For your next major written assignment, you’re going to watch and analyze a documentary and then come up with an account of why it works.
For your next major written assignment, you’re going to watch and analyze a documentary and then come up with an account of why it works. The fancy term for this is “rhetorical analysis.” The documentary you’ll be watching is Policing the Police. You can find it at this link: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/policing-the-police-2020/ Your primary task here will be to describe how the filmmakers make their argument, how they present the things they want viewers to believe (i.e., their claims) in a way that they think their audience will receive favorably.
To complete this analysis, you will need to be familiar with the reading we have done in this module. You will deploy the terms and concepts you’ve read about to analyze and explain the choices the filmmakers make. In particular, you will describe what they decided to put in the film and what to leave out, how they appeal to their intended audience, and how they anticipate and rebut counterarguments.
Your final essay should be an example of critical thinking at work. Rather than responding as a passive consumer of the film’s argument, you’ll be an active, thoughtful, and skeptical commentator on the rhetorical strategies it uses. Ultimately, you might agree or disagree with the film—which “side” you take is not necessarily important or even relevant—but in any case your essay will enable your readers to see how the essay is a deliberate construction that advances a specific perspective for a particular audience.
Assignment Details
Write an approximately 1500 word essay that helps your reader understand how Policing the Police uses the persuasive strategies we’ve read about and talked about in class to make its argument. Your task here is to analyze, rather than to summarize or advance your own perspective about the issues the essay raises.
Double-space your paper, follow MLA formatting guidelines, and observe the conventions of academic writing. If you rely on other sources, ensure you’ve documented them appropriately and accurately.
