Select one of the following films (arranged in chronological order according to year of
their release):
Pillow Talk (1959), The Children’s Hour (1961), Splendor in the Grass (1961), Advise and
Consent (1962), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Cabaret (1972), Cruising (1980), Making Love
(1982), The Color Purple (1985), Desert Hearts (1985), Maurice (1987), Dangerous
Liaisons (1988), Longtime Companion (1990), Pretty Woman (1990), Far and Away
(1992), Like Water for Chocolate (1992), Exit to Eden (1994), The Road to Wellville
(1994), The People vs. Larry Flint (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), American Beauty (1999),
The Cider House Rules (1999), Far from Heaven (2002), Kinsey (2004), Brokeback
Mountain (2005), The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005), and The Notorious Bettie Page (2005).
I’d recommend watching several trailers for these films online to get a sense of which
one you’d prefer to watch and write about.
Step 2: Find a means to watch the film you have chosen. I’m guessing that most of you have
some sort of video streaming service, but if you don’t there are many online services
where you can rent these films for under $5.
Step 3: Watch the film once all the way through without stopping.
Step 4: While the film is still fresh in your mind, begin to sketch out the outline for your essay of
the topics, thinking about which episodes and themes from the film you’ve just watched
could be used in your analysis.