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Essay Instructions: Please write according to the criteria in the buttom about one of these films:
The Truman Show 1998
Director: peter weir

Truman Burbank has lived his entire life in a sleepy, idyllic island town, never wanted to leave or even vacation away from it. However, Truman's beloved hometown is not what it seems. It is actually a very elaborate movie set and studio from which is broadcasted Truman's complete life story. Thus, without realizing it, Truman has been the star of the most popular reality television show of all time! (THIS MOVIE RAISES THE ISSUE OF HOW APPEARANCES CAN DIFFER FROM REALITY.)

A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Director: Ron Howard

This acclaimed film was inspired by the true story of John Nash, a mathematical genius and Nobel Prize winner, who also suffers from a mental disorder. Before he was properly diagnosed, Nash developed relationships with people who were nothing more than figment of his imagination. (THIS FILM IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT AFFORDS US A REAL-WORLD SCENARIO IN WHICH REALITY AND APPEARANCE CAN BE DIVERGENT WHEN WE LAST EXPECT IT.)

If those movies were not an option try the following:

The 13th floor 1999, director: Josef Rusnak.
This film raises the specter of skepticism and (allegedly) threatens the integrity of Descartes's Cogito. Note how this film is importantly different from The Matrix portrayal of skepticism.

Vanilla Sky (2001) director: Cameron Crowe.
This movie puts an interesting spin on Descartes's "Dream argument."


How to develop this essay

Once you’ve formulated the issue (such as the develop of knowledge "justified true beliefe", or skepticism) on which you wish to focus and briefly described how it arises in the film, you should review some of the alternative ‘answers’ that have been given to your major issue. For example, consider the differences among how a skeptic and a realist might interpret the issue presented in the film. Generally, you’ll probably find that the film itself adopts or suggests a particular approach to the issue. Identify what that is if you can, and then consider the limitations of that approach in light of other possible ones. You might even ask yourself in what ways the film might have been different had it adopted other possible viewpoints on the issue. (Feel free, for instance, to suggest ‘alternative endings’ that more agree with your own viewpoint.)

How to organize this essay

1) Introduction: A brief account of the manner in which the philosophical issue you want to explore presents itself in the film together with a presentation of the issue in more general terms. (For instance, “In Indecent Proposal, a young married couple receives an offer from a wealthy and attractive man that the wife spend one night with him for a million dollars. The ethical issue is whether a sufficient sum of money (and the benefits for them it can buy) can justify their breaking of their marriage promises. At the most general level, the issue is whether moral commitments like promises can be justifiably broken if the consequences of doing so are sufficiently beneficial.)

2) A statement about the position adopted by the film. (For instance, this film seems to suggest that accepting the ‘proposal’ was morally justifiable so long as their relationship was strong enough to survive the ‘infidelity’ – although I admit that someone else might read this a different way.)

3) Reasons why you agree or disagree with the viewpoint presented by the film.

4) Conclusion. This can take a number of forms. You might, for instance, conclude that the film itself adopted an immoral or unsupportable position; or that it was naïve or oversimplified in failing to present the entire realm of possible consequences; or that it never presented an important alternative viewpoint; or even that it was generally unrealistic or unsatisfying in dealing with the issue involved. The important thing is that your conclusion be a critical assessment of the film based upon your analysis of the issue involved, the film’s perspective on it, and the reasons you gave for agreeing or disagreeing with it.


Please, don’t spend a lot of time just presenting the storyline of the film. Get to the main philosophical issue involved pretty quickly and concentrate on that. You’ll usually find that a lot of the details of the plot will be irrelevant to your issue.

Essay Instructions: This paper is for a Theology and Film Class. The assignment was to watch the film-The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey and read Psalm 69:5 which says "God, you know my foolishness. My sins aren't hidden from you." The question: How would you live differently if your whole life was broadcasted like Truman's? The paper must be two pages long-1 inch margins, double spaced. No works cited page needed.

This paper is for a Sophomore in HS. Please keep the paper and vocabulary simple.
Thanks.

Essay Instructions: Given that you have: 1) read the Simulation module in Etudes, 2) watched The Matrix and The Truman Show, 3) Downloaded and read the assigned chapters/sections of Simulacra & Simulation, the assignment is to:

Write an analysis of The Matrix and The Truman Show, applying Baudrillard's concepts of Simulation, Simulacra, the Real and the Hyperreal. The best references to use are necessarily from Simulacra & Simulation, because he uses these terms very specifically and somewhat differently than common usage. The dictionary or the web are very likely to lead you astray. Be aware also that a film is not in itself a simulation. Pretending is not simulating. These two films may be about simulation or deal with the idea of simulation in your estimation, but they aren't simulations themselves. Your analysis should be at least 500 words. Be careful about spelling, punctuation and grammar. They matter.
There are faxes for this order.

Essay Instructions: I need an Annotated Bibliography included with this paper. If there is an additional charge for this, that is fine. The Bibliography needs to be in MLA style and the MUST use Journal articles as the sources of information. Must include what the highlight means, what the purpose of the artilcle was , what the author was trying to accomplish, how they illustrated their accomplishments, experiments, what were the results of their study, what is the interpretation of the study? Write it up. Usually 100-150 words. You want to show the reader the relevance and quality of the article. The followin criteria is needed: 5-7 different journal sources that make application or test your chosen theory. A full citation using MLA. A description that summarizes each journal article. Original descriptions. A copy of the first page of each article.

The actual paper: The paper will be on the Media Equation of Communication Theory. It should be 6 pages in length. The paper require that you evaluate The Truman Show (movie) and apply the Media Equation Theory to the film.
Must Describe the Theory: Describe the theory in terms of a humanistic approach. Provide a solid explanation and support for thoughts. Be specific and tell why the approach is humanistic.

Evaluate the Theory: Critique this theory and argue whether the theory is good, bad or somewhere in between.

Apply the theory: Use The Truman Show and make application to the theory. Use examples from the movie that illustrate and support the argument to whether it is good, bad or average, in addition illustrating whether that it is humanistic.

If you have any questions, please email me at jd60007@cs.com The Annotated Bibliography is critical.