Close Reading

Sometimes, it's not until a piece of art is examined in fine detail that new meanings arise. When cultural context, the artist's intentions, or even your own prior knowledge, are set aside a new way of "seeing" the art can emerge. This is the purpose of a close reading, sometimes called an explication.

For this essay, you will conduct a close reading of a film scene that depicts some aspect of poverty or wealth. The goal is to delve deeply into a scene in hopes of uncovering new ways to understand it. You will have wide latitude in how you choose to engage it. However, your focus should be concise, minute details. For example, instead of examining the Mona Lisa, as a whole, you'd consider only the hands.

As always, ground your analysis in a strong thesis, supported by evidence from the scene. Choose only one of the following scenes for your analysis:

1. "I Could Wear My Suit of Armour" from Saltburn (Emerald Fennell, 2023)
   
2. "I Don't Like Your Food" from The Menu (Mark Mylod, 2022)
3. "A Chili Night" from Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020)
   
4. "There's Sparkling, Right?" from Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019)
5. "There's A Lot of Children Starving in America" from Crazy Rich Asians (John M. Chu, 2018)
6. "No Escaping Now" from Fifty Shades of Grey (Sam Taylor-Johnson, 2015) 
   
7. "There is No Nobility in Poverty" from The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)
8. "I Want You and Daisy Both to Come Over to My House" from The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann, 2013)
9. "How Long Before I Get the Money?" from Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)
10. "It's Not Too Much, is It?" from Marie Antoinette (Sophia Coppola, 2006)
11. "Aren't You Bored by All This?" from Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2002)
    
12. "Why on Earth Would You Pick Me to be Your Princess?" from The Princes Diaries (Gary Marshall, 2001)
13. "The Land of Might-Have-Been" from Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)
14. "Dickie Greenleaf?" from The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella, 1999)
    
15. "You Could Almost Pass as a Gentleman" from Titanic (James Cameron, 1997)
16. "I Actually Have a Way Normal Life for a Teenage Girl" from Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
17. "Really Offensive" from Pretty Woman (Gary Marshall, 1990)
18. "Could You Pass the Salt?" from Batman (Tim Burton, 1989)
19. "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie (John Huston, 1982) 
20. "Cockroach!" from Victor/Victoria (Blake Edwards, 1982)
    

In your works cited, cite your film in the following manner:

Knives Out. Directed by Rian Johnson, Lionsgate Films, 2019.

Required:

• MLA Style, including works cited
• 500-625 words (2-2.5 pages)

Due: Sun 3.30 (via Canvas)