CLOSE ANALYSIS OF CARTOON-WATCHING SCENE in SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS

Write a 3-page essay in which you answer the following prompt. Preston Sturges’s 1942 film Sullivan’s Travels is considered a landmark of classical Hollywood comedy. More significantly for our class, it demonstrates how genres such as comedy raise audience expectations, and sometimes complicate or defy these same audience expectations for a larger purpose. What comedy techniques are used in this film? What elements make the film’s comedy more complex? What is the film’s larger meaning? In your paper, provide a brief close analysis of the scene in which the prisoners watch a Disney cartoon in an African American church. A close analysis paper has two steps: first, describe the scene, and second, make an argument about the scene’s larger meaning. Consider the some or all of these questions: What kind of mood is being conveyed in this scene, and how? Whose faces do we see in this scene? How do these individual shots of specific characters create meaning? What do you, as an audience member, feel in this scene? What specifically cues your emotional response? Just focus on this one scene, do not analyze other parts of the film at any length. Be as specific as possible: Don’t just discuss what happens in the scene (its narrative and characters), but describe specific shots. Consider how specific film techniques such as editing, camerawork, shot composition, and/or sound (dialogue and music) shape the scene. Also pay attention to the scene’s mise-en-scène (setting, lighting, props, acting), if these elements are relevant to your argument. Ultimately, you are answering the question: How does this scene in Sullivan’s Travels use the techniques of film and the conventions of comedy to tell a larger story? What is the larger meaning of this scene in the film? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Double-space your lines, use 1" margins and a reasonable font (suggested: Times New Roman 12-point). 3 double-spaced pages = about 750 words. You may watch the film again, as many times as you wish. It is available for free online, for example at https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2nz3ac (part 1) and https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2nzanb (part 2). The scene I am asking you to analyze begins in part 2 (the second URL pasted above), at 20min. 30sec. You will be graded on your ability to write clearly and form an argument, as well as on your demonstration of the knowledge you have learned in class (in lecture and readings) WHICH I WILL INCLUDE ATTACHMENTS OF to use as sources. I am looking for accurate and detailed observations of this film's form and style.