Read chapter five in your textbook (163-199).

Here is the writing assignment from your textbook:

Many films (e.g., action/adventure, comedy, romance, detective) follow conventional forms. For example, a romance usually features a young man and woman who meet and are attracted to each other. Complications or forces beyond their control separate them. They overcome the obstacles and are reunited. "The film ends with the assumption that they will live "happily ever after."

Choose a film that you think uses a traditional formula but that also varies the form to better fit the filmmaker's purpose. Review the information in Sobchack's article on genre films. List the basic elements of the genre of the film you have chosen. Then watch the film carefully and take notes about how the traditional form has been both preserved and changed. When you write your paper, you will probably need to describe the characteristics of the traditional form before you can begin to discuss how the film you have analyzed fits or does not fit this form. Your paper should also include a discussion of why the filmmaker may have thought that the changes were desirable or necessary (Troiano and Scott 195).

Here are my added directions for this assignment:

Make sure your essay has the three basic parts: introduction, body, conclusion. The introduction should make it clear to the reader what you have done in preparation for the essay and what your purpose is. The introduction should give a clear definition of the term "genre film" so that every reader will know what you are writing about. Your main idea should be stated at the end of your introduction. The introduction should have an interest catcher, something to attract the reader's attention (see pages 172-174).

The body of your paper should present the findings of your research in an organized way. Your main points should be presented in paragraphs with topic sentences (see pages 164-167). One of your body paragraphs should "describe the characteristics of the traditional form" of the film you have chosen before you begin to discuss the film itself(195). The succeeding paragraphs should then discuss the film by comparing it to the basic elements of the genre and telling how it does or does not fit the traditional form. Each paragraph should be developed in two ways: 1) Each should give the specific examples from the film that either a) illustrate a characteristic of the basic form, or b) illustrate deviation from the basic form; 2) then, each should comment on or interpret these examples for the reader.

When you do this, state explicitly what a movie goer might expect to see and how what the film meets these expectations or diverges from them. Is each basic element you have identified well executed? What makes it good? How is the presentation of each element the same as or different from other films that also illustrate this element? If the execution is different, how is it different and is the difference a success or failure? What basic elements are missing from the film? Are there any basic elements from other genres included? If so, what is the effect? These are the kinds of questions you need to address when you interpret your evidence for the reader.

Finally, your essay should have a conclusion that presents what you learned. It should restate your main idea and make any additional observations or point out the importance of what you have discovered.

For this assignment, you should choose a film that you own on tape or DVD so that you can review it several times as you write your paper. Make sure it is a good example of a genre film. It should be a classic of its type. Take note of the director and the studio or film company that produced it so that you can make a works cited page. Documentation is covered in chapter 21 of your textbook. Follow MLA documentation style for this assignment.

The completed essay must be at least 500 words. There is no limit on length, but all essays should be concise, informative, and correct. Longer essays that multiply errors simply provide more justification for a poor grade. Microsoft Word will tell you how many words there are in a document.