Writing Assignment 1
Learning how to write in English
Part 1: Zoom Out
Before reflecting on a first piece of writing, I want to highlight my particular starting point as a freshman at Santa Monica College. Despite being accepted into an institution where the language of instruction is English, my first languages were French and Hebrew. Writing academic papers as an international student was challenging as I was never required to compose essays longer than 500 words.
Additionally, my studying conditions were less than ideal due to Coved-19 pandemic. I couldn't move to California and was obliged to take my course online throughout my freshman year. Due to the time zone differences between California and Tel Aviv, I had to take classes late at night and sleep during the day. Under these extreme studying conditions, I took my first writing course, where I was asked to produce an argumentative essay of seven pages.
This paper serves as a reflection of my writing during my freshman year, during which I had the same professor for my two courses in English composition. Typically, my professor allocated a month for the composition of each paper. The writing process included a constant dialogue between the professor and I through weekly updates about the paper’s progress. The assignment was introduced with a schedule that required me to submit drafts, which helped me stay on track.
For the argumentative paper, we were tasked to write about the integration of advanced technologies into an industry. Being a film student, I chose to focus on the entertainment industry and the integration of drones into films and television productions. However, considering how recent the usage of such technologies is I couldn’t use traditional academic sources. I had to prioritize articles and reports in magazines such as The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and Variety. These sources provided recent information and offered both a macro and micro perspective on the subjects.
After presenting my sources, my professor encouraged me to research different perspectives on the topic. Hence, I engaged with more technical publications intended for the drone community. Such research had a positive impact on my writing as it presented a more critical view of the subject, balancing the absolute enthusiasm from entertainment magazines. Those sources incorporated charts and graphs, which I addressed in my writing. By the end of my English composition courses, I discovered that engaging in dialogue, whether with a professor during office hours or with sources, enhanced my writing skills.
As I transferred to USC in my Junior my writing went through a crisis at first. I discovered that the level of instruction was superior, and consequently, the writing assignments in my film studies classes were more demanding. To my benefit classes were instructed in person, which helped me focus and have an active learning experience. Despite that, I struggled to keep up with the writing assignments as they relied on the completion of readings, often primary sources published in the early 1900s. Such sources were often difficult to read due to their high vocabulary and dull content. Consequently, a significant amount of time was spent rereading the sources to fully understand their content. This reduced the time available to compose papers and often led to lower-quality writing that prioritized meeting the minimum requirements. As a consequence, my writings frequently failed to reflect the critical thinking efforts made while studying the readings.
To remediate this, I started to consult with my teacher assistants after the announcement of each paper in all of my cinema and media studies classes. I attempted to replicate the relationship I had with my English professor during my freshman year. During office hours, I often presented my TAs with the angle through which I chose to approach the assignment and present my thesis statement. This habit was complimented by my practice of writing papers at the Doheny Library.
After having my bedroom as my learning environment during the pandemic, I felt the need to relocate to another physical space solely dedicated to academic purposes to complete my writing. The change in my workplace enhanced my ability to concentrate and reduced distractions such as my phone and the television. Being surrounded by students motivated me to do better, resulting in my grades improving. This habit also improved my mental health, as it enabled my bedroom to become a restful area where I could recharge. The production of heavy academic papers enabled me to become more comfortable with writing.
After submitting samples of my papers to several companies in the filmmaking industry, I secured my first internship. As a coverage intern, my responsibilities included clerical duties such as answering phone calls and emails. However, it also required the development a new skills, writing script coverage. Each week, my supervisor tasked me with reading a couple of screenplays to produce a comprehensive document to help executives decide whether they should develop a script into a film or television series. This task was challenging, it required the condensation of an average of 120 pages to just 5. The first script coverage I produced demanded a week of work. The majority of my time was dedicated to rewriting and shortening the plot summary, as my initial version was 12 pages long.
Despite the challenges, my writing experience was very positive. For confidentiality purposes, I was required to read the scripts and write their coverages at the company’s offices. The workplace was vast and comfortable with various seating areas. In some way, it helped me replicate my habit of going to the library and avoiding work invading my personal space. Additionally, my supervisor emphasized I shouldn’t worry about the quality of my coverage, as they knew it was a skill that developed with time. They consistently provided feedback, which helped me develop an executive outlook that is more preoccupied with the quality of the story and its attributes to determine if it is attractive enough for development.
