LIT 3180 Topic Proposal

Your final project for this class will develop of our last unit, film, and the (now quite common) translation of graphic novels to film. As a group, you will choose a pairing (graphic novel and film) that interests you and do an in-depth comparison of how the two address an issue of your choice. Your overall claim should be value-based and emphasize which is better and why--the original graphic novel or the film.

NOTE: EVERYONE IN YOUR GROUP MUST FIRST WATCH THE FILM AND READ THE GRAPHIC NOVEL THAT THE GROUP HAS CHOSEN BEFORE YOU CAN BEGIN WORK ON THIS PROPOSAL.


There are a number of things about the novel and film that you will need to consider:


  •   Is the adaptation a straight or a loose interpretation of the novel?
  •   Can the adaptation stand alone, or is it necessary to have read the novel to understand the film?
  •   Does the adaptation capture the novel’s formal elements: the theme, characterization, style, tone, and plot of the novel?
  •   Is the adaptation a quality film in its own right?
  •   When the screenwriter and/or director changes any of the formal elements of the novel, is the overall message retained?



There are also a number of ways you can focus your paper.  These are just a few examples.  Feel free to develop your own.

- Quite often, and for various reasons, film makers choose to delete scenes, characters, and sometimes even major elements of the original piece.  Carefully consider the value of these changes: how do they affect the ultimate impact the work of art? Because of these changes, which is better, the original graphic novel or the film, and why?

-What do you see as the overall theme of the graphic novel?  Does the film convey the same theme?  Why or why not?  How are these themes emphasized visually in the graphic novel (through the art; think techniques mentioned by McCloud) versus how they are emphasized visually in the film (think camera shot, set design, costume design, lighting, sound, etc.)?  Which one is better, the film or graphic novel?

-Consider the tone of each work (the author's attitude toward their subject, aka the issue or focus of the film or novel.  How would you describe each?  Is a different tone conveyed in each work?  Why does this occur?  It is related to how the stories are conveyed visually?  In other words, how does the artwork create a particular tone in the novel versus how stylistic choices like set design, costume design, lighting, camera work, etc., convey a particular tone in the film.  Is one more effective than another?  Why or why not?



The project is, above all, an analytical project and will be presented as a written analytical argument.

See the list of film/graphic novel pairings in the project instructions linked from the course schedule page.

Decisions to Make/Things to Do Before you Being Writing the Proposal:

1)  The first decision that your group will need to make is which film/graphic novel that you wish to explore together and why.
2) As you read the novel, make note of important aspects of the art work and techniques used by the artist, think about how the writer/artist work together to develop character and convey conflict, and think about how the artwork and the plot work together to covey a particular theme.
3)  Repeat step 2 above for your film, but this time also note important differences (visually, structurally, additions/deletions), and think about how they affect theme and tone; notice how the director makes use of camera shot, set design, costume design, lighting, sound, symbolism, and editing.
4) Develop an overall claim
5) In your groups, have a discussion about the important examples from each work that you can use to prove your overall claim.
6)  Develop some sub-claims that will support your overall claim.
7)  Write the proposal

NOTE:  ALL GROUP MEMBERS MUST CONTRIBUTE TO DISCUSSIONS, OFFER IDEAS, HELP DEVELOP AN OVERALL CLAIM AND SUB-CLAIMS, AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE WRITING OF THE PROPOSAL.


​The proposal is 5 paragraphs as described below.  It should be written in MLA format.  You should create one document for the group and include all group member names on this document.

Paragraph 1:  Which graphic novel/film paring did you choose and why?  How did you go about making this choice?  How confident do you feel as a group that you made the correct decision and why? 
 Paragraph 2:  Was the film a straight or loose interpretation of the novel? Why or why not? How did you feel about this? Can the adaptation stand alone, or is it necessary to have read the novel to understand the film? Does the adaptation capture the novel’s formal elements: the theme, characterization, style, tone, and plot of the novel?
  Is the adaptation a quality film in its own right?  When the screenwriter and/or director changes any of the formal elements of the novel, is the overall message retained?
Paragraph 3:  Which is better, the novel or the film?  Why do you think so? Your answer to this is your overall claim.  Present it as one sentence.   Provide 4 or 5 reasons that this statement is true. Present each one as a single sentence.  These are your sub-claims.
Paragraph 4:  What are some examples from the novel/film that you can use to prove that each of your sub-claims is true?
Paragraph 5:  How do you plan to manage your project, and how do you plan to share the workload?  What specific steps do you plan to take to ensure that everyone works as a team so you can produce a quality product? Offer specifics.

SUBMIT ONE COPY OF YOUR COMPLETED PROPOSAL TO ULEARN BY THE DUE DATE.  
GO TO:  SUBMIT ESSAYS/ASSIGNMENTS > TOPIC PROPOSAL FOR FINAL PROJECT (GROUP PROJECT)
EACH GROUP MEMBER'S NAME SHOULD BE ON THE DOCUMENT.