Cohen & Intro to Film Project

Monster Film Analysis Project

Group presentation analyzing a contemporary monster from film The Basics Group presentation analyzing a contemporary monster from film Required 15-20 minutes in length Needs to be engaging and interesting Needs to integrate one-two film clips into content (but not exceeding 5 minutes total) *25 Culminating Points

Potential Film Choices… The Shining (R) Edward Scissorhands (PG-13) The Birds (PG-13) Rosemary’s Baby (R) Silence of the Lambs (R) Carrie (R) The Ring (R) The Goonies (PG) Dracula (R) Gremlins (PG) Cloverfield (R) The Blair Witch Project (R) Zombieland (R) King Kong (PG-13) Frankenstein (1994 – R) Godzilla (PG-13) Jaws (PG) Alien (R) It (or anything by Steven King…) Scream (R) American Psycho (R) Pan’s Labyrinth (R) Nosferatu (UR, silent film)

Film Assignments: Period 1 Carrie – McKenna, Annie, Alexa, Brooke, Meg Zombieland – Bryan, Alex, Daniel The Shining – Katey, Hannah, Nick Don’t Breath – Daylen, Riley, Paul, Tanner, Jon Alien – Ram, Luke, Lucas The Ring – Matie, Izzy, Kailey, Aspen American Psycho – Sarah, Jill, Alysha Silence of the Lambs – Kelsey, Jess, Lauren

Film Assignments: Period 3 American Psycho – Suzanne, Emily, Reilly, Danika, Kendall Pan’s Labryinth – Logan, Varun, Teddy, Colin Alien – Noah, Chase, Fernando, Peter The Ring – Marie, Jesenia, Julie, Jayna The Shining – Katie, Kinsey, Maddie, Alija Silence of the Lambs – Dylan, Pierson, Tony, Jack, Anthony It – Kyle, Kona, Tanner, Benjamin Edward Scissorhands – Taylor

Looking ahead… This weekend: watch your film! Monday: Work Period Tuesday: Work Period Wednesday: Work Period Thursday: Film presentations will begin! 

J.J. Cohen’s 7 Monster Theses Cohen is a professor at George Washington University Wrote a book about monster culture & monster literature We will be using the introduction of this book to help ground some of our conversations about monsters in more academic language

Group Activity Visual representation of what Cohen’s thesis #4 is arguing Bulleted main points What are the most important things you took away from this thesis? What would Cohen say about the monsters we have studied in this class? Where do they fit in here? Provide as many examples as you can!

Thesis IV: The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference Cohen argues, "the monster is an incorporation of the Outside, the Beyond--of all those loci that are rhetorically placed as distant and distinct but originate Within" (7). What does he mean by the terms "Outside" and "Beyond"? How can these concepts be said to "originate Within"? What social categories does "monstrous difference" tend to involve? What power does labeling a group "monstrous" give to the group using the label? How does "scapegoating" fit into this argument (11)?

Cohen: Thesis 4 A monster is born through the difference of cultures Political Cultural Economic Sexual Racial Monsters are societal/cultural Monsters are always an outsider, but that outsider is not always the same: depends on culture