Catharine Cea

Writing 2
De Piero
April 18, 2016
To See or Not to See a Movie
Film reviews can often be seen in various places and contexts throughout peoples
everyday lives. They can be found in newspapers, entertainment magazines, online blogs, and

Comment [1]: Yawwwwwn. Get me revved

up about reading this piece, CC! I <3 movies!

even in aggregate sites that compile reviews from all sorts of different sources. Even though
movie reviews tend to have some of the same conventions within them that define them as a
genre, the location of the review often has its own unique conventions for the genre as well. All

Comment [2]: Is it necessary to put this

sentence in your intro?

of these conventions are used to help the writer of the review reach his/her audience and to help
the readers easily understand the purpose of the review, thus supporting the idea that genres are
tools to help people to get things done (Dirk). Movie reviews in the genre are often used for
the purpose of showing details of the film along with the writers opinion of it in order to provide
trustworthy feedback that can assist the readers in deciding whether or not to actually see the
movie.
A typical convention of movie reviews is for the author to include information about the
production of the filmincluding the year it was released, the cast, the director, the rating issued
by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the running time of the movie, and the
film genre. For example, in the review published in Variety magazine for the film Zootopia, the

Comment [3]: I need more of a specific,

driving thesis statement, CC. What, exactly,
are you going to be arguing here? And what
specific points are you going to use to make
that case?
What details do they show? How does the
writer convey his/her opinion? How do they
convince readers to see/not see movies?
Also: do you think itd help your reader
(technically, me) to lay out which specific
sources youll be using to make your case?

author dedicates an entire section at the bottom of the article for all of this information. On the
other hand, in the National Public Radio review of the same film, most of these details are
spread throughout the body of the article. The Los Angeles Times review of Zootopia is more of a

Comment [4]: Structure/organization

question: is it worth giving some
background/context on these different sources
first before you go on to analyze what's
happening within them?

middle ground with the author scattering most of these facts within the article, leaving only the
MPAA rating and running time for the end. No matter where these details are found in each
individual review, they all serve the same purpose. By using logosargument from reason,
[which] usually appeals to the audiences intellectual side (Carroll)the authors are able to
inform readers about the generalities of the film, so that they can make surface-level decisions

Comment [5]: The name of the director, when

it's being released, and the rating it received
appeal to the audience's "intellectual side"?
Really?

about whether a certain actor or rating will be a factor in their choice to see the movie or to steer
clear from it.
In order to get the audience more interested in the specifics of the movie and to give them
an idea of what they would experience if they saw it, the introduction of a film review often
includes some sort of reference or quote from the movie itself. For example, the National Public

Comment [6]: OK, great -- I like how this is

nice and specific.

Radio review finishes its first paragraph with a quote: [Zootopia], as our intrepid bunny hero
Officer Judy Hopps constantly asserts, is a place where anyone can be anything. This is a line
frequently stated and referred to in the movie, and this author chose to use it in his review to give
the audience a certain familiarity with the film before they even see it. Rather than quoting the
film itself to get the readers attention, the author of Variety chooses to make a reference to a

Comment [7]: This little slice of language -even though it's sooooooooo small -- is supereffective helps me understand the connection
between your ideas.

well-known fact about Disneythe company that released the film. He begins his review with
from the company that brought you the utopian simplicity of Its a Small World comes a place
where mammalsare encouraged to be whatever they want. By writing this, the author is able
to use pathosemploying an anecdote or narrative, an image such as a photograph, or even
humorto appeal to the audiences emotional side (Carroll)in order to provide the audience
with a point of reference for the company that created the movie and to even lead them to assume
what kinds of things they might expect from the film based on what they already know about the
Disney company.

Comment [8]: I didn't really love your use of

logos earlier, BUT if the big 3 -- ethos, pathos,
logos -- are a big part of your paper, you might
wanna consider weaving it into a central part of
your argument. (ie, thesis!)

Another common convention of movie reviews is to include a brief summary of the

general plot of the film in order to get the audience acquainted with the basics before the author

Comment [9]: You've started off a bunch of

sentences with something like this, CC, and it's
a time/space-eater. Any way you could
rephrase this to keep your piece "moving"?

jumps into his/her personal opinions about certain aspects of the movie. For example, the Los
Angeles Times review begins its summary by stating the movies endearing heroine is Judy
Hopps (deftly voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin), an energized bunny with 275 siblings and a lifelong
dream to become a cop, an ambition she fulfills when she leaves her devoted parents. The
National Public Radio article summarizes the film in a similar manner, stating that the movie
tells a clear and engaging narrative about Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), an idealistic but naive
newcomer to [Zootopia] who fulfills her lifelong dream to become the first bunny officer on
the police force. In both instances, the review is able to provide the audience with an idea of
who the main character is and what her story in the movie is going to be about, allowing the
readers to decide whether they think it will be an appealing tale for them to watch.

Comment [10]: Great. This helps remind me

of how/why it relates to your argument.

