Your task is to identify what philosophical question the film is raising or responding to (there could be multiple possibilities), explain the film’s approach/position/ contribution to the question including a reference to one of the film’s formal elements, and then explore and reflect on that question yourself as it applies to your life, including making one reference to the reading.
In your first paragraph, clearly identify the philosophical question the film is raising or dealing with–state it clearly!
In the first part of the reflection, spend some time explaining how you came to that conclusion–show how the question is suggested in the film with direct example/s of the formal element/s of film (camerawork, sound, narrative, etc.) — at least one formal element should be mentioned.
In the next and longest part of the reflection, conduct your own exploration of the philosophical question and/or position on a question raised in the film–think it through yourself and wonder how it applies to your life/contemporary society, try to come up with multiple viewpoints or responses, see what insights it gives you, etc.
Make sure you include a reference to a reading(will add a file of this reading below)
A bit more detail on what to include:
1. Basic task and organization. The reflection will focus on philosophy in the film: either a philosophical question the film deals with/raises, or a point of view the film is presenting or getting us to think about in response to a philosophical question.
Think about the film in a philosophical way (what questions does it deal with or get you to ask about human life, meaning, value, and experience?) Think about how the reading/s for the day relate to the film and help you to see its philosophical point or questions.
You may want to focus directly on a question that the film raises. If so, explain how you see the question being raised, and then spend the reflection ruminating on that question, using the tools of the film and readings where you can, to do so.
You may want to focus on a position the film takes/ seems to take in response to a possible philosophical question. If so, explain the question and how you see the film taking a position on it. Then, spend the reflection ruminating on that position, or the question itself, using the tools of the film and readings where you can, to do so.
2. Your explanation must make specific reference to at least one formal element of the film in justifying the claim you are making about the film’s question or position. (narrative, mise en scene, cinematography, acting, editing, sound)
Don’t make your reader guess here-state clearly which formal element/s helped you find the question the film is dealing with.
3. Your exploration must explore new terrain–Explore the issue/question, don’t simply “answer” it. It needs to be clear that the reading-film-discussion-thinking process has gotten you into some new thinking that has some depth rather than shallowness. How to do this?
Do not simply recycle previously held opinions without really thinking about them. Ask yourself a new question, or to give reasons for what you think, and really analyze them to see if they are good. Take up an opposing position or ask what it has going for it. Or, ask yourself what various words might mean. If you ask a question, don’t just
“write” it–you have to respond to it and lay out your thought process. Ask what the key terms in a question might mean. Or, answer it one way, and see what that implies–what happens when you give a certain answer? Why does it matter? Do you think the question has one answer in some cases, and another in different contexts? Or, ask how the question might apply to particular contexts that might differ. In short, really push yourself into the meat of the issues surrounding a question.
4. At least once, refer to a significant point in the reading that relates to the film, and incorporate it into your exploration. Be precise here–give the author’s last name and/ or the title of the reading so your referent is clear. Make sure you accurately express the point, and that it is not overly general (i.e. it should be clear you read and understood the point). If you directly quote, make sure you cite the page number in parentheses.
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