LIT 229 Mapping Myth in Film Essays Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

This activity is designed to assess your ability to identify themes, symbols, and motifs that are common to myths within the American cultural context. You should watch your film and take notes.  But do not attempt to complete your mapping questions until you receive your Module content in Module Five.  You will select one of the films listed below as the focus of your “essays”:

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The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming	The Fountain, directed by Daniel Aronofsky
Star Wars, directed by George Lucas	Blood Diamond, directed by Edward Zwick
The Truman Show, directed by Peter Weir	The Lord of the Rings, directed by Peter Jackson
The Piano, directed by Jane Campion	Ondine, directed by Neil Jordan
Water, directed by Deepa Mehta	Cloud Atlas, directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski
Smoke Signals , directed by Chris Eyre	Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Elizabeth, directed by Shekhar Kapur	If you would like to map a film not listed here, you may do so upon instructor approval.

In this paper you will fully address all five of the following mapping question prompts about your selected film:

1. Comprehension: List the details of the film: title, director, writer, year, actors/characters, genre, and plot summary. Feel free to use IMDB.com to obtain this information, but the plot summary should be in your own words.

Example:

Title: The Fisher King

Director: Terry Gilliam

Writer: Richard LaGravenese

Year: 1991

Stars: Jeff Bridges (Jack Lucas), Robin Williams (Parry)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Plot Summary: A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake.

2. Identify: Myth(s)/mythological material: Explain what myth(s) or mythological material the film contains in terms of their mythological name and function.

Example: In The Fisher King, there are several key characters that fulfill various roles. Parry’s character assumes the roles of “the Fool,” the “Knight Errant” and the “Helper.” Jack’s character is clearly “the Fisher King,” and Lydia is “the Virgin.” The character of Anne functions as “the Goddess.”

3. Assess: Briefly list several predominant symbols and their meaning

Example: There are several predominant symbols or motifs. The cup is equivalent to “the grail.” As stated previously, Lydia is “the virgin.” The “marionette” serves as Jack’s false self, one of the “bungled and the botched.” The fire functions as the “king’s wound.” The Red Knight represents Parry’s psychic wound and shadow. The video store serves as a repository of “mythic fragments.”

4. Categorize: Briefly list predominant allusion(s) to other myths or mythic material

Example: In this film there are several allusions. Specifically, we see an allusion to The Wizard of Oz in the fire scene. Jack’s use of the Nietzsche quotation is a direct allusion, of course. Less obvious, perhaps, is the allusion to Michelangelo’s The Pietà in the hospital scene where Jack is holding the wounded man.

5. Summarize: Briefly summarize the mythological meaning of the film

Example: Like the grail in the Fisher King myth, the film demonstrates that the sacred is always present. Unfortunately, our perception of it is often lacking. Whether it is the virgin Lydia whom Parry is too fearful to approach, the strange man Lydia is too fearful to love, the love that Jack takes for granted in Anne, or the friendship that emerges between Jack and Parry, the missing element is perception brought about by loss. Yet perception is gained anew after the heroic journey.

Format

Each essay response must be approximately two to five sentences with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and 1-inch margins. Any necessary citations must use MLA format; refer to your Course Resources area for citation resources and tools.

Rubric

The response to these questions will be scored using the critical elements below:

Critical Elements	Exemplary	Proficient	Needs Improvement	Not Evident	Value
Comprehension	Accurately provides overview of the film with all necessary details (9-10)	Accurately provides overview of the film with most necessary details (8)	Mostly accurate overview of the film with most necessary details (7)	Does not accurately provide overview of the texts with necessary details (0-6)	10
Identification	Accurately explains applicable myths and mythological material in the film in terms of its mythological names and functions (18-20)	Accurately explains applicable myths and mythological material in the film and applies most mythological names and functions (16-17)	Mostly accurate explanation of applicable myths and mythological material in the film; applies most mythological names and functions (14-15)	Does not accurately explain most applicable myths and mythological material in the film and/or apply appropriate mythological names and functions (0-13)	20
Assessment	Accurately explains predominant symbols and their meaning with full details (18-20)	Accurately explains predominant symbols and their meaning with some details (16-17)	Identifies predominant symbols, but meaning could be clearer with additional details (14-15)	Does not accurately identify predominant symbols or offer details to provide clarity on meaning (0-13)	20
Categorization	Accurately explains predominant allusion(s) to other myths or mythic materials with full details (18-20)	Accurately explains predominant allusion(s) to other myths or mythic materials with some details (16-17)	Explains predominant allusion(s) to other myths or mythic materials with some details (14-15)	Does not explain most predominant symbols or ascribe appropriate meaning and context (0-13)	20
Summary	Offers insightful and original interpretation on the mythological meaning of the film in a concise fashion with ample supporting evidence (18-20)	Offers original interpretation on the mythological meaning of the film with some supporting evidence (16-17)	Offers basic interpretation but with little or no supporting evidence (14-15)	Does not offer basic interpretation that addresses mythological meaning of the film or supporting evidence (0-13)	20
Writing Mechanics	No errors related to grammar, organization, format, and citation style (9-10)	Errors of grammar, organization, format, and citation style are marginal (8)	Errors of grammar, format, organization, and citation style are limited enough that the response can be understood (7)	Errors of grammar, format, organization and citation style make the response difficult to understand (0-6)	10
Earned Total Comments:	100%