SDCC Parasite Movie Analysis Essay

One assumption that drives a sociological film analysis is that popular culture is inherently political. The content that we consume in our leisure time is formed by its historical context, and this means that every piece of popular culture we encounter has sociological meaning.

For this assignment, choose one fictional movie from the list below. Based on this movie, you will either write an essay that is about 3-4 pages, double spaced (about 1000 words) 

Movie Options

Parasite

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Queen & Slim

Smoke Signals

Brokeback Mountain

Stepford Wives (more recent version)

Critical watching, or “reading” a film

Critical watching means doing the opposite of what we tend to do when watch film and TV: paying close attention to how it is constructed. This is often referred to as “reading” a film, because you are applying the same kinds of critical thinking skills to the film as you would to a written text. When you watch critically, you are making connections between the content of the film and sociological knowledge. 

How to do critical watching

Watch the film that you have chosen at least twice, and take detailed notes with each viewing. Between your first and second viewing, make a list of questions to answer during your second viewing. I have included a list of Essential questions below, which you might tailor to the film on which you are writing. Your key task is to make connections between the film and course material. 

As you watch the film, base your notes on the following items:

• Identify the key events of the narrative. What are the meanings of these events with respect to the protagonist’s biography, historical era, and the social conditions? 
• Based on these narrative events, how would you describe the ideology governing the world of the film? Is it critical of structural conditions like economic inequality, policing practices, heteronormativity, etc? 
• You’ll need examples to support your analysis of the film’s political message, such as narrative events, quotes, and visual cues from the film.