It is important for the author of a film review to discuss their own opinions of the movie,
as this tends to be the main reason people read the reviews in the first place. In the Los Angeles
Times article, the author states that bursting with a rich blend of timely themes, superb voice
work, wonderful visuals and laugh-out-loud wit, Walt Disney Animation Studios Zootopia is
quite simply a great time at the movies. The National Public Radio review also states that the
film has the cuteness and childlike creativity you expect from Disney, while the story has some
real bite for the adults. Both of these examples are meant to tell the audience why the author
recommends the film and make use of numerous adjectives in order to paint a picture for the
readers. The author of the Variety article, on the other hand, uses his opinions to show his
audience why he thinks seeing the movie is not really worth it. He states that the filmmakers
struggle to make their introduction anywhere near as impressive [as that of other Disney films],

Comment [11]: Structure/organization q: why

put the "film reviewer's opinion" paragraph
here? (And not somewhere else)
Is this more/less important to your overall
argument? How can considering that question
help you determine the best location for this
paragraph (that is, the main idea of this
paragraph) ?

despite leaning heavily on an unremarkable I want song called Try Everything. These
opinions provided by the authors are often an important factor in a readers decision of whether
or not to see the film, and thus tend to give the review a more persuasive tone.
A common formatting convention of film reviews is also to include images of the movie

Comment [12]: How about the tone of their

language, though -- how is that similar/different?
How do the reviewers write differently? What
"stances" have they taken, and why?

within the article, thus causing the readers to make use of visual literacythe ability to read the
different elements of a visual text (Losh and Alexander). All three reviews of Zootopia employ
stills of different scenes from the film and include captions for each of them in order to let the
audience know what is happening in each picture. Movie reviews published online can even
include additional visual aids, including video clips and links to other articles. The Los Angeles
Times review online includes the official trailer of the film, thus supplying the audience with
even more details about Zootopia through a more visual medium. The National Public Radio
and Variety reviews both have links to other articles about the film or about the people involved
with the movie, including the cast and writers. This is able to give the readers more context and
details about the film in case they feel they need even more information than the review can
provide before they make the decision of whether or not they are going to watch the movie.
The type of source that prints or publishes the film review often affects the style and tone
of the article. The Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio movie reviews are both meant
to reach audiences of average people and try to encourage them to take their children to see
Zootopia, which the reviewers both believe is a good movie. They use words such as
imaginative, well-plotted, clever, dazzling, and delightfully vivid in order to get their
point across to the audience. The article in Variety magazine is much more critical and nit-picky
about the film because it is meant to be read by people working in the entertainment industry.
These people will naturally notice things about the movie that they can criticize, as they care

Comment [13]: Ah ha! This is good stuff right

here -- "audience analysis" in action. (However,
it seems a bit buried at the end of your paper.
Do you think this is the best location for it? If
so, why?)

more about the cinematic qualities of the film than the entertainment value for the average
movie-goer. Thus, the author uses phrases such as its a bit misleading and its an awkward
way to so as to emphasize what elements of the movie he thinks are not very well done.
Therefore, the publication location and intended audience of a movie review often work hand-inhand to help the author determine a tone and attitude towards the film that are appropriate for the
context in which the review is written, thus helping to build the writers ethoswhich refers to
the credibility of the rhetor (Carroll).
All genres have different conventions that can serve a multitude of different purposes,
and within each genre there can be even more conventions based on specific sub-genres. The
genre of movie reviews has a variety of different conventions that are all able to work together to
achieve the main purpose of the article: to assist the reader in deciding whether or not to see the
movie being reviewed. Film reviews are usually written with a persuasive argument in mind
because the author tries to convince the reader that the movie he/she is discussing is either good
or bad, and the author often makes his/her recommendation based on the specific audience they
think will read it. Therefore, it is important to learn about the elements of different genresthe
conventions, the intended audience, and other rhetorical featuresin order to be able to write in
them effectively and be able to successfully accomplish the purpose of that specific genre
through writing.

Works Cited
Carroll, Laura Bolin. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing
Spaces: Readings on Writing. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 1. 2010.
Print.
Debruge, Peter. "Film Review: Zootopia." Variety 12 Feb. 2016. Web.
Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Ed. Charles Lowe and
Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 1. 2010. Print.
Goldstein, Gary. "'Zootopia' Is Quite Simply a Beastly Good Time at the Movies." Los Angeles
Times 3 Mar. 2016. Web.
Lapin, Andrew. "'Zootopia': A Nimble Tale Of Animal Instincts And Smart Bunnies." NPR.
National Public Radio, 4 Mar. 2016. Web.
Losh, Elizabeth, and Jonathan Alexander. "Spaces for Writing." Understanding Rhetoric: A
Graphic Guide to Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.

Writing 2 Feedback Matrix for WP1

Table of Textual Features

Did Not Meet

Met Expectations

Exceeded Expectations

Expectations

Thesis Statement

Use of Textual Evidence

from Genres
Use of Course Readings

/-

Analysis

Organization/Structure

Attention to

Genre/Conventions and
Rhetorical Factors
+

Sentence-level Clarity,
Mechanics, Flow

CC,
Other Comments

Wow, nice going, sister! :) You put yourself in excellent

position for the final portfolio -- please use my comments on a
way to help you get there.
Overall, heres what I recommend: (1) raising the so what?
Who cares? stakes of your argument a bit, (2) making more use

of the course readings, and (3) thinking real hard about

organization/structural decisions.
Still, though, there was a ton to like about this piece.
Z
9/10