Posted: October 20th, 2022

FMS 101A: The Silent Era Research Paper Assignment

FMS 101A: The Silent Era
Research Paper Assignment
Winter 2020
Bibliographies Due: Friday, February 21st
Papers Due: Friday, March 6th

Room: IAB 130
Paper Prompt:
You will write a 1200-1500-Word (approximately 4-6 page) paper focused on the discourse around a film from before 1930. This research assignment will require that you
select a film from a period discussed in class. You may write about a (pre-1930) film that we watched clips of, but not one we screened. See the list of suggested films, along with links to streaming them on Kanopy, on the class Canvas site. You will find reviews, articles,
and advertisements from the time of the film’s original release in order to understand the way the film was marketed and received at the time. If you would like to write about a film
not on the list, please consult with your TA. Your paper should be informed by class
readings and lectures, your screening of the film, and your primary research on the film.
Bibliography Guidelines
• Bibliographies should be in a standard 12-point font with 1″ margins, and stapled.
• Your sources should be listed in a proper citation style (see below).
• Each citation should be followed by one to two sentences briefly describing the
contents of the source and its relevance to your film.
• You must attach printed copies of each of your sources.
• Bibliographies should have at least eight sources that are specifically focused on
your chosen film. We suggest that you find at least twelve, so some may be
eliminated if they are inadequate.
• The sources must be from within two years of the film’s release for American films,
and five years of release for international films.
• If your TA believes you do not have adequate sources, you will be asked to submit a
second draft of your bibliography. If you are requested to submit a second draft, you
will not receive full credit for this assignment until you do so.
Paper Guidelines
• Papers should be in a standard 12-point font, double-spaced, with 1″ margins, and
stapled.
• Papers need to be 1200-1500 words, which should run approximately 4-6 pages.
• Papers need to focus on one film and utilize at least eight archival sources.
• Papers must have a ‘works cited’ section at the end and proper citations throughout
when referencing sources.
• Papers should have a clear argument, presented in the introduction and reinforced
through the examples and analysis used throughout the rest of the paper.
• Papers need to be turned in on the due date (March 6th), both digitally and in hard
copy form.
RESEARCH AND BIBLIOGRAPHY INSTRUCTIONS
1. Select a film from the list on Canvas, as instructed by your TA. This list contains
direct access to the film on Kanopy, which you can access through your UCI library
account. If you would like to write about a film not on the list, you must get approval
from your TA. However, it must be a film produced before 1930.
a. You need to screen your film at least once, even if you’ve seen it before. It is
your responsibility to find a copy of your film to watch if it is not on Kanopy.
2. Research: You need to find written sources about your film from the time in which
they were produced and released. These may include film reviews, interviews with
the filmmakers, advertisements, or articles about the production in industry trades.
a. The best way to find these sources is through the Media History Digital
Library. You can access the search engine through: Lantern.mediahist.org.
b. Enter your film title in the Search box (in “quotes” may help if the title
includes common words), then narrow the years (on the left side) to two
years before and after the release year of your film.
c. Look through the results (do not just use the first eight that come up!). You
need to find a variety of sources. Eight advertisements or eight box office
reports is not good research. You should find a mix of ads, articles,
interviews, industry reports, and reviews.
d. When you find one that looks interesting, click “Read in Context.” This will
open the magazine, though the page may be wrong. You often have to flip
back a page or two to find the right one.
e. If you are not finding enough quality sources:
i. Try searching the star or director of your film.
ii. Focus on one of the ‘Collections’ such as ‘Fan Magazines’ or ‘Technical
Journals.’
iii. For international films, you will need to search up to five years after
the release year since they often take time to be released in the U.S.
3. Citation: When you find a source you want to use, you should download or take a
snapshot of it, as it will need to be included with your bibliography submission.
a. You then collect the citation information, including all of the following:
i. Article title
ii. Article author (there may not be one)
iii. Page number (If it’s not listed on the page, use a nearby page to
deduce the page number.)
iv. Periodical title (i.e. Daily Variety, Motion Picture News)
