Write an essay

Select ONE essay topic from two possible prompts: 1) Character Motivation and Motifs, or 2) The Importance of Citizen Kane. Select ONE out of two essay prompts below to write a thesis-driven essay with specific examples taken from course examples. Essays should have a central claim (statement) that you develop through multiple paragraphs with topic sentences (sub-claims) and descriptions of film scenes as evidence for your views. I) Character Motivation and Motifs in “Classical Hollywood Cinema” In a majority of mainstream fiction films (typically referred to as “classical Hollywood cinema”), narratives are driven by individual characters who desire something and then set about achieving that goal through a film’s story. Compare and contrast Amélie Poulain from Amélie and Charles Foster Kane from Citizen Kane. In understanding these characters, note how recurrent motifs and formal patterns (plot sequences) reveal or obscure aspects of their motivation. Write an essay where you compare and contrast these TWO characters for the way in which their desires shape a film’s narrative. In what ways are these characters’ motivations similar? Different? To what extent does the film narrative provide “closure” by satisfying their desires? Be certain to detail how motifs and formals patterns illustrate your answers to these questions. II) The Importance of Citizen Kane. Citizen Kane (1941) is often talked about by film critics as being the most important single film in American cinematic history: it was chosen as #1 in the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest American Movies, beating out Casablanca, The Godfather, and Gone with the Wind. Roger Ebert describes it as a “masterpiece,” the “harvest of the emerging art form” following the introduction of film sound. So, is Citizen Kane the most important American film ever made? In class we discussed three reasons why Citizen Kane has been so singled out by film scholars: 1) narrative structure, 2) mise-en-scene composition, and 3) cinematography. Write an essay where you argue whether or not Citizen Kane deserves such regard based upon the three aspects listed above, either explaining why Citizen Kane is so important in each category or disputing the film’s significance for each. Be certain to define the formal and stylistic categories and provide an example for each drawn from the film. 1) Amelie (2001, French with English subtitles) https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/amelie 2) Citizen Kane (1941) https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/citizen_kane