“Crumb” and “Basquiat”
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A 10 page paper which compares the artwork seen in the film “Crumb,” about Robert Crumb, and “Basquiat,” a film about Jean Michel Basquiat. 2 additional sources cited.
Filename: RAcrumb.rtf

“Daddy Day Care”
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A 4 page paper that summarizes and analyzes the film “Daddy Day Care.” No sources cited.
Filename: RAdaddyd.rtf

“Downfall”, “The Lives of Others”, and “Judgment at Nuremberg”: Human Consciousness and the Exercise of Free Will
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A 4 page discussion of how the characters in each of these classics managed to exercise free will even under the most oppressive of circumstances. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Filename: PPlitfreewill.rtf

“Drag” Performance in the American Theater
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This 15 page report discusses the history and impact of drag performances on the American theater. One of the reasons that drag performance, whether in a drag queen show or in the “legitimate” theater, titillates, amuses, and shocks people is that it plays with gender’s most honored and traditional beliefs and celebrates the confusion of social and sexual identities. Drag is definitely not found only in the homosexual community, but also in other worlds of cross-dressing: straight men dressing in drag for personal thrills and people in the performing arts donning drag as part of a show. In the a dramatic performance, cross-dressing establishes a realm that differs from daily preconceptions of life -- just as drama itself does. Bibliography lists 11 sources.
Filename: BWdrag.wps

“Empire of the Sun” – The Book/ the Film
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“Empire of the Sun” – The Book/ the Film: This 8-page comparative essay examines the semi-autobiographical book “Empire of the Sun” by J.G. Ballard, and the later Steven Spielberg film adaptation of the same name. Ballard wrote about living through the world-altering events of WWII, as he is transformed from affluent schoolboy into a struggling street rat. Yet, it is Spielberg who made the epic masterpiece. Bibliography lists 3 sources. SNEmpire.doc
Filename: SNEmpire.doc

“Enlightened Racism -- The Cosby Show, Audiences, and the Myth of the American Dream” by Sut Jhally and Justin Lewis
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This 5 page report discusses one of the most popular television shows of the past several decades and starring one of America’s favorite comedians, “The Cosby Show.” Jhally and Lewis believe there is a certain undercurrent of what could be referred to as “enlightened racism” that runs through the show. The meaning of “enlightened racism” is composed from a newly developed belief system. This new belief set relies on the misunderstanding of the “natural” condition of most African Americans in the United States. No secondary sources are listed.
Filename: BWcosby.wps

“Excalibur” the Movie and "Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur": A Comparison of Two Depictions of Arthurian Legend
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An 8 page review of two different depictions of Arthurian legend. Released in 1981 by director and producer John Boorman, “Excalibur” ranks as one of the most historically accurate films ever created regarding the historical setting for Arthurian legend. While the film has the advantage of color movie photography and sound over the 1998 "Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur" by Bernard Cornwell, each is tremendously effective in their depiction of myth and historical circumstance and setting. No additional sources are listed.
Filename: PPexcali.wps

“Existentialism in Cameron’s Titanic”
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A five page paper which considers John-Paul Sartre’s philosophy of existentialism as applied to the character of Jack in the film Titanic. The paper gives an overview of the existentialist definitions of anguish, abandonment and despair and looks at the ways in which they can be applied to Jack’s interaction with Rose, and his motivations in ensuring her survival. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Filename: JLsartretitanic.wps

“Female sexuality and violence in Carrie and The Exorcist”
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A five page paper which compares the themes of sexuality and violence in Carrie and The Exorcist, in terms of the way in which the main characters are developed in a way which portrays the dark and demonic side of the female nature, and the different treatments which the two directors use to elucidate this theme. Bibliography lists 2 sources
Filename: JLcarrie.wps