DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY ANTH101 010 SPRING 2008 FILM PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS OVERVIEW Review your course schedule and identify three films that are of interest to you Go to DELCAT and insert the title in the search box Remember to select Title subject and media in the boxes to the left of the screen Next review the items listed as a result of the search Find your film by title Then click on Display statement on the very topic of the information about your film Read the information and decide if you really want to see this film If yes ask the media librarian to give you the film Be sure to have your student ID card View the film in the media center Do not check the film out If you are not interested in the film search another film that is on the course schedule list What to do next Take notes as you watch or watch once straight through and then take notes during a second viewing Keep in mind that the film will be shown in class Consider stopping the video occasionally to write notes Taking notes will provide you with material to refer to as you write your paper It will also keep you intellectually engaged and active as you watch since you constantly have to decide what the point is and what observation might be relevant or interesting Consider watching parts or all of the video a second time Sometimes you see new things or the same things more clearly the second time What to Watch For Generally what happens The story line or argument The people who are they The points being made Examples of concepts and or issues discussed in class lecture or and readings Anything that surprises offends or amuses you or that strikes you as strange why Anything that makes you think about your own ideas or challenges your own point of view Your thoughts about the story arguments presentation theme and so on Any interesting observation about the people actions and behavior dialog or setting Things that people say and do that seem different from our own culture and how they might make sense in their culture and situation Things that people say or do that seem familiar normal or shared with our culture Examples of ethnocentrism shown by the people in the video or the people who made the video Examples of cultural relativism shown by the people in the video or the people who made it The subjects emic explanation of things emic is the insider s view the view point of a member of culture The filmmakers or other experts etic point of view etic perspective is the outsider s point of view Explanations or claims that use the notions of culture as adaptation meaning or system Use of language that reveals something about the subjects of the video or filmmakers Anything you can infer about the culture of the subjects of the video that is different from the main points that the filmmakers explicitly make things you can infer from objects or events in the background things you can infer from the way people are dressed or the things they have things you can lean from people s side comments or the way they say things The overall approach is there a narrator who explains everything or do the subjects speak for themselves the filmmaker s apparent attitude towards the subjects the filmmaker s apparent purpose or message in making the video Any anthropological ideas we have covered that might apply ideologies of any kind the roles they play in the society how they are legitimized Examples of identities culturally constructed Kinship or family strucrure kinship marriage childrearing concepts of gender and other family values or practices that differ from ours how these practices fit into the society Beliefs about religion and the supernatural or magic practices or rituals involved how these beliefs and practices fit into the society how beliefs are confirmed and maintained Who has power and how is power used what does power mean in this particular society These are just suggestions not a check list Read through them a few times in order to prime yourself to be observant then just actively pay attention to the video You won t see all of these things and you will notice other interesting things that are not on this list Just be alert as you watch the film Watching the video is best done alone Write the Paper Write an introduction to your paper then state your thesis using your notes for evidence in support of your thesis Do not forget to give a brief description of each film and then note what was interesting fascinating offensive and so on about the film Your primary task is to develop arguments in support of your thesis Your conclusion should go beyond a summary Your conclusion should appraise the value and deficits of films as a means to study anthropology Format for Paper Use one inch margins all around Use double of 1 5 spacing I prefer 1 5 spacing if possible Use no font larger than 12 Have a cover sheet with the title of your paper centered Place your name and email address in the upper left corner of the page I ask for your email address because it is quicker for me to email my comments to you than to write them and beside nobody can read my handwriting Corrected too many papers over the years The paper s length should not be longer than 6 pages and no less than 4 pages See the course schedule for due date of Film Project Due date is final
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