Posted: February 9th, 2015

Analyze any aspects of the film Running With Scissors (potential topics: dysfunctional family dynamics, mother/son relationships, 1970’s “pop” psychiatry and the overprescribing of highly addictive psychotropic medications such as Valium [anxiolytic], Miltown [barbiturate], Seconal [potent sleeping pill], Percodan [strong painkiller],

Prompt Choices for Essay #2

1)      Analyze any aspects of the film Running With Scissors (potential topics: dysfunctional family dynamics, mother/son relationships, 1970’s “pop” psychiatry and

the overprescribing of highly addictive psychotropic medications such as Valium [anxiolytic], Miltown [barbiturate], Seconal [potent sleeping pill], Percodan [strong

painkiller], Dexedrine [amphetamines], and other dangerous drugs, alcoholism, rape/molestation as a first sexual experience, odd environments/a disintegrating

[literally and figuratively] home where mental illness is the norm, writing-as-therapy, the effects of a bitter divorce on adolescents, rage, abandonment, blame/guilt,

surrogate families, sexuality as connection to the world/others/the self versus sexuality as isolation from the world/others/the self, and eventually atonement and

forgiveness).

2)        Using 2 or more specific examples of films of any genre,
compose a developed discussion of how movies (in a mass-market outlet such as the Multiplex) consistently appear to have the power to display (and luckily, to

sometimes challenge) representations of Gender, Race, Sexual Orientation, Class, Politics, Age, Religious affiliation, Appearance, Occupation, Marital Status, etc.

What is it about these representations (or rather, how filmmakers manipulate these bigger-than-life representations/celebrities to their advantage) that appeal to

us/make us feel connected to a given piece of media/drive us to look, act and strive to be more like the

people we see on the big screen?   In other words, describe/discuss the allure and power behind the “American Royalty” that our beloved Celebrity Culture has become,

the cost of that intense level of fame for many actors, and any positive political side effects that might actually transform representations of gender, sexuality,

race and class.

3)     Using two or more films, discuss how censorship regarding sexuality/nudity, violence, adult language/themes and controversial issues has evolved since the

Hays Production code, to the MPAA rating system, to the widespread availability of “Unrated” films today.  Examples might include the outrage over mid-century films

like Lolita and Baby Doll, compared to Midnight Cowboy or Last Tango in Paris a few years after that, to contemporary works like Showgirls, Shortbus [an independent

film that shows actors actually having sex in an orgy].  What does this say about our changing culture/morals, and what historical movements from the 1960’s to the

present may have helped loosen censorship’s strangle hold?

4)  Compare and/or contrast at least two movies [any aspects that interest you—themes, symbols, style, mise en scene, dialogue, music, etc] by ONE of the following

directors:

Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronofsky, Michel Gondry, Lars von Trier, David Fincher, Pedro Almodovar, Guillermo del Toro, John Waters, Peter Greenaway,

Elia Kazan, Alfred Hitchcock, Brian de Palma, Baz Luhrman, Jean Cocteau, or PT Anderson.  Be specific, thorough in your analysis/comparisons [NO SIMPLE PLOT SUMMARY

ONLY—ANALYZE!!!], use lots of details, description, metaphors…this prompt choice is sort of a “love letter” to the director you choose, so make it memorable.

5)    USING ONE OR MORE SPECIFIC FILMS AS EXAMPLES TO
SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENT/TOPIC/THESIS, DISCUSS ANY ASPECT OF GENDER AND/OR SEXUALITY IN FILM (I.E. GENDER INEQUALITY, IDEAS OF “MASCULINITY” AND “FEMININITY,” CHICK

FLICKS VERSUS DICK FLICKS, HOW THE FILM(S) YOU ARE USING AS PERPETUATE OR CHALLENGE GENDER OR SEXUAL STEREOTYPES, AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH WHAT MULVEY ASSERTED IN HER

FAMOUS ESSAY, HOW REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY HAVE CHANGED FROM, SAY, 1950’S CINEMA (OR ANY EARLIER ERA OF FILM) TO THE PRESENT, ETC. ).  AGAIN, USE

SPECIFIC FILMS OF YOUR CHOICE, OF ANY GENRE/ERA, WHETHER WE HAVE WATCHED/DISCUSSED THEM IN CLASS OR NOT.

