After watching Robert Kenner’s documentary, Food, Inc., your task is to write an essay that provides both a summary of the film and a critical analysis of its effectiveness as a documentary. Your essay should be well-structured and centered around a thesis statement that addresses whether or not you believe the documentary successfully presents and supports its central argument. Throughout your essay, you will evaluate how Kenner’s documentary presents arguments about the food industry and assess its overall effectiveness.
Your essay should analyze 3 different scenes or sequences from the movie, supporting your thesis statement. Each part of the body should focus on a different sequence, with one part analyzing logos (logical appeal), one part analyzing pathos (emotional appeal), and another part analyzing ethos (appeals to the author’s credibility or trustworthiness). The body of your essay should also evaluate the effectiveness of Kenner’s use of these appeals.
You can analyze logical fallacies in the film as well as the visual elements used by Kenner to support his ideas, such as video footage, images, charts and graphs, and the body language of those being interviewed. For guidance on this essay, refer to Ch. 8 in the St. Martin’s Guide to Writing and the pages from Writer’s Reference mentioned in this handout. Begin reading the chapter as soon as you can.
The essay should be 4-6 pages long and include the following requirements:
1. Introduction (1/2 Page): Identify the title, genre, and director of the primary text (i.e. the film). Summarize the film’s main argument using your own words. The summary should provide an overview of the film’s main points without going into supporting details. No analysis should be included in the summary. The purpose of this section is to inform readers about the film’s content in order to understand your argument about it.The task requires writing a summary of the film in one’s own words without quoting from it. It should lead to an original thesis statement that states whether the film’s argument is convincing, followed by an explanation of the reason behind that belief. The thesis statement should be placed at the end of the introduction. The thesis will be supported by the analysis of the film in the body paragraphs, structuring the essay around it.
The thesis statement for your essay should be your own original idea, written in your own words, and specifically tailored to fit this assignment. It should clearly state the topic of your essay, which is your perspective on the main argument presented in the film. Additionally, it should provide commentary on that topic, explaining how the film supports that argument and indicating which scenes you will focus on. Remember that your thesis is the most critical part of your essay and should be crafted with careful attention. It is recommended to dedicate at least 2 hours to writing and revising your thesis statement (see Ref. Writers, p. 16-18 and p. 80-82).
The body of your essay, which should be composed of 3-5 pages, will discuss three main points or minor premises that support your thesis statement.
When developing body paragraphs for a film analysis, it is important to consider various elements such as pathos, logos, and ethos. The emotional element (pathos) should be focused on in one premise, while the logical element (logos) should be the focus of another premise. Lastly, the minor premise should examine how the film establishes credibility or trustworthiness (ethos) with the audience. As you write your paragraphs, ask yourself: How does the film use ethos appeals to establish credibility and gain the audience’s trust? Are these appeals effective? Discuss one sequence from the film that strongly exemplifies ethos.
In this text, the author discusses the detailed description of a scene, highlighting the way dialogue and images collaborate to create an appeal. Furthermore, the author reflects on the ethical impact of the scene. Additionally, the author explores how the film elicits emotional responses from the audience. They analyze the type of emotions the film intends to evoke and evaluate whether these appeals are effective or not. The fairness and possible deception of these appeals are also considered. Finally, the author focuses on a particular sequence from the film that strongly resonates with pathos. They provide a thorough depiction of this scene and emphasize how the combination of dialogue and images contributes to its emotional appeal.
