Writing Homework Help

Reflection Journal 1 Prompt

Part 1

Below is a list of the titles of four chapters from Anton Kaes book on Fritz Lang’s M.  Beneath each chapter title, three terms or phrases that each suggest a key idea from the chapter.

Choose ONE term for each chapter, write a brief paragraph (150 words, approx) explaining its significance for the chapter and the film.  Thus, you should have four separate paragraphs, each on a different key idea from each chapter.

Chapter 1, Berlin, 1931

Murderers among us                          Expressionist sound                            Peter Lorre

Chapter 2, Serial Murder, Serial Culture                     Kurten and Haarmann                        Criminology

Chapter 3, Total Mobilisation

Westfront 1918                                   Ernst Junger                                        Surveillance

Chapter 4, Before the Law

Mock trial                                           Anti-Semitism                                    Mental illness

Part 2

Write an elaborate concluding paragraph (600 words, approx), where you make connections between your ideas on M in Part 1, and some aspect of contemporary culture and society.  Think wide and far: music, art, media, Internet, television, film, books, politics and political movements, social issues, news stories, and so on.  (And you don’t need to address all the ideas from Part 1, just a few you choose.)

The goal here is to show how something historical and foreign (almost 100 years ago, pre-WWII Europe) from film history continues to have relevance to today’s American socio-political landscape.  Do your best to explain and unpack the connections you are making.  Be specific.

And references to other films screened and discussed thus far in class–most welcome.

here are some movies you may reference to

The Mummy (1932 film)

The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland, 1927)