It's for my film appreciation class. We pick a movie, discuss the theme, characters needs and wants, opposing poles, etc.. I decided to write it up on The Social Network. Anyway, I got a rough draft done. I'm going to give it a quick look over. Is there anybody who would like to look at it to proofread or to give me your impressions of it?
Sounds like a very fun topic. I wish I could write something about it. I have a paper due next week that's about how the internet has evolved and how that has affected and how it will continue affect every day life, and if that is positive or negative. I would much rather just discuss it, but it has to be persuasive so whatever. I would probably pick either Batman Begins or Spider-Man 2.
But it has to be a movie that is filled with a lot of inner conflict, or enough that satisfies my teacher's instructions. For me, it was pinned down between Les Mis (2013) and The Social Network, two films which I absolutely love and can get a deeper message from them. My teacher advised that a musical, especially one like Les Mis, could be troublesome, so I was allowed to do The Social Network. I don't think Spider-Man 2 really has much emotional depth in it, but it has been a while since I've seen it. There'a a lot messed up with Bruce in Batman Begins that probably would have been a good study as well. I have yet to see The Artist. PS. I left out the stuff with the twins because it would have made the essay go on longer than my teacher may have wanted. It was a four page minimum, and if I included them, it probably would have been close to ten pages. https://www.dropbox.com/s/yh9qodiyata8rp7/Relationship Status.docx
Spider-Man 2 actually has a lot of worthwhile substance. To sum it up it's all about Peter's character and how he grows and deals with his inner conflict of wanting to be happy vs doing what is right, and the sacrifices that each character makes because of their decisions. It's one of my favorite movies. I guess it's not very heavy emotionally, it's still an overall very light-heated, optimistic movie, so I guess you're right, but it certainly does have depth. You should watch it again, it's great. I can see how a teacher wouldn't 'approve' of that though, so if given the option I would definitely go with Batman Begins. If I were to write a paper about Spider-Man 2 it would more or less be just for fun.
I agree that Spider-Man 2 has a lot of substance. Lots of weight and depth. I didn't notice just how good, or emotionally involving it was until my second or even third viewing. I'm not sure if doing a piece on The Social Network would be a good idea. The story is told so clearly it's hard to get lost in it. There are no deeply buried messages, everything is there for us to see. I think an essay on its characters would just basically be a lot of underlining about what happens, like how everyone is, at first, nice to Mark. He is the one who ultimately drives them away or sets them against him. I certainly believe Mark is in the legal right when it comes to his case with the Winklevosses, it's just that he's not nice, to them or with anyone. I read your essay, and it was what I feared it might be. Of course it takes part on the viewer to have insight and perspective to enjoy this movie, and much of your essay went on as if you were trying to explain scene-by-scene how the movie is supposed to make us feel; I did not learn anything new. On your explanation of what the movie means, I felt you were too strongly emphasizing the emotions/logic aspect. It felt forced, and it's not something I'm sure I agree with or even understand. All the characters stay true to themselves, they all just realize new things about themselves and each other. I believe Mark truly wanted Eduardo to be by his side, but by his nature, ignored him and his feelings for so long that Mark repeatedly hurt him throughout the movie without realizing it. Eduardo only wanted to be needed by him, and his feelings heard by him; he wanted to be Mark's friend. I think the first scene alone could justify an essay like the one you have written, if you were willing to go deep enough between each line of dialogue. The Social Network is about how Mark, with the insight to create Facebook, and the single-mindedness to make it successful, pushed away his only friend in the process. We can already see how it happened, but what else is there? Maybe you can make it better by including reasons why you think Mark is so socially-inept, if it has anything to do with his ability to program, or why the Winklevosses feel they deserve credit, or why it took them so long to sue Mark, or why Eduardo is given a girlfriend that he breaks up with, or why Mark doesn't have a girlfriend or get into drugs and parties like Sean. I wouldn't limit my essay by assigning it a theme, such as the "opposing poles" and "wants" that you have in yours. But if those are requirements, this is why I hate essay assignments. I would do a rewrite and rethink the entire thing, but it's probably too late to change anything now. Good luck with your essay and I hope you get a good grade. I'll let you find your own typo. Also, there's also no period at the end of your essay. Now, do Mulholland Drive next.
Thanks for all the help. The sad part is that the way I wrote it is kind of the format that my teacher follows, so that's the way he wants us to examine the films/write about them. While I see films in a different way he does, when I do apply his way of film analysis, I can understand what the meaning is behind it. Really, I'm sticking with the essay I have because that's what's going to work with this teacher. But your input has really been helpful.
Well I know how it is, give the teacher the answer they think is right, **** all if it's correct. But if it helps you delve deeper into a film, good for you. I don't take any film or writing classes of the sort, I just know what I like to read, and you only have one person you need to impress. It really did sound as though you love The Social Network, and I guess that what "film appreciation" is about. I watched it again just yesterday and the movie means a lot to me too.
Yeah, it kind of is like that. I kind of wrote the essay more to what I felt he would want from it, but I did try to put a bit of my own way of analyzing a film. And I'm someone who is critical about films (I can't seem to turn it off at points). And this is a movie that I have loved for a long time. I can still remember when I first went to see it in theaters and it really opened my eyes on storytelling, film making, and a whole bunch of stuff. This was the first movie that had me pay attention to the soundtrack; it played as if it were another character in the film.
