Write a research paper discussing the film “Daughters of the Dust”
A selection of films to choose from for Director Julie Dash
Julie Dash, race, cinematography
1. Daughters of the Dust
2. Illusions
3. The Rosa Parks Story (TV movie)
Each individual research paper must discuss at least one film of the list above. It needs to be 1750 words min, 2500 words max, double-spaced, 12pt font, times new roman. Pick a cool title and center it. Use numbered end notes and be sure to include a Bibliography of sources that you have cited.
Must use a minimum of 3 sources and a maximum of 5 (books, journal articles, newspaper articles. NO WEBSITES. NO RANDOM BLOGS.)Your films do NOT count as a source.
Instructor’s words:
To get started on the paper, I would start watching a couple of the films from your director from the list, and think about what you see. Are there any patterns or motifs? Any recurring themes? Do your director use any particular cinematographic, editing, mise en scene, sound, or narrative device frequently? Did something in one of your director’s films really intrigue you? Make you angry? Make you smile? Confuse you? Why not try to formulate a research question around that reflection, then see what the literature says by finding a few articles about your director (or perhaps books, in some cases). When was your director’s heyday? What was happening in the world at that time (WWII? Vietnam? Prohibition? Great Depression? L.A Riots? Civil Rights Act? Production Code Changes? CGI and 3D overtaking the screens? Screenwriters strike? Mobile cameras introduced? Smartphones?)? How does the political, industrial, social, economic era impact how your director’s films were made, distributed or exhibited? What are your director’s other films like in comparison, contrast? Is your director starting, continuing, or bucking contemporary trends? These are all great questions to ask yourself in order to formulate a research question, and then turn that research question into a thesis statement for your paper.