Finally, as a college senior I got to produce my best work yet. I had a clear understanding of my professors’ expectations and got to select courses with themes that interested me. A notable example is a course analyzing Billy Wilder’s filmography. Despite my teacher’s assistant being a harsh grader, for the first time in my college experience, I was more invested in the act of writing than worrying about my final grade. One paper I was passionate about focused on studying Hollywood stars who collaborated with the esteemed filmmaker. I chose to write about Marylin Monroe to uncover the circumstances that led her to become a symbol of Hollywood in its golden age. When writing for such higher-level courses, I was often required to look beyond books and articles. These papers often involved watching several films, interviews and studying related photography. Gaining such a comprehensive understanding of subjects led to the production of an interesting thesis, it encouraged me to become a better writer.
In retrospect, my journey as a writer in college was transformative. I started being intimidated by the English language, and with time, I learned to be more comfortable with the act of writing. I discovered I needed to immerse myself in a writing mindset, which required me to study in a library and engage in a dialogue with the sources. As I look ahead, my aspiration is to craft essays with enhanced mechanics and a richer and more varied vocabulary. My aim is to create a more enjoyable reading experience for my audience while improving my writing skills in the process.
Part 2: Zoom In
As part of my major requirements, I enrolled in a film analysis class that delved into the world of film noir. For my final assignment, I generate a paper exploring the evolution of film noir to neo-noir. In the 8-page research paper, I chose to demonstrate the progress over four decades by comparing the quintessential film noir Double Indemnity (1944) and Blade Runner (1982), a science fiction interpretation of the noir tropes. To effectively demonstrate this transformative journey, I contrasted various elements, including cinematography, protagonists, the portrayal of female characters, and the unique production challenges they faced.
Throughout the paper, I maintained an academic tone, employed formal vocabulary and appropriate film terminology. The thesis was supported with citations from esteemed film scholars, including James Naremore and Sheri Biesen, who specialize in film noir. The structure of the paragraph was kept relatively simple. I always started with a strong topic sentence announcing what would be examined in relation to which film. For instance, “ Ridley Scott filmed his movie after major technological advancements in the industry, with color becoming the standard and large formats such as Cinemascope increasing in popularity to compete with television”. Then, I focused on providing historical context, such as the impact of the Second World War and the censorship forced by the Hollywood Production Code Administration. Additionally, to support my arguments, I included descriptions of relevant scenes and proceeded to analyze their formal and story elements.
Dissecting the social and economic circumstances with the rise of crime-related film illustrated how and why film noir evolved. This help me flesh out the idea that film noir is a product of its time and, for this reason, should be regarded more as a period in cinema than a genre. It solidified my claims that film noir had to evolve into neo-noir by incorporating a modern sensibility to stay relevant. In the case of Blade Runner, I drew upon the preoccupation with technology, as it blurred the lines between humanity and artificial intelligence. Essentially, my paper expanded James Naremore’s claims regarding the circumstances that led to the rise of film noir. I contrasted his claim that the anxieties associated with the Second World War created morally questionable characters. I developed that argument by claiming that the space race and the fascination with technologies created a familiar effect with neo-noir.
The paper was a call for reflection, it was my attempt to break the notion that noir died in the late 1950s. For this reason, I demonstrated how stereotypical characteristics of noir, as seen in Double Indemnity, could be applied to any genre. Before taking this course, I had the misconception that film noir was limited to drama shot in black and with detective-like story elements. However, I wanted to highlight that noir is a versatile cinematic style; it can be shot in color, defy gender role expectations, be feminist, or even be a musical. Looking back, I think the text was intended for people like me, individuals interested in cinema but lack a comprehensive perspective on a subject that is often misunderstood.
Looking back at my film analysis paper, I realize that I was able to adapt it to an audience that is often quick to judge and dismiss arguments, especially when they touch upon film classics. For this reason, I chose to demonstrate my thesis with two classic films that don’t seem compatible at first to create curiosity. Additionally, critical film studies students often have a deep interest in historical information. Hence, I nourished them with context about the state of the industry in the 1930s and 1940s and elaborated on key figures such as Billy Wilder and Jordan Cronenweth. Then, I proceeded to discuss Blade Runner, a cult classic that is usually shielded from criticism. However, by providing extensive information and articulating that my thesis is a personal perspective, I was able to open the door for reconsideration of ideas about film noir.