rect
Links to an external site.
Film Analysis Paper
When Harry Met Sally
This paper is an individual effort assignment, not a group assignment.
Be WARNED I HAVE TURNITIN. This is a program that checks for plagiarism. If your
document reports that is at least 35% percent plagiarized. Punitive measures will be
enacted.
Purpose
This paper will examine a film relationship and apply two interpersonal communication
theories from Chapters 8 and 9 of your textbook. The focus will be on the role of
communication in the development and maintenance of a relationship in a film of your
choice.
Directions
Your essay should include the following:
1. Introduction: In the introduction you should briefly describe the film you have
chosen and specifically the relationship(s) in the film that you will be
analyzing. Preview the main points of the paper (which theories or model you
will be using to analyze the film) and the role that communication generally
played in the success or failure of this relationship.
2. Choose one of the theories (or model) of relational development from
Chapter 8, briefly describe the theory/model and discuss how your film
illustrates the ideas from this theory or model. Provide examples from the
film (describe a scene and/or use short excerpts of dialogue) to illustrate your
points. Explain why you think this theory best explains the way the
relationship developed. Theories from this chapter include:
○ Attraction Theory
○ Uncertainty Reduction Theory
○ Social Penetration Theory
○ Knapp’s Stage Model of Relational Development
3. Choose one of the theories of relational maintenance from Chapter 9
and discuss how your film illustrates the theory. In this section of the
paper, you should describe the theory briefly and show how the theory you
have chosen best explains the way the characters in the film maintain (or do
not maintain) the relationship, using examples from the film to illustrate your
argument. Theories from this chapter include:
○ Social Exchange Theory
○ Communication Privacy Management Theory
○ Everyday Talk
○ Relational Dialectics
4. Conclusion: Briefly summarize the main points of your paper and explain
how these theories provided some insight into the role of communication in
the development and maintenance of the relationship(s) you examined in the
film.
5. Note: This paper is NOT just a review or summary of the film. Do not
include large sections of dialogue. The focus should be the relational
communication theories and how they apply to the film relationship, using
examples (scene descriptions or short quotes) to illustrate the theory/model.
The paper should meet the following requirements:
1. 3 to 4 typed pages, 1-inch margins, 12 pt non-decorative font (Times New
Roman, Arial), no cover page
2. Cite your sources (including the textbook) using MLA
3. Links to an external site.
4. or APA
5. Links to an external site.
6. formatting
7. Save your essay as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx) with your last name
and the assignment name as the title (ex: jsmith-IPfilmpaper.doc).
8. You may choose any film you like but keep in mind that some films (like action
movies) may not have a lot of dialogue between characters and would limit
your ability for analysis. Some films that might be better for this assignment
and are available for free include:
○ Spanglish
○ Links to an external site.
○ (2004)
