Manuals for writing thesis with films as subject

The following regualtions apply to writing this type of thesis.
1. Types of films
a. Any kind of film is permitted as long as they are using English as the language of communication Students may analyze films that are not based or take the setting of English as the background. For example. Slumdog Millionaire (India), Gladiator (Roman empire), Lord of the Rings, and Wizard of Oz (fictitious setting), etc.
b. Films, which are dubbed or subtitled in English cannot be used as a subject of analysis.

2. How to Approach the research subject.
a. A film should be treated as a text although it does not appear in printed form*. ((see the expalantions).
b. Students have to consider the approach to be used in analyzing the movies prior to the analysis.
c. Theoretical background may be adapted from either single or multi disciplinary approach such as literary, historical, psychological, or political approach.* (see the expalantions).
d. Students are expected to focus on analyzing the following areas:
1. The content of the film in terms of:
a. Historical background* (see the expalantions).
b. Psychological analysis* (see the expalantions).
c. Popular culture analysis * (see the expalantions).
d. Characters and their representation
e. Representation of social conditions* (see the expalantions).
f. Values and norms of the movie’s cultural context.
2. The language of the movie for example:
a. Linguistic features used
b. Discourse analysis
c. Cultural values expressed in the language (eg. Non standard, vernacular, formality, etc.)
d. Translation
e. Closed captioning

Explanations:
A. Films as part of literary and culture
The justification for studying film may be supported by this quote from Hall (2001):

“… not only the methodologies of textual analysis but also the definitions of ‘text’ have proliferated dramatically in recent years. Today, literary and cultural critics examine not only poetry, drama, and fiction but also texts as diverse as film, advertising, political prose, sub-urban shopping malls, and literary and cultural theory itself. Students should always be guided by their instructors regarding what constitutes an acceptable text for analysis in a given course or project, but certainly the field of literary and cultural studies today is an expansive one. New forms of literary and cultural analysis encourage innovative thinking and dense sociopolitical inquiry, as long as the text itself provides evidence that can be used to support generalizations and defend a well-articulated thesis” (Hall, 2001:p. 4)
The quotation above states that what is considered as text in literary and cultural research can be something outside prose, poetry and drama (for example: advertisement, film, political speech, comics, etc.
The definition of “text” in cultural contexts is based on two important definitions: Culture and Sign (See Thwaites, Davis and Mules, 1995).
“Culture is the ensemble of social processes by which meanings are produced, circulated and exchanged” (p. 1)
“A sign is anything which produces meanings” (p. 7)
“A text is a combination of signs” (p. 67)
“Obvious types of texts are a sentence someone writes or a fashion outfit someone wears. Each of these texts has paradigmatic and syntagmatic features. The words and clothes can be thought of as signs, and they join together to form a verbal text and a fashion text” (p. 67)
The word ‘text’ may be seen as: “…looking at literature or text as cultural and historical phenomena and to investigate the conditions of their production and reception” (Klarer, 1999:p.2)

Based on the explanation above, students are supposed to focus on writing films in the form of textual analysis, which focus on the content of the movie. Therefore, non textual features in films such as technical features (lighting, sets, camera angles, cinematography, sound, visual effects, editing, shot types, etc.) are not part of the analysis.

B. Psychological analysis
Students may employ psyhological analysis for analyzing the characters in the movie. But students should focus only on psychological phenomenon of the movie (such as the relationship between the characters, the psychological theme), and NOT cover clinical psychological analysis.

C. Popular culture analysis
Think Outside the Box!
These are the elements that students can consider in analyzing films.
1. Genre: what “kind” of movie is it, and how do you know? What can you learn from the film’s genre? Think a bit about the norms and limitations of its genre. When you view the film, you can then consider how these limitations are obeyed or stretched. For example, Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven is a western that challenges its genre’s typical notions of good guy vs. bad guy. Knowing how this dynamic plays itself out in other westerns helps you to understand and to appreciate Eastwood’s accomplishment.
2. The history and the production history of the film. All films are deeply involved in history: they reflect history, influence history, have history. A film like Gone With the Wind not only tells a story of the South during the Civil War, but (more importantly) it reflects the values and ideas of the culture that produced it, and so can be understood as an historical document. It will also be interesting if you can find out anything about the conditions under which the film was made. All films are part of the cultural history. They derive from and contribute to historical events. War films, for example, take their substance from historical events. They also influence those events – by influencing wartime audiences to rally behind the troops, or to protest them.
3. The ideology of the film. It’s important to remember that even films whose purpose is to entertain may be promoting or even manipulating our feelings about a certain set of values. Independence Day, for example, is entertaining partly because it plays on the audience’s feelings of American superiority and “never say die.” An analysis of the film benefits from a consideration of these values, and how they are presented in the film.
4. Other “Critical” aspects of the film (moral, social, gender, economic issues, etc)

D. Linguistics Features analysis
Films can be analyzed through its linguistic features such as:
1. Semiotics. (signs and Codes)
2. Icons, Symbol
3. Narrative (language used in the films)

Writing Tips
In many ways, writing a paper about a film is no different from writing other kinds of papers. You need to focus on your topic, write a good thesis sentence, settle on a structure, write clear and coherent paragraphs, and tend to matters of grammar and style.
In other ways, however, writing a paper about film has some challenges of its own. We’ve collected a few tips here:
1. What do the critics and scholars say? Reading what others have said about the film before you see it may help you to focus your observations.
2. Don’t simply summarize the film. Your lecturers have seen the film; you don’t need to recount the plot to them. They are looking for analysis, not summary.
3. Avoid the “I.” It’s too easy to slip into a subjective “reviewer’s” stance when you use the “I” in your criticism. Try to find a more objective way of beginning your sentences than “I found” or “I feel.”