Essay 2 Will Focus On Developing An Understanding

Essay 2 will be focused on developing an understanding o

Essay 2 will be focused on developing an understanding of another kind of literacy – visual literacy. Visual literacy is the ability to read, understand, value, and learn from visual materials (still photographs, videos, films, animations, drawings, graphics)—especially as these are combined to create a text—as well as the ability to determine how these visual texts are created, combined, with visual elements (colors, forms, lines, images) and messages for the purposes of communicating positions and arguments. To complete this progression, you will be watching a variety of short documentary films and eventually focusing on one for an analysis. You will also be reading several supplementary articles to help you understand both the rhetorical and film techniques that might be utilized in any given film.

You will use these texts, as well as any sources that you uncover via your scholarly research, in order to engage in an exploration of how we, both individually and societally, affect and are affected by the dynamic power of visual arguments. Essay Overview: Everywhere, all the time, you are being manipulated to take sides in some argument. Film is no exception. Our realities are being shaped constantly by what we see within them. And yet documentary film is probably one of the first mediums that come to mind when we think about “documenting reality,” yet it is also one of the most complex formats for recording aspects of our world.

For this essay, you will closely read a short documentary film to better understand how that shaping takes place. Documentary films employ various methods (images, words, sounds, film techniques) to present an argument. Your task is to view a documentary film and analyze the rhetorical and persuasive strategies used by the filmmaker in constructing the film’s argument. The essay should not be merely a summary or personal review. Instead, focus on identifying the filmmaker’s thesis or main argument and analyzing how rhetorical and visual techniques support this purpose.

Assignment Outcomes include:

• Identifying the main argument or purpose of the film (subject to interpretation).
• Providing a brief contextual summary of the film.
• Examining how the film’s aim is supported through rhetorical and persuasive strategies, such as presentation of facts, dismissal of counterarguments, omission of related issues, and so on. Analyzing the filmmaker’s purpose and stance, including tone and attitude, as well as any logical fallacies, contradictions, or biases.
• Identifying the cinematic techniques used to reinforce the argument and how the film’s structure and details help achieve its purpose.
• Representing the most persuasive evidence used in the film and analyzing how it convinces the audience.

The essay requirement is five full pages excluding the Works Cited page, formatted in MLA style. You must use two scholarly sources beyond the documentary itself to support your analysis. You will choose one of the following films for your analysis: “Little Pyongyang,” “Shelter: Human Stories from Central America,” “Lifeboat,” or “Darlin’.”

Students should also submit a rough draft for peer review before final submission. The final paper should demonstrate understanding of film analysis, rhetorical strategies, and visual literacy concepts, ultimately providing a thorough and well-supported critical analysis of the chosen documentary.