Comparing Movies To History - Creating A Topic

Comparing Movies To History - Creating A TopicWhen the time comes to writing an essay on movies and history, one of the most difficult tasks is trying to find a topic that fits. Students need to be able to write well and in an organized way, but they also need to make the essay interesting and informative.The first part of any history essay is the introduction. It is the part where students get introduced to the subject matter and they are allowed to go into more detail about their opinions on a variety of topics. For example, the students could take an interest in a certain director or star and then discuss the work of that person or group in the film industry.So how can students compare movies to history? They need to choose a specific movie and then discuss their personal feelings about it. Or they could write an essay about how a particular director or actor influenced their own career.There are many different ways to approach a writing assignment like this. Some students choose to rewrite the entire essay from scratch, changing every word, to create something more dramatic. Others choose to take a film that they personally like and talk about the connection between the plot, the acting, and the theme of the film. Either way, there needs to be some kind of organizing principle to the essay.The student should make sure that they can write clearly and coherently about each of the topics in the essay. They can also consider using a variety of different approaches. Writing the essay as a thesis statement can help organize the material.Another idea is to include information and statistics that will help people who might be reading the essay to have a better understanding of the subject. Students can choose to include historical quotes or diagrams to show the connections between two events. The use of charts can help illustrate just how many similarities exist between events. Students can even compare the history of two films and write the essay as if they were d iscussing the similarities between their favorite sports teams.Another common mistake is when students write about their opinions, but do not consider the historical accuracy of their choice of movie. Some students may choose to write an essay that takes a general stance and says something positive about a certain movie or actor without addressing the fact that certain film directors took major risks with their careers because of the quality of their movies. Or they may choose to write an essay that describes a movie's bad qualities, while ignoring the good parts.Students should think about what kind of world they want to create. The way they create this world will determine what type of movies they compare to history. If they want to be politically correct, they may be drawn to do a social commentary film, while if they want to make a documentary film, they may want to write about a road trip. Whatever their style, students should consider the differences between the two.