“The Day After” Movie Review
Due April 19, 2020 by 11:59pm.
“In no less than 1250, but no more than 1500 words, review the movie “The Day After” for its historical accuracy, purpose, moment, and persuasiveness.”
Historical accuracy.
Purpose.
Moment.
Persuasiveness.
What do these terms mean? Come with your ideas next week.
”The Day After”
What is your strategy for writing this review?
The prompt says to “evaluate” the film. How is this different than summarizing the key plot points, characters, etc.?
Historical Accuracy
How do we demonstrate historical accuracy for a work of fiction?
What elements of the movie would you point to in demonstrating its historical accuracy/inaccuracy?
Moment
Situate the film in the Cold War as of 1983.
What is going on?
How do Americans think about the Cold War at this moment?
How have U.S. Soviet relations evolved leading up to 1983?
What happens post-1983? Any drastic changes that might help with context?
Purpose
Why was the movie produced in 1983?
What elements in the film speak to its purpose?
What does this tell us about the Cold War in 1983?
Persuasiveness
Fairly straightforward.
Based on how you defined the purpose of the film, does it “hit its mark?”
What is most persuasive about the film?
What is least persuasive?
Reagan’s Evil Empire Speech
Address given March 8, 1983.
The Reagan Years
Reagan elected president in 1980.
What is the state of U.S. power/credibility at the time he takes office?
How does this factor into how we remember Reagan?
What is Reagan’s domestic agenda?
What is Reagan’s Cold War strategy coming into office? How does it change over time?
How does the Cold War evolve over the life of Reagan’s presidency?
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
