Film review
Students will be asked to watch a film that reflects historical and political themes relevant to international relations to further their understanding of international relations. Students will pay close attention to the ways in which foreign policy decisions are made and strategized, keeping in mind the political, economic, and historical context of the political event and how the theories of international relations figure into the themes of the film.
Students will then write the film response. The aim of this paper is for students to assess an international policy, analyze the status of implementation, and formulate (or construct) alternative recommendations for policy and practitioner audiences that could have been made but were not made at the time. For the purposes of writing this paper, it may be useful to imagine yourself in the role of a policy analyst for a government organization, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The film is “Hotel Rwanda”
*If you choose to watch another movie for this paper assignment, you must in advance consult with me in regards to your movie choice. Failure to do so will reflect negatively on your grade. Also, if you wish to choose a documentary film, please consult the following source: pbs.org/frontline.*
The final paper should include:
brief summary of the movie plot
summarize the political, social, and economic context of the state (when we refer to “state” in the course, we are not talking about a state or a province within a country. We are referring to a “COUNTRY”) where the film is taking place
compare to what extent the film is portraying history accurately (think of time comparison)
identify the perspective the film is taking: What kinds of theories from international relations can you identify in the movie? (realist, liberal, constructivist, feminist, and Marxist) How are the actors in the movie interacting with one another? (with what kind of mindset?)
Taking the perspective from the Realist, Liberal, Constructivist, Feminist, or Marxist theory, how would you characterize/analyze the movie’s synopsis and plot?
describe the policies in the film (you need to do research to find out for instance, what policies there were either domestically or internationally to prevent or thwart genocide in the case of Hotel Rwanda) and its goals that it was meant to address in the film
analyze the challenges that the policy has encountered in the film and also historically
and suggest alternative policy recommendations (from your viewpoint) that could have been made to alter the outcome of the events (for the better).
Format:
1) 8-9 pages (excluding title page but inclusive of references page)
2) 12 font Times New Roman, double spaced, 1-inch margins, and with page numbers
3) Chicago In-Text citation format or APA (If you are using Chicago, please do not use endnotes or footnotes. Simply use the in-text citation in the text of the paper)
