This assignment is based on: Lumet, Sidney. “Network [film].” United States: Metro Goldw

This essay is to be both a research paper and a formal analysis of a film.

Essay Format and Length:
Essays must be typed and double spaced in MLA format.

5-7 pages (including a required “Works Cited” page).

Citation:
Please refer to the MLA Handbook for more information on how to cite references MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Helpful links:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html

https://style.mla.org/

Proper credit must be given for any citations, quotations, or ideas that are not your own that are cited in your paper. Improper or absent citations are automatically considered plagiarism.

Film Source:
Lumet, Sidney. “Network [film].” United States: Metro Goldwyn- Mayer (1976).

Final Paper Grading:
The essay will be evaluated based on content, grammar, organization, and general style.

General Considerations
All of the following are true: the essay is on-time; the body paragraphs are balanced in terms of structure and completeness; the essay shows superlative thought.

Critical Analysis
The paper goes beyond simply answering the writing prompts; attempts to stimulate further thought and discussion.

Research Sources
The paper contains all of the following items: a direct quotation from one original 1976 film review; a direct quotation from a second review, book, or magazine article; a direct quotation from the assigned film.

MLA Formatting and Style
The response contains all of the following items: an MLA header; MLA double spacing; 1” margins all around the page; MLA sub-headings (if applicable); MLA “in-text” parenthetical citations; MLA “Works Cited” reference list on a separate page; MLA captions for all images; Tab-length indentations for the start of new paragraphs; In-line tab indentation for direct quotations that exceed four lines of type (i.e., paragraph-length direct quotations)

FINAL PAPER CONTENT INSTRUCTIONS
This assignment is based on Sidney Lumet’s film, Network (1976).

Students are responsible for locating and watching the film. It is in print on DVD and is widely available on video streaming platforms.

You are to construct your essay based on the following questions and discussion points:

1. Briefly describe and summarize (in your own words) Mr. Jensen’s famous “forces of nature” speech to Howard Beale?
2. Give an example of how the worldwide corporate and financial domination that Mr. Jensen spoke of continues today. Name a specific company or corporation that owns and controls several media outlets. How much control does that particular company have over its media content?
3. Briefly summarize Howard Beale’s “turn off your television set…turn them off…” sermon/speech during his first revised newscast.
4. Did audiences perceive this film as pure satire or fantasy in 1976? How has this film become less of a satire and more of a “prophesy” about the current state of reality television? (NOTE: This question will require you to locate original 1976 newspaper and magazine film reviews as well as other relative material to support your answer).

Valid sources for an academic research paper include:
• Original film reviews (New York Times, Variety Magazine, Cinema Today).
• Books about specific films or directors (filmographies, biographies, and autobiographies).
• Interview transcripts (with directors or actors…Ex: Hitchcock / Truffaut).
• Video and audio interviews (must be cited properly and written transcription-style in your finished essay).
• Critical essays by notable film historians (Robert Osbourne, Roger Ebert etc…).

Sources that are not valid include:
• Personal blogs, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter
• Wikipedia or any other facsimile
• Product reviews from commercial retail sites (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.)
• IMDB (Internet Movie Database) reviews and plot summaries