Select one of the films below and write a critical analysis of costumes, makeup, and/or set design. Examine how the film’s costumes, makeup, and/or set design contributes to your understanding of the film’s historic period.

Assignment Question

Select one of the films below and write a critical analysis of costumes, makeup, and/or set design. You may access these films from your local library or an online service of your choice (ex., Netflix, Amazon). Casablanca (1942) Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) The Great Gatsby (1974) Annie Hall (1977) The Breakfast Club (1985) Titanic (1997) A Single Man (2009) Coco Before Chanel (2009) Carol (2015)

In your analysis, examine how the film’s costumes, makeup, and/or set design contributes to your understanding of the film’s historic period.

Refer to specific examples to support your analysis. The films in our list lend themselves to an analysis of overall art direction (the “look” of sets, costumes, and makeup) as a primary driving force (or at least thematic symbol) in the story. You may also wish to discuss, for example, the influence of culture, economy, and/or socio-political influences on apparel worn during the style period in which the film is set, or how the costumes reveal character in the film. Some of the film options are contemporary films made about the past, and some filmmakers can revise the past to create and reinforce stereotypes of race, gender and class. From a cinematographic perspective, does the film accurately reflect the attitudes of the people living in the eras the films were about? This assignment requires you to reference 20th-Century Dress in the United States. Analyze the cultural and historical context of the trend and discuss what that style tells us about the culture of the time. Note that in order to analyze the historical significance of the style, you must explain the history and culture of the time period. Unlike the assignment above, this paper will require in-depth explanation and analysis of a style period, rather than brief descriptions and analyses of clothing items. Your analysis should include include a clear title and thesis. Stills from the film may be included as illustrations (but these will not contribute to the page count). write your analysis from the perspective that your reader (i.e., the instructor) has seen the film.

Submission Guidelines Your paper should be 1000 – 1250 words (about 4-5 pages of double-spaced text, not including images). Include proper citations for all sources. You may choose from APA, Chicago, or MLA style formats. You may refer to the Interactive Timeline: Fashion in U.S. History, located in the Timelines section of the course, to help you consider fashion trends and their relationships to historical events.