you will need to move beyond summarizing (or paraphrasing) and to analyze the texts under discussion. You are more likely analyzing than summarizing when you organize your essay conceptually rather than according to the sequence of events in the text. You are also more likely analyzing when you are using concepts (and terms) that we have discussed (or will soon discuss) such as models of disability (religious/symbolic, biomedical, social, and biocultural), impairment, ocularcentrism, the Fries Test, and spread effect.
Topic:
Screening Disability—Consistent with the “and Culture’ part of our course title, select and analyze a film or television program that presents disability or disabled characters. You cannot assume that your reader has seen the film or television program you will be analyzing; consequently, you will need to include a brief synopsis. Limit that synopsis to no more than one and a half pages. Just as you would closely analyze passages in an essay about a short story or novel, you should closely analyze important scenes in your chosen film or program. You could use the minute and second time stamp to identify those scenes in parenthetical citations. Drawing upon concepts that we have used thus far this semester, formulate a thesis about how the film or program presents or uses disability or disabled characters. Use at least some of those concepts in your analysis. Regarding stereotypes or reductive, limiting disability types, you may find and report that the film avoids those stereotypes or types and presents a more constructive disability representation.
Analysis vs. Review: Reviews of newly released films are often written to express whether the critic like or disliked the film and to suggest whether readers will want to see it. Instead, here you will be analyzing the film or program as a cultural artifact or artwork.
Possible Alternative Audience: Imagine that you have been called upon as a disability consultant by producers interested in remaking or rebooting the film or television program you have selected. Report to them your assessment of disability representation in the original film or program and, if you wish, recommend changes or revisions based on your assessment.
*** please include an introductory paragraph with a theis statementand a reflection paragraph.
