Contextualize and discuss “Asphalt as an example of Weimar cinema”, incorporating analysis of the film.
The Film: Asphalt (Joe May, 1929) 90”
Research and situate the film in context, paying attention to historical, industrial and national/cultural factors.
Generate an essay title that conveys the particular angle or focus of your contextual discussion, e.g. –
• ‘A Contextual Discussion of Asphalt (Joe May, 1929) and the Weimar ‘Street Film’ Figure of the Dangerous Woman’
OR
• ‘The Influence of European Cinematic Styles on British Cinema in the 1920s: An Analysis of A Cottage on Dartmoor (Anthony Asquith, 1929)’
TIPS:
Formulate a title that conveys the subject matter of your essay and the scope of your enquiry.
State your argument early in the essay:
Be sure before you choose your topic and devise your title that you will have sufficient access to necessary research materials to be able to complete the essay.
The following volumes are good starting points for initial pointers on a research topic. But they should be considered starting points only. You should conduct and incorporate your own wider research beyond the course materials, and beyond these recommendations:
Cook, David, A. A History of Narrative Film, Third Edition. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Grieveson, Lee and Peter Kramer, eds. The Silent Cinema Reader. London and New York: Routledge, 2004.
Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey, ed. The Oxford History of World Cinema. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Thompson, Kristin and David Bordwell. Film History: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1994