Short Paper #3: Irony and Satire

“Do you happen to know whether or not Michael was ever involved in attempting to influence livestock from afar?” (Ronson, The Men Who Stare at Goats) 

For your third—and last!—short paper assignment, I want you to write a movie review of one of your college classes. This is ironic since a class is the opposite of a film—something that instructs rather than entertains. And yet, it has many of the elements of a film: plot, characters, a director, lightning, a setting, and even numerous sequels! The point of this assignment is to be humorous and to see one thing in terms of another; if your class was a film, what kind of film would it be? Romance? Action-adventure? Horror? Documentary? How good is the director? Who are the main actors? Is one part of the film more exciting than others? Would you see it again—and recommend it to others? The trick in this paper is your tone. Write it like an actual movie review, and don’t be afraid to poke a little fun at your subject. Does the professor ramble too much? Does one classmate answer too many questions? Is there technical problems with the projector or Blackboard? Does the class go over time repeatedly? Etc…

THINGS TO CONSIDER IN YOUR REVIEW

• THE GENRE: Think about the conventions of this genre and try to show how your class follows the same conventions (ex: horror movies always get really quiet before a big scare, or a romantic comedy has two people who hate each other fall in love, etc.)
• THE PLOT: What story does your class tell? Is it easy to follow? Confusing? Who would like it?
• THE ACTORS: How good are the actors in your class? Do they play the role of students, teacher, etc. well—or could some of them use acting lessons?
• DIRECTION/PACE: How well does the class seem to function/move? Is 75 minutes too long? 50 too short? Does the teacher keep things moving—or end too late?
• THE SCRIPT: Does the class seem to follow the script—or always get off it? Are people improvising their lines? Is it well-written (or does it need re-writes)?
• THE SETTING: The classroom, the building, ECU...do these enhance the film? Or detract from the story?

Have fun with this assignment just like Ronson has fun with his book. Don’t be nasty, but do use satire to poke fun at the things everyone says/feels about this class. Instead of saying “the class is too long” or “I don’t understand the professor,” use the irony of a movie review to make this points for your audience. In other words, say it without directly saying it. That’s what makes it funny!

Should be at least 2-3 pages, though you can always do more.

DUE NEXT THURSDAY, November 9^th by 5pm [no class that day]