Phil 326: Philosophy and Film (Vailati)

First paper topic

Choose either 1 or 2 below

1. Analyze Devi either in terms of the relation between faith and reason or in terms of the notion of autonomy.

2. Analyze Amarcord in the light of the notion of infantilism.

A successful paper must:

• provide a reasoned, one to two pages (maximum) long summary of the movie.
• analyze the movie in the light of the readings. This requires making reference to specific episodes in the movie and to specific ideas in the readings by way of page references.
• refer, when appropriate, to other movies in the course.

A detailed analysis of a scene especially relevant to your interpretation is welcome but not required. For an example of a detailed analysis, you may look at the one provided for The Seventh Seal.

• In general, a good paper cannot be written without watching the movie more than once.  Most of the movies are available in the library; unfortunately, they must be viewed in the library (no borrowing).  The US movies are often rather widely availbale for rental. However, it may be a good idea to borrow or buy the movies your are writing your papers on.
• My on-line analyses of the movies should give you some sense of what I'm looking for. Of course, your papers should be more detailed than my on-line accounts.
• You are encouraged to give me rough drafts of your paper. Keep in mind that I can return them with significant comments only if: i) it is given to me at least one week before the papers are due; ii) it is written reasonably clearly. Rough drafts consisting only of disjointed paragraphs or, worse, mere paragraph headings cannot be properly evaluated. You may turn in your rough draft as many times as you like, compatibly with the above requirements. My reading a student's rough draft of a paper does not entail that the paper, even if my comments are considered, will get a "B" or an "A." Often a paper must be revised more than once to become good.

For length and due date see the sylllabus.