For my paper, I would like to look at Wes Craven’s Scream (1996) as an underappreciated film in modern cinema. The film belongs to one of the most overlooked and underappreciated genres of film: horror. I would like to further analyze the intertextuality of the film and how it influences the film,  the way in which the film “learns” from the genre conventions of previous horror films, and the influence of the film not only on 21st century horror film but other genres as well.

I am one of the stuck students on my research topic. I narrowed it down to the general topic of “nostalgia” and I want to specifically focus on brand recognition remakes and revivals like Robocop, Ghostbusters and Star Wars franchise. I want to use Svetlana Boym’s “Nostalgia and it’s discontent” essay because I like her description of restorative nostalgia; restoring things as they were, which franchises like Star Wars and Jason Bourne tried to capture. The problem I have is being more specific with the topic and my argument within the topic. I want to discuss reflective nostalgia; reflects on what has been, and the possibility of a film property to have done it. Trying to find the scholarly sources that could support that argument or just speak of the topic besides siting Boym is what is getting me stuck.

Ronald Iniego

For my research paper I have decided to write about French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s film, Sicario (2015); a film in which I believe underappreciated by the masses. This film follows an idealistic FBI agent enlisted by the US government to join a task force to bring down a powerful leader of the Mexican drug cartel, all the while keeping the agent in the dark for most of the operation and employing tactics that many would argue unethical and inhumane.

This film explores historically on what is happening in Mexico right now and the current war on drugs with America and Mexico. Essentially this film exhibits themes of Americanism, the influence and entity the western world has on other countries, the corruption and war on drugs found on the billion-dollar drug trade along the US and Mexico border, centering around a ‘moral gray’ area, and the ideology of what is right and wrong. This film is also a tribute to the more well known films of its day, Citizen Kane and Psycho. I will be discussing everything I mentioned  in greater detail in the research paper.

• Anar Rahman

For my research essay I would like to make a case for The Handmaiden directed by Park Chan Wook. The relationship between queer female characters and live action fiction is a rocky one, filled with premature deaths and tragic endings. Queer female characters in the specific genre of horror is no exception. The number of queer female characters who make it to the end of a horror film are few and far between; lessening when narrowed down to lead characters. The Handmaiden, released in 2016, was a refreshing change from the “psycho lover” queer women stereotype and was filmed with a comparably higher budget than the majority of queer led horror. It also accomplished the goal of feeling like a love story set in a horror movie rather than a horror movie with a love story subplot. Something that fans of the novel, Fingersmith by Sarah Smith, were worried of when they heard the film would be a loose adaption of the beloved novel. In my paper I will explore The Handmaiden‘s place in redefining the queer female character arc, it’s reception and inclusion on numerous highly praised critic lists, like Roger Ebert, and closely examine the relationship between the film and similar ones before and after its release. My sources will include:

Uninvited: Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability by Patricia White

“Vampires,Psychics, and Ghosts: A Look at Queer women in Horror” by Sara Century

And many others from sites such as AfterEllen.

A reminder that you should post a short, 1-paragraph proposal describing the focus of your final research paper by the end of the day. If you’re feeling stuck: Feel free to say so, and to use your paragraph to describe a general topic area that you’d like to refine and develop. The purpose of posting these ideas “in public” is to allow you to receive feedback from me and your classmates at a very early stage in your writing and research process—the kind of input scholars always seek out.

I’m also including some very general guidelines (below) to help you move from broad topic areas toward more narrowly defined and researchable questions. Because this is only a 6-7 page paper, it is especially important that you think about how you will constrain your topic so that it’s not “too big,” and to consider how you will organize your essay (so, for instance, think about whether you will work with one main film/case study or several examples). Finally, you’ll want to make sure you think about how your essay will add to existing  scholarship on the topic—so do some preliminary research to see what’s been written, and what particular angle or fresh perspective you can bring to the subject. Use the “resources for writing” links on the right-hand side of the blog, or even Google Scholar, to get started.

Resource: From Topics into Questions

For my final research paper, I have chosen to discuss the work of director Ingmar Bergman. The Swedish director became known as an auteur through his existential films, like the Seventh Seal (1957), Persona(1966), and Wild Strawberries(1957). Bergman comes from the same era of art house cinema similar to that of Michelangelo Antonioni the director of Blow-up (1966). However, unlike the narrative of Blow-up, Bergman’s style explores characters through philosophical themes of mortality and identity unlike any other director discussed throughout the semester. Furthermore, Bergman does not shy away as a writer and uses dialogue as a tool to enhance story. Historically, Bergman has influenced directors like Woody Allen.

In my paper I will examine Bergman’s films and how unique he revealed the human condition to audiences. Bergman elevated the level of film to tell a story as good as a play. I plan to incorporate directors who have been influenced by Bergman and his films. I also plan to learn what encouraged Bergman to tell stories of such philosophical importance. The foreign director reached critical acclaim through his unique screenplays.  Bergman incorporated Hollywood narrative tools like voice over to emphasize the existential issues people face. Similar to another director studied this semester known as Rainer Fassbinder who utilized melodrama, Bergman does the same. Bergman dramatizes the lives of his characters with burning questions about the nature of life. Further, Bergman created his own genre of movies that includes any audience from any time period.  Lastly, Bergman acknowledged a time of self reflection needed in film.

For my research paper I am interested in looking into Sci Fi film as a genre and evolutionary form of film making particularly within the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s.  Over the course of our class we have looked at a range of genre’s and will be viewing Children of Men; but among the dramas, noirs and war films I feel Sci Fi belongs as an important idea in pushing film forward.  During the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s I feel there was a big boom for the industry because of Sci Fi film being able to take the audience to entirely new worlds because of steps forward in technology and films like  2001 A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Alien, Blade Runner… Looking at ideas about looking towards the future and exploring topics literally out of this world how Sci Fi film brought film into modern pop culture and created generations of obsessive science fiction fans and film series.  What historically pushed directors to make such films of escapism and what drew the viewers to them; how has Sci Fi film remained so important and shaped todays ideas about movie experience.

For my final paper,I have decided to write about Sean Baker’s Tangerine, a 2015 film that follows a transgender sex worker, and gives us a peek into the world of sex work in the trans community. The film explores themes of transphobia, infidelity, drugs, and the sex industry. It was shot entirely on 3 iPhone 5s’s. The film brings awareness and although is written in a comedic style, talks about very serious issues in the trans community. I believe it is under appreciated in the world of film and should be discussed far more.