6)    USING SPECIFIC FILMS, DISCUSS YOUR THEORIES ABOUT WHY
PERHAPS HORROR FILMS (BEGINNING IN THE 1970’S WITH GRINDHOUSE/SAVAGE CINEMA) STARTED TO INCREASINGLY MERGE VIOLENCE WITH SEXUALITY (INCLUDING SCENES OF
BRUTAL RAPE, A LOT MORE GORE, MORE NUDITY).  THIS TREND FORESHADOWS OUR CURRENT/RECENT WAVE OF “TORTURE-PORN” (HOSTEL, THE COLLECTOR, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, THE

HILLS HAVE EYES, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, ETC.).  WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST 40 YEARS OR SO TO MAKE THIS TYPE OF GRUESOME HORROR SO POPULAR/ACCEPTABLE?  HINT: THINK

1960’S COUNTERCULTURE AND THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION [AND THE VIETNAM WAR] AS A STARTING POINT.

7)    Select one older/classic film [say, 1950’s] and one contemporary film, and
discuss the various ways that the representation of women in film—including gender roles, expectations and stereotypes, aspects of sexuality, ideals of “Beauty,”

traits of “Femininity” and Female behavior—has changed throughout the years.  What might be some of the cultural, social or historical moments/events/movements that

helped spark changes in the way that women are portrayed in Film?

8)  Analyze your choice of topics, themes, characters, narrative arcs, etc. from Boogie Nights (ideas:  The Sexual Revolution as personified by late 1970’s music and

nightlife culture, relaxed moral codes on promiscuity, and
the overall hard-partying/”glamorous” aesthetic of the youth of the “Me” Generation; the rise of the Pornographic Film industry (actors and
filmmakers, but also consumers and spectators of Hardcore Porn) as it settled its contentious—but lucrative—roots in the San Fernando Valley, circa 1977; the

importance of body-type/image (especially for female porn starts), and how substances—everything from smoking and anorexia to the rising stream of illicit/hardcore

drugs like cocaine spreading everywhere and
changing behavior and performance, both in front of the lens and behind it;  drugs and obsession/compulsion; drugs and their power to impel otherwise reasonable/law-

abiding characters like Dirk Diggler & Co. to attempt to con a dangerous dealer;  the importance of having a singular male star in any give porn…for a singularly

remarkable attribute 13” long that calmly sets the pace of scenes, people, and attitudes like the pendulum of a grandfather clock…until the clock is annihilated; Amber

Waves’ (Julianne Moore) distorted sense of duty in being a mother to the young, desperately lost outcasts; Jack Horner’s bizarre, pseudo paternalized/randomly

sexualized relationship with his wife, Amber Waves;  those who turn to prostitution in order to afford drugs (Roller Girl, Amber Waves, Dirk Diggler being cornered in

his truck) or to sustain or reclaim some pathetically long-lost glimmer of fame.  The significance of music in the film, featured in nearly every shot, sometimes

overlapping, and always running as a side-commentary to the action, character behavior, or shift in mood that is unraveling upon the screen.

9)     Discuss one or more of the films we’ve screened/talked about, or one or more of your own choice, and write anything of interest to you on the topic of

masculinity, the male body in film, issues of censoring the nude male body, the taboo of portraying authentic gay men in mainstream Hollywood [everything is

exaggerated or a stereotype], how films portray aspects of male sexuality [heterosexual or homosexual], etc—your response must include a specific film(s) and deal in-

depth with male sexuality, the male body on screen,  or anything along the spectrum of  “Masculinity.”

10)    Discuss any aspect of Black Swan (ideas: good versus evil [white swan/black swan & the overt usage of black and white clothing as symbol in the film],

obsession and self-destructive behavior [Delicate self-cutting/compulsive self-inflicted wounds], BDD [Body Dysmorphic Disorder], perfectionism as insanity, mental

illness/DID [Dissociative Identity Disorder], overprotective mothers/uncomfortable mother-daughter relationships, loss of reality/hallucination/transformation,

Becoming the Text [Nina’s devolvement into a “real” swan and eventual suicide, mirroring the ending of Swan Lake];  perhaps compare the film to any other of

Aronofsky’s works.

11)    Discuss Fight Club  (Representations of violence/the male body, Secret All-male societies, Repression & release, Depression, Mental illness/DID (Dissociative

Identity Disorder), Reality versus Hallucination, Physical Aggression as Escape, Significance of support groups/relationships (real or imagined), Domestic terrorism,

etc.); feel free to compare/contrast the film to any other Texts.

12)    Discuss any aspects of the film Frida (potential topics: early “Feminist” Art, Latin culture as represented in Kahlo’s work, the relationship—romantic and/or

competitive, regarding Art—between Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Kahlo’s well-know self-medicating [alcohol and morphine] due to a horrific bus accident, Kahlo’s fiercely

independent spirit/style/voice and her influence on more modern and contemporary female artists, Kahlo and Rivera’s “open marriage” and affairs, and the impact of that

situation on their artwork).

13)    CREATE YOUR OWN PROMPT BASED ON FILM[S]!!!

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