Instructions: Choose a short documentary or animated film or experimental film from
the following series. Try to choose one where you can raise substantive questions about
the evolution of documentary form or film form in general. These are suggestions of the
most prominent films and the ones that may have something written about them. You
are free to choose ones not on the list.
You are expected to do additional research which might include some of the essays
listed in the Recommended Reading section of your course outline. Use, at minimum,
three different sources, employing proper citations (ie Chicago or MLA style listing the
author and date in the body of the essay). (Mitchell, 2004, p.4 ) and then include the full
citation in your complete bibliography.
The aim is to write a critical essay, one that successfully integrates a theoretical or
conceptual question with detailed analysis of the formal and thematic properties of the
film. Your theoretical or conceptual question should derive from your careful reading of
select secondary sources.
For example: In Projecting Canada, Zoe Druick argues that many NFB films might be read
in relation to the concept of ‘governmentality’ as each, in many different ways, embodied
a mission that would train, discipline and educate the Canadian citizen so as to fulfill
various governmental objectives. XXX perfectly embodies Druick’s assertion because
… or XXX might be seen as a strong exception to Druick’s assertion because…
Another conceptual frame might include the debates around Challenge for Change
where some writers (Marchessault and MacKenzie) argue that the avowed rationale for
the series—handing over the means of representation to the people—was never as fully
realized as the myths around the series would have us believe.
Rationale for Choosing the Film: Why did you choose this film, what appeals to
you about this particular film or set of films?
Production Context: Begin with a discussion of the production context, what
period, what studio, any information you can garner on the director. How is this film
significant in the evolution of war or post war Studio practices at the NFB ? How is the
film’s approach influenced by the historic concerns of its time of production (war versus
post war). How does the film fulfill (or subvert) the Griersonian mandate of
‘interpreting Canada to Canadians?’
Formal Treatment and Style: Describe the overall structure, story, and formal
approach of the film. Elements you might consider here are the use (or not) of voice
over narration, talking head interviews, synch sound versus narration, colour versus
black and white, poetic versus propaganda, impressionistic versus rhetorical. Does the
film have a political or social intent, how does it communicate that intent?How does the
formal treatment repeat or depart from the propaganda films of the 1940s?
Close Sequence Analysis: Conduct a close sequence analysis that supports your
argument. Choose one or two sequences and provide a close reading of these, linking
your reading to the film’s intent and overall formal and aesthetic approaches.
Evolving Mandate: How does the film fit into the evolving mandate of the NFB?
How does it differ from other films produced at the NFB, eg. the war propaganda films.
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