Instructions:
-
Write a 1500-word reflective essay that critically analyzes the representation of Rome in one of the films or readings from weeks 1–5. Your reflection should explore how the selected material portrays Rome, either as a historical, cultural, or symbolic space.
-
Requirements:
-
Select your primary text: The Talented Mr. Ripley Movie.
-
Reflect on Rome’s representation: Discuss how the material portrays Rome. Consider the film’s or text’s aesthetic choices (e.g., mise-en-scène, cinematography, narrative) and its ideological, cultural, or political messages about the city.
-
Connect to the Eternal City myth: How does the selected material engage with the myth of Rome as “The Eternal City”? Analyze how this myth is constructed or challenged in relation to the historical or cultural moment being depicted.
-
Incorporate class discussions: Reflect on how in-class discussions and other materials from weeks 1–5 have shaped your understanding of Rome’s image, drawing connections between different representations across time periods.
-
In class discussions: A discussion that we had as a class regarding identity. The main character struggles to find his identity as he struggles with his romantic feelings he has towards the person he is impersonating, doing so in a city that has maintained a prominent and stable identity throughout centuries.
-
-
Length: 1500 words
-
Purpose: This assignment encourages you to critically engage with how Rome is represented in various texts and films. You will reflect on the portrayal of Rome as both a physical and symbolic space, connecting it to larger historical, cultural, and ideological themes discussed in the course.
-
Example Topics:
- How does Quo Vadis? (1951) construct the image of ancient Rome, and what does this reveal about post-war Hollywood’s ideological view of the city?
- In what ways does The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) portray the power dynamics of Renaissance Rome, and how does it reflect on Michelangelo’s struggles with artistic and religious authority?
- How does Goethe’s Italian Journey evoke the image of Rome during the Grand Tour, and what insights does it offer about 18th-century perceptions of the city?
- How does Gregorovius’s Roman Journal engage with Rome’s identity during its transformation into the capital of modern Italy?
This assignment encourages students to connect cinematic and literary representations of Rome to broader historical and cultural themes, fostering both critical thinking and personal reflection on the city’s enduring myth.
Follow this rubric:
Thesis + Argument