University of South Florida Acculturation in Crazy Rich Asians Essay

Description

This is an assignment that asks you to reflect on diversity by conducting an analysis of a film or of a television series of your choice. The purpose is to understand how media represent the coming together of interpersonal relationships. The specific purpose is to challenge the dominant representation of relationship formation in film, deriving from everyday lived experiences. For instance, one might find discrepancies in the ways traditional Hollywood cinema depicts romantic relationship compared to the messy-ness of everyday experiences with a significant other.

In order to give yourselves a chance to reflect upon this, you will need to find a recent film or television series that has been critically acclaimed. Also, make sure to find a film or a television series that you feel comfortable analyzing with a critical lens.

Considerations for a successful analysis:

Select a critically acclaimed film or television series that depicts a relationship between friends, family members, romantic partners, colleagues, etc.

Watch the assigned film once in its entirety, taking notes on the most salient themes. For instance, watching the first season of the U.S. version of the series The Office, I would highlight the relationship between colleagues, the tensions that arise and reasons for these tensions, the development into romantic relationships, the lack of diversity in representation, the use of sarcasm to challenge issues of diversity, etc.

Watch your selected piece of media a second time by altering the viewing. For instance, you may want to ask someone close to you to watch it with you, or to watch it without sound, etc.

Make sure to take additional notes, this time by focusing on everything else but the dialogue. For instance, you might notice the use of lighting, the movement of cameras, the absences from the frame, the mise en scene, or montage. At this point, you should be able to connect some themes together.

Finally, watch your selected piece of media a third time, with subtitles (if possible). During this last part, you should transcribe selected passage in the film necessary for your analysis.

Consider the following questions throughout the process:

How did this relationship change throughout the film?

How did it progress and/or regress?

What specific scenes, comments, and/or interpersonal interactions illustrate the changes this relationship endured?

What role did specific issues of cultural diversity play in this?

Steps for successful completion of the assignment:

Compile all of the notes you have taken throughout, and gather outside research/resources about the film/television series. For instance, you might start looking up film analysis conducted on the topic, or on the media artefact itself.

Consider how issues of class, race, religion, nationality, and/or sexuality are being portrayed (or not) in the film and how do scholars in the filed of communication address these issues in representation. This analysis should help you to better grasp the complexities in understanding culture, language, and identity.

Begin to connect specific concepts from the text to relational communication events that occur in real life and showcase diversity and its tensions.

Requirements:

In three to five pages (bibliography and title page not included), write an analysis paper that explores and explains this onscreen relationship.

You may use concepts about Interpersonal Communication as relevant

Use specific quotes and examples from the film to support your claims.

Use clear headings where appropriate. Do not forget to include an introduction and a conclusion.

You are required to cite at least five references from peer-reviewed sources (academic journal articles, books, book chapters, etc.).

To ensure success in the course, don't forget to check out this rubricPreview the document before submitting your paper.