– Consult reviews (such as those at http://koreanfilm.org/) to decide on a
film you’d like to watch;
– Check out the Korean Film Archive channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/KoreanFilm)
– View one of the extra films streaming via the course website;
– Use other streaming services to view a film.
Analyze the film in 750-1000 words, taking a point of view and defending it through analysis of elements of content, style, and/or meaning. The review should include:
– Facts (film title, director, year, etc.);
– Character and plot summary: these are necessary (as Corrigan writes, “a review aims at the broadest possible audiencewith no special knowledge of film” [7]), but in our case should be the shortest portion of the review, giving the reader only what is necessary to understand the subsequent analysis. Reviews that consist primarily of plot summary will be graded down;
– Important moment or idea in the film: one way to focus your thinking is to select a key moment, idea, scene, quotation, symbol, etc. from the film and center your analysis on this;
– Analysis and evaluation: the bulk of the review lies here. Take a point of view on the film, discuss elements of content and/or form that support your position, and conclude with a critique of the film (whether positive, negative, or ambivalent). As Corrigan tells us, “[w]hen you write about film, personal opinion and taste will necessarily become part of your argument.” No reader, however, “will be satisfied with a writer who uses his [or her] personal opinions to avoid or disguise a solid critical position” (13).