v. The date of publication (Likely at the top or bottom of the page.)
vi. The volume and issue number (You will likely need to flip to the
editorial page at the front of the periodical to find this.)
b. Sample Citation:
John Leezer, “To Be or Not to Be?” American Cinematographer II, no. 10
(May 12, 1921): 2.
or
Author, “Title” Periodical Name Volume, no. Issue (Date): Page Number.
4. Annotation: In your bibliography, you will then annotate each citation. This will
show that you have read your sources and know what they will add to your paper.
a. For Example: “This is a review of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari from a major
American trade paper aimed at exhibitors. It shows how American critics
liked but did not understand the film or its potential to connect with
audiences.”
b. In order to annotate properly, you need to know what publication you are
using. On the search listing, you can click on the periodical title, such as
“Motion Picture Daily.” This will take you to a page with “Book/Volume
Details.” At the bottom should be a “Description” that tells you about the
publication and its intended audience.
5. Submitting Your Bibliography: Your finished, printed bibliography needs to be
handed in to your TA at the beginning of Section on Friday, February 21st.
a. It must include:
i. A list of at least eight (we recommend 12) properly cited primary
sources.
ii. 1-2 sentence annotations under each source entry.
iii. Printed copies of each of the sources.
b. You will get your ‘graded’ bibliography back the next week. If your TA
determines that you did not include sufficient sources or adequate citations
you will be asked to resubmit your bibliography at least three days before
the final paper is due.
c. If your TA does not sign off on your bibliography, you will receive an F for
this assignment, which is 5% of your grade. If you do not turn in a
bibliography, you will get a zero for the assignment.
RESEARCH PAPER INSTRUCTIONS
1. Once your TA has signed off on your bibliography, you should use your sources and
annotations to write a 1200-1500 word paper which makes an argument about how
your chosen film was written about at the time it was made and released.
Write 1-2 sentence
2. You will devise a thesis (argument) about the discourse around the film. You will
use your research and your analysis of the film to support your thesis, drawing on
concepts encountered in class. Some questions you might consider:
• Was a particular genre or star a big part of the marketing?
• Was this a major, prestige film or a B production or an art film?
• Did the critics like the film? Did they think it would be successful?
• What films was it compared to? How was the film framed within the studio’s
output or the careers of the stars or director?
• Did audiences and/or fans like the film?
• Did the film do well at the box office?
3. You will organize your paper to present your argument and supporting evidence
clearly and authoritatively, with a proper introduction and conclusion. You may not
include everything that you have researched and noted about the film if it does not
work toward your thesis.
4. You will adhere to the guidelines above, not adding extra spaces between
paragraphs, large margins, excess block quotes, or subheadings to stretch your
length.
5. You should not do any research on your film outside of the primary materials
you identified for your bibliography. Most of these films have been written about a
lot in the last 100 years, but this assignment is only about how they were written
about when they were new!
Turning in Your Paper:
Your paper must be uploaded on Canvas, through the Assignment tab named “Research
Paper” before your Discussion Section on Friday, March 6th. You must also bring a printed
copy of your paper to section to turn in at the start of class. Late papers will receive a third
of a letter grade reduction for every day that they are late (a B becomes a B-, etc). The only
exceptions are documented family and health emergencies.
Academic Integrity:
Do not cheat. Do not plagiarize. Do not purchase papers, and do not hand in someone else’s
work. All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the university’s
policies on academic honesty, as well as knowing what constitutes cheating or plagiarism.
Any instance of cheating or plagiarism, intentional or not, will meet with university
sanctions.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this assignment, your first option is to ask your TA in
Discussion Section. It is likely that other students have the same questions and would like
to hear the response. If you want to talk about your particular film or research, you should
see your TA during their office hours. I am also happy to discuss your paper and film in
office hours.
Like all assignments, you will get as much out of this as you put into it!
make the research related to the question

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