You Need One! It Gives You an Overall Thematic Focus That Will

Essay Tasks

You need one! It gives you an overall thematic focus that will: a) make your essay cohesive b) make your focus on the reason, the why, for everything

It needs to give you a specific job to do. This will: a) keep your essay focused and also help it be cohesive b) stop you reverting to plot and description

You need one central focus. What was the most important thing in the film the author was trying to show / explore / educate on / etc?

How does Karen Lin explore the pressure on Asian Americans to be perfect in her film Perfection?

Analyse Armand de Saint-Salvy’s illustration of the importance of compassion in his film Beyond Words.

Through a close examination of Geri’s Game, show how Jan Pinkava uses this film to explore how our greatest opponent in life is ourselves.

Notice that the tasks:  Have an action process for you in them.  Recognise the author (and have an action process with them).  Mention the title and author.  Have the word film in it (so the marker knows what text type it is).

A + B + C + D (You won’t do all four all the time.) A – What has the author done? B – Why has the author done it? C – In regards to the intended impact on the target audience? D – How effective was it in meeting the expectations of the target audience?

Plot A + A. Geri looks toward the opposite side of the table after making his first move and a long-shot reveals that there in no one there. Geri is playing by himself. He removes his glasses and hobbles over to the other side of the table to make an aggressive counter move. Once again, he rises and heads back to the original side, puts on his glasses and thoughtfully makes his next move.

A only. Pinkava uses a series of short cuts and close ups to hide who the elderly man is until the game is fully set up. Why?

Plot A + Weak B He meticulously straightens up a couple of chess pieces and sits down eager to start the game. This instantly creates an inherent sense of emotional connectivity to Geri’s character. Make the why better.

A + B As the game progresses, the cuts become faster between moves. Pinkava uses these swift cuts to change the pace and create the illusion that there are now two individuals playing chess.

A + B Bruno’s use of warm colours and lighting around Michael’s family and mother emphasises the acceptance and warmth felt by a loving family. A + B + Tiny Bit Of C The remainder of the film is then done conventionally, with colour and sound equally predominant, to show the audience the resulting harmony between the two protagonists when they recognise each other’s disabilities.

A + B + C By fading the sound of his new mother’s voice, Weisler also establishes that to Henry, her words are merely sounds and the language barrier that separates them is mutual. Weisler uses this linguistic division as a kind of dramatic irony; while the viewer sympathises with Henry through subtitling, his adoptive mother, unable to understand, is further isolated.

A + B + D Weisler extensively juxtaposes the natural and artificial worlds to heighten the divide between adoptive and biological motherhood, beautifully contrasting Henry’s native, rolling seaside environment with the contained, artificial bath tub in his new home.

Other Issues

Sound like you know what you’re talking about. Bahe’s use of tragedy from the drama genre.  Bahe’s use of tragedy…

Relatable is not a word!  Henry’s progressive journey is emotionally relatable   made this film powerful and relatable   making the audience question the honesty of their own relationship via the relatable situation and characters.   he remains an entirely relatable character 

The film is not alive! The film was highly successful and won a BAFTA award for Best Short Film… Percival was highly successful with this film, winning a BAFTA award for Best Short Film…

Don’t Be Vague! Taking a twist from his normal genre of comedy, the purpose of the film was for emotional engagement. Noonan wanted his war educated, young adult audience to have an emotional connection with the soldiers, by disclosing the utter misery of war on innocent families.

Check Your Logic! The boldness and spaciousness of the title, emphasises the seriousness of war. How does spacious = seriousness?

Work On Your Topic Sentences! What you introduce in the topic sentence needs to match what you discuss in the paragraph. If they don’t match either redo the paragraph or the topic sentence.

The Little Things! Titles go in italics.