Required Paper: Social Psychology in the Movies

Due Date: Wednesday, July 5^th by the End of Class

(***Right after the Long Weekend***)

As a part of your grade for this class, you will be required to write a 3 page paper (typed, double-spaced, 12-point Times or equivalent font -- 1 inch margins all around). This is worth 20% of your final grade.

Do not include a cover page, and do not write your name on the front of your paper. Instead, write your social security number on the back of the last page. This is for your own protection against the potential for biased grading, so follow these instructions carefully. Failure to do so will result in a loss of points.

For this paper, you must analyze a movie according to a social-psychological theory (or theories) that appears in your textbook or in the lecture. You may choose whatever theory or theories you want from lecture or your textbook, and the subject of your analysis is also generally up to you. However, it will be a good idea for you to visit one of us during our office hours to get approval on your idea. This is especially important because if we are completely unfamiliar with what you want to analyze, then we will not be able to grade your paper, and you will thus end up without a grade. Do not let this happen to you. You must choose a movie from the following list:

1. Being John Malkovich 6. Summer of Sam

2. Boys Don’t Cry 7. Pretty Woman

3. American Beauty 8. Philadelphia

4. The Abyss 9. Fight Club

5. Shaft (old one) 10. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman

** All of these movies are rentable at most video stores, and possibly at one of the campus libraries. **

Your paper will be graded mostly on the depth and accuracy of your analysis. Hence, you should choose something that you will be able to analyze sufficiently in 3 pages. The biggest mistake people make with this assignment is trying to analyze too many theories in such a short paper; as a result, none of the theories is analyzed in sufficient detail. You should include 1) a brief summary of the movie to provide a context, 2) a brief summary of the relevant theory or theories, and 3) the application of the theory or theories to your movie (i.e., the analysis). There are many ways to go about this analysis: for example, you might explain how a particular theory predicts the outcome of the event, or the nature of a protagonist's response. Conversely, you might explain why the theory you have chosen would predict the opposite of the event that occurred. Or, you might pit two opposing theories against each other and explain why one of them predicted an outcome or a person's response better than the other did. Again, there are many ways in which you may go about this analysis. If you have any questions about an idea you have, please do not hesitate to ask us.

Your paper will also be graded on the creativity of your analysis and the quality of your writing style. A paper that is full of grammatical or spelling errors will not accepted (i.e., will not get a grade). I would like to suggest a very simple exercise that will dramatically improve the quality of the papers that we receive: read your paper (out loud is preferable) before you turn it in. Doing this will help you to catch many errors that you didn't notice while churning out your beautiful prose. Note: spell-checkers doughnut catch ever mistake ewe make.

Each day that the paper is late, for any reason, will automatically result in a deduction of ½ a letter grade. Printer problems, pet problems, and weather problems are not valid excuses, as you should be prepared to turn in your paper prior to 10 minutes before class. Also- ½ a letter grade will be deducted for each page over four pages. Do not make this a long paper. If you have questions, please talk to one of us.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun with this!