Handout: Film Analysis

As you might guess, conducting a semiotic analysis of a film is a somewhat more complicated venture than conducting a semiotic analysis of a print advertisement. This is not to say, of course, that movies and advertisements do not share similarities. Both, for example, are "texts" that rely on visual imagery to tell specific stories, and both are in the business of promoting specific ideologies. At the same time, print advertisements are limited by the static nature of their medium. Film, on the other hand, is not a static medium, and thus its stories are much more complex. Analyzing a film, then, as our text relates, is much more like "reading a novel" (307). In short, analyzing a film requires you to take a careful look at the setting, plot, characters, dialogue, symbols, metaphors, archetypes, etc., as well as those factors that have an influence on the film, such as the social, historical, and political context in which the film was created.

STEPS FOR CONDUCTING A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF A FILM
Despite the differences between movies and advertisements, the goal of a semiotic analysis of a film is nonetheless the same as a semiotic analysis of an advertisement, namely to determine its current social significance. With than in mind, here is an expanded and modified version of the steps for conducting a semiotic analysis, tailored specifically to film:

1.) Establish the sign (film) to be decoded
2.) Set aside your opinion; your task is to analyze the current social significance
3.) Define/categorize the genre of the film; determine how the film fits that genre
4.) Outline "history" of genre, with reference to important films
5.) Explain how the film is both different and similar from other important films
6.) Discuss why these similarities and differences are important
7.) Determine what the sign means (analysis of setting, plot, characters, symbols, etc.)
8.) Discuss how the film represents its topic
9.) Sketch the overall context (historical, cultural, and political) in which the sign appears
10.) Develop a list of questions, concerns, and/or issues that will guide your analysis
11.) Develop a focus (thesis) statement

ASSIGNMENT
Using the steps for conducting a semiotic analysis of a film outlined above as the foundation for your argument, write a short, 200-300 word analysis of one of the following films: American History X, American Beauty, Crooklyn, or Mississippi Masala. Once completed, your analysis should be posted in the discussion forum under the conference folder entitled "Film Analysis."

Preparation for this assignment requires the following:

1.) Locating, renting, and watching the film
2.) Going through the steps for conducting a semiotic analysis of a film as outlined above

After completing the steps, your posting should include the following:

1.) A thesis statement
2.) A short but detailed description of the film
3.) An analysis of the film that includes some of the details/discoveries that you made while completing the steps