, “The Georgian Life and Modern Afterlife of Dido Elizabeth Belle,” in Britain’s Black Past (Liverpool University Press, 2020): 161-178.
Please access this e-book chapter through OSU Libraries here: https://library(dot)ohio-state(dot)edu/record=b8915955~S7
And read (or listen to):
“Behind Belle,” an interview with Amma Asante, Morning Edition, NPR (May 2, 2014): https://www(dot)npr(dot)org/transcripts/308698499
Then watch Belle via Films on Demand by following this link: https://library(dot)ohio-state(dot)edu/record=b9289488~S3
Click “connect to resource Films on Demand” and sign in using your single sign-on OSU username and password

Prompt
After watching the film and reading the two sources on page 1 of these instructions, write a short response paper that is organized into four sections of approximately equal length as follows:
Begin by writing about how the film portrays key themes that we have studied in weeks 9-13. Where did the writer and director focus their attention? What is their interpretation of early modern women and the worlds they inhabited and negotiated? In other words, what does this source communicate about gender in Early Modern Europe? Amma Asante’s short interview speaks to these themes. (25 points possible)
Next, write about the scholarly book chapter paired with the film: Gerzina, “The Georgian Life and Modern Afterlife of Dido Elizabeth Belle.” What is the Gerzina’s argument in that book chapter? How does she go about making her case? How does this scholarly work relate to the film? (25 points possible)
Then, examine how the film relates to the assigned content from weeks 9-13, or weeks 2-3 if you would like. You may choose to focus in greater depth on any aspect of the content we have covered so far (for example, consider gender and power in the context of noble families, gender and colonization, or the intersection of race and gender in the eighteenth century). And discuss relevant evidence from relevant assigned readings (primary sources, assigned listening, or the textbook are all acceptable sources). It’s better to write a strong evaluation of one topic rather than trying to cover everything. (25 points possible)
Finally, consider what it means for a piece of popular culture like Belle to be historical. How is the film informed by historical scholarship? What choices are the writers in this project making? Are the characters’ motivations informed by the choices that you would understand as being the choices that were faced by the people at the time? (10 points possible)
To consider these questions, please listen to the interview with historians Hannah Grieg and Greg Jenner as they discuss their work as historical advisors of popular television series.
“Poldark and historical TV drama,” interview with Hannah Greig and Greg Jenner, September 8, 2016, in HistoryExtra Podcast, produced by Immediate Media Company Limited. BBC, podcast, MP3 audio, 8:48-9:06, 9:20-10:10, 11:50-12:09, 12:43-13:12, https://www(dot)historyextra(dot)com/period/modern/poldark-and-historical-tv-drama/
When asked how important the role of historical advisors are to historical films and tv, Greg Jenner said:
“I think they can be hugely important and significant but I'm not sure if they’re essential. I think it depends on the project.”
Hannah Greig explained, and what the project wants to do with the historical context that's involved […] What are we trying to achieve by creating something that’s accurate?’ Because history is continually being made by new scholarship and by historians. So we can think about things being well informed by historical knowledge, but that’s not quite the same issue as ‘have they got everything right?’ And I’m not sure that the second part of that is particularly helpful always, that kind of spotting of is – ‘oh, is that the exactly the right piece of clothing; is that the perfect, period-precise room?’
For me what’s important are ‘is the narrative meaningful for the time in which it’s set? Are the characters’ motivations informed by the choices that I would understand as being the choices that were faced by the people at the time? Does it carry me emotionally in the way that I might think about the historical past?’”
Greg Jenner also highlighted that the historical responsibility in a particular adaptation matters too: “I tend to think that there are this sort of different kind of categories for history on television as drama. We’ve got the actual historical events that happened and you’re trying to dramatise those – I think that’s where perhaps there’s more of a burden to get it right or at least be pretty respectful of the truth – or what you think is the truth, which is obviously an interesting debate […]
And then you have the literary adaptations or the entirely fictional postulations where you invent historical scenarios. Poldark is obviously a literary adaptation from the 1940s. […] Whereas if you’re doing a drama about, say the Titanic or the First World War – something where real lives were lost or real stories were felt, where there’s that potency of the real human story and the impact it might have had on the world – I think then perhaps that’s when there is more of a responsibility to be at least engaging with history.”
If you wish to listen to the episode in full, it is available to subscribers at this link: https://www(dot)historyextra(dot)com/period/modern/poldark-and-historical-tv-drama/Or search for HistoryExtra on streaming audio platforms.
Evaluation
Assessment of this assignment will be based upon the rubric below. The aim of this assignment is to evaluate evidence in the film and to relate your analysis to the scholarly works assigned alongside the film. (100 points possible)
Assessment of this assignment will be based upon the student’s synopsis of the argument and use of evidence in the assigned scholarly book chapter and interview, analysis of the evidence in the film, and the evaluation of how these sources, and supporting evidence from our course readings, inform one another.
The essay must be submitted in a .doc, .docx, or .pdf format via the appropriate Carmen dropbox.
The paper will be assessed along the following rubric:
Analysis of the assigned film (25 points possible)
Description of the way the film portrays key themes we have studied in weeks 9-13. The paper explains what specific ideas or narratives related to the history of early modern women and gender are significant in the source. (15 points possible)
The paper uses specific evidence from the source (quotations, paraphrase, and summary) that aligns with the claims made in the paper. (10 points possible)
Analysis of the scholarly article or book chapter (25 points possible)
Explain Gerzina’s argument and findings in the assigned scholarly book chapter. (15 points possible)
The paper uses specific evidence from Gerzina’s chapter (quotations, paraphrase, and summary) that aligns with the claims made in the paper. (10 points possible)
Relating the source to course content (25 points possible)
Relate the evidence from the film to one of the course themes we have studied in weeks 9-13, or weeks 2-3. (10 points possible)
Each discussion of evidence from the film is accompanied by evidence from relevant assigned readings (primary sources, assigned listening, or the textbook are all acceptable sources). (10 points possible)
Each discussion of evidence from the source is accompanied by analysis in your own words, which explains the link between the claims you have made and the evidence you presented. The paper includes a discussion of how the evidence you present aligns with your interpretation. (5 points possible)
Discussion of how the piece of popular culture is informed by historical scholarship (10 points possible)
The paper sums up in your own words Greg Jenner’s and Hannah Grieg’s discussion of how historical scholarship can inform popular narratives. Students are responsible only for the section of this discussion quoted in the instructions. (5 points possible)
The paper explains how the film is informed by historical scholarship (or not). In particular, the paper addresses how the characters’ motivations are informed by the choices that people at the time faced. (5 points possible)
Clarity of Writing (10 points possible)
The paper is clear and organized around the four key prompts. (5 points possible)
The paper is free of typos, grammatically correct, and otherwise shows evidence of proofreading. (5 points possible)
Paper Formatting (5 points possible)
The paper is double-spaced, and it meets the page length requirements (at least 3 full pages, no more than 4 full pages). (1 point possible)
The paper uses Times New Roman (or comparable) font, size 12. (1 point possible)
The margins are 1 inch on all sides. (1 point possible)
All pages are numbered. (1 point possible)
All quotations or paraphrased sources are cited in an academic manner that conforms to an academic citation style guide. You may choose the style that is more comfortable for you, such as MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style. (1 point possible)
When citing print sources, please include the relevant page number(s) in your citation.
When citing films, please indicate the title and time stamp. e.g. Belle, 20:05-22:15.