World Regional Geography 1982
Spring 2006

Exercise #2

Geography in Film

due week of March 13th

             Media, especially film, are affected by, and affect, geography.  Every film has geography of some kind; it has a setting that may play a large part in the film or it may deal with cultural or physical issues, for example.  Film can be a window into other worlds, even if only that of the writer or director.  The makers of the film may be from another culture themselves and this changes how the film looks.  Watching a film with a critical eye can yield many space- and place-based insights.

  For this exercise, you will need to choose a film either produced outside the United States or one that deals with areas outside the U.S. You will need to answer the following question:

How is this film an example of geographical concepts?

  You will write a 2 –3 page paper describing a few geographical concepts from class or the text and how they are shown in the film.  Attach a cover page with a description of the film.

 


            In choosing your film, you may want to have geographical topics in mind first and then pick a film that may fit.  Otherwise you may spend a lot of time screening films that you won’t end up using.  Pick a good one – saying that the film you watched just didn’t have a lot of geography in it is not an excuse for a poor exercise.  If you are unsure whether a film is appropriate, ask your TA.

The Media Library in Norlin (directly behind the west entrance) has a good selection of films that you can search for in Chinook.  You can watch them in the library.  The International Film Series is a great way to see foreign and art films on campus.  The cost is low and the schedule is available at: http://www.internationalfilmseries.com/.  Any video store will have some selection (Video Station on 28th street has thousands) and some ethnic grocery and convenience stores rent videos as well.

Your paper should be 2-3 pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins in 12-point normal font. The cover page does not count in the pagination and exercises over 3 pages will not be accepted.

The cover page with the movie description can be taken from another source.  Some web sources may be: All Movie Guide http://www.allmovie.com/  or The Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/ .  Newer films may have their own websites.  Please cite the source of the description.  Try to include the year the movie was made, the country it was made in, and a couple of the major stars (if any).  The purpose for this page is to familiarize your TA with the film in case he or she has not seen it.

Time Line:  
             Turn in to your TA in recitation the week of March 13th.

Value:
             This exercise could be worth 8.3% of your final grade (your lowest exercise grade will be dropped).  You will be graded on your understanding of the geographic concepts, the appropriateness of your chosen film to portray the geographic concepts you choose, and your ability to communicate your argument including proofreading, grammar, and spelling.


AKHP 2.08.06