Submit the following in a single PDF document:
(1) A thesis statement that justifies the need for your bibliography/filmography. A good thesis statement invites you (and the reader) to explore the topic further. It should not be self-evident but rather testable (think hypothetical thesis–aka hypothesis) and even provocative. A thesis statement at its best pushes towards the invention of new knowledge and ways of understanding a topic. The key takeaway here is that it must also require research–hence the need for your bibliography.
See the sample thesis statements on the next page to begin exploring your own interests and ideas. Be creative and have fun with this. Explore a question you want to answer. You should start with the thesis statement and let that direct your development of the bibliography/filmography.
(2) A bibliography/filmography with at least 3-5 journals or books cited, and 5-10 films that will help explore your thesis.
See the samples in this module, and be sure to format your bibliography in MLA (instructions provided in this module).
THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE. This is an abbreviated example shared with permission from a current student in our class. It is another representative example of how to construct a thesis and find supporting materials to make the case.
Thesis Statement:
This study examines how institutional racism, gender bias, and economic disparities within Hollywood’s film industry contribute to the underrepresentation and misrecognition of Black performers, exemplified by the #OscarsSoWhite movement, ultimately revealing the myth of meritocracy in film recognition.
Select Bibliography:
Chattoo, Caty. Borum. “Oscars so white: Gender, racial, and ethnic diversity and social issues in
U.S. documentary films (2008–2017).” Mass Communication and Society, vol. 2, no. 3,
2018.
Erigha, Maryann. “On the margins: Black directors and the persistence of racial inequality in
twenty-first century Hollywood.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 41, no. 7, 2015.
Erigha, Maryann. “Race, gender, Hollywood: Representation in cultural production and digital
media’s potential for change.” Sociology Compass, vol. 9, no. 1, 2015.
Erigha, Maryann. The Hollywood Jim Crow: The radical politics of the movie industry. New York
University Press, 2019.
Gooding, Frederick W. Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell
Us about African Americans. Rowman & Littlefield, 2023.
Select Filmography:
Gone with the Wind, Victor Fleming (1939) *
Pinky, Elia Kazan (1949)
Carmon Jones, Otto Preminger (1954)
The Defiant Ones, Stanley Kramer (1958)
Imitation of Life, Douglas Sirk (1959)
Lilies of the Field, Ralph Nelson (1963) *
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Stanley Kramer (1967)
The Reivers, Mark Rydell (1969)
The Great White Hope, Martin Ritt (1970)
Lady Sings the Blues, Sidney J. Furie (1927
FILMS YOU CAN USE:
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/k2w0E11jX
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/PjMmwVVp4
https://video.alexanderstreet.com/p/qQ2nX98ny
