Cinematic Reproduction as Multimodal Composition in First-Year Composition

Rachel McCabe

Abstract


This case study introduces an assignment from a large midwestern university FYC program, which emphasizes analytical writing by introducing students to a series of increasingly layered texts, including film. This has many advantages: teaching multi-perspective, evidence-based visual and textual analysis. For students to see textual constructedness the author required they remake film scenes using their cellphones, employing and then articulating their use of generic conventions. This article details the original assignment and tracks its evolution due to students’ innovations. One group’s project, a scene from The Shining, highlights multimodal recreation’s capacity to help students re-envision and more fully analyze cinematic elements, adding depth and specificity to students’ analytical writing.

Keywords


multimodal production, video, film, recreation, First-Year Composition

Full Text:

PDF

References


Anzaldúa, Gloria. (1987) Borderlands = La Frontera: The New Mestiza. San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute Publishing. ISBN: 978-0933216259.

Berger, J., Blomberg, S., Fox, C., Dibb, M., and Hollis, R. (1973) Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting Company and Penguin Books. ISBN: 978-0140135152.

Bishop, E. (1999) Cinema-(to)-Graphy: Film and Writing in Contemporary Composition Courses. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishing. ISBN: 978-0867094589.

Carnell, E. (2007) ‘Conceptions of Effective Teaching in Higher Education: Extending the Boundaries.’ Teaching in Higher Education, 12(1), 25-40. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510601102081 (Accessed: 18 May 2020).

Council of Writing Program Administrators. (2014, revised 2019) Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition (3.0). Available at: wpacouncil.org/aws/CWPA/pt/sd/news_article/243055/_PARENT/layout_details/false (Accessed: 15 October 2020).

Foucault, M. (1977) Discipline and Punish. Translated by Alan Sheridan. New York: Pantheon Publishing. ISBN: 978-0679752554.

Giroux, H. (2001) ‘Breaking into the Movies: Pedagogy and the Politics of Film.’ JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory, 21(3) 583-598. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20866426 (Accessed: 18 May 2020).

Harris, J. (2017) Rewriting: How to Do Things with Texts. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado. ISBN: 978-0874216424.

Indiana University. (2020) ‘Student Diversity.’ University Institutional Research and Reporting. Available at: https://uirr.iu.edu/facts-figures/enrollment/diversity/index.html (Accessed: 15 October 2020).

Kubrick, S. (1980) The Shining. Los Angeles, CA: Warner Brothers.

Rosenwasser, D. and Stephen, J. (2011). Writing Analytically, 8th edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, ISBN: 978-1337559461.

Shipka, J. (2011) Toward a Composition Made Whole. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN: 978-0822961505.

Von Trier, L. and Leth, J. (2003) The Five Obstructions. Hvidovre, Denmark: Zentropa Entertainments.

Wheeler, S. and Gerver, R. (2015) Learning with 'E's: Educational Theory and Practice in the Digital Age. Carmarthen, United Kingdom: Crown House Publishing. ISBN: 978-1845909390.

Wild, D.H. (1999) ‘Writing Images: Some Notes on Film in the Composition Classroom.’

Cinema-(to)-graphy: Film and Writing in Contemporary Composition Courses, 22-31. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishing. ISBN: 978-0867094589




DOI: https://doi.org/10.21100/compass.v14i1.1123

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2021 Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching