The document provides instructions for writing a persuasive essay that evaluates a film in a particular genre. The essay must be at least 1200 words and include one mandatory secondary source, a film review from RogerEbert.com about the film being analyzed. The essay should answer what makes a good film in the chosen genre. It gives guidelines on organization, structure, and audience to consider, which is a college student organizing a film night. It provides a sample essay and notes from the instructor for reference.

1. Word Count: at least 1200 words (with 1 mandatory secondary
Word Count: at least 1200 words (with 1 mandatory secondary source) The purpose of this
essay is to persuade the audience to see the author’s point of view on the subject. For this
essay, your task is to evaluate one full-length feature film. You will answer the following
question:What makes a good (add genre) film?You may choose a film in one of the following
genres (films may be a combination of genres):Animation / Comedy / Romance / Drama /
Western / ActionDocumentary / Musical / Science-Fiction / Biography MANDATORY
SECONDARY SOURCE: FILM REVIEWAfter you select the genre and film, you must look up a
film review. You will use the film review in your essay to support your ideas. Select a film
review from RogerEbert.com. Do not use any other website for film
reviews.ORGANIZATION & AUDIENCEYou need a well-organized essay (introduction, body
paragraphs, and a conclusion). In the Unit 3 folder, there is a sample outline. This outline is
optional, but it will help you organize your ideas around your pre-selected criteria.A strong
organizational pattern will help your audience. The specific audience for this essay is a
college student who is organizing a film night on campus. He is looking for suggestions for
what film to choose (or perhaps what films to avoid). Take the audience into consideration
and AVOID the following:2nd person pronoun (YOU)ContractionsCursing, foul language,
etc.Rhetorical questionsmy teacher sent two sample essays I would like to add that. I used
this once and the writer was not good and I did not use the paper.Some Teachers Have Eight
LimbsIt might seem like documentaries are often overshadowed by the thrill of action
movies or the allure of romance films. They might come off as boring or lackluster to
moviegoers since something nonfictional might not seem entertaining. However, a well-
made documentary can crush these negative stereotypes. In 2020, My Octopus Teacher was
released, and it deservedly received praise for demonstrating just how fascinating and
captivating a documentary can be. It takes viewers into a foreign world, the world of the
octopus, and allows them to witness the incredible intelligence of this eight-limbed
cephalopod. My Octopus Teacher accomplishes its goal of being a fascinating documentary
by providing viewers with incredible visuals, covering an interesting topic, and using the
most reliable source for an astonishing story.My Octopus Teacher is a documentary that
was released in 2020. The film was directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, and it
features filmmaker Craig Foster and an octopus as the main characters in this film. Craig
Foster’s son, Tom Foster, is also featured briefly. This documentary presents the amazing
footage captured by Craig Foster as he formed a friendship with a wild common octopus off
the coast of South Africa. After Foster is able to win the trust of the octopus, he captures

2. footage that shows the impressive cognitive abilities of this animal as well as the emotional
complexity she seems to have. For almost a year, Foster follows the octopus and observes
how she lives, eats, and survives. In this film, Foster explains how this unusual bond
between man and wild animal taught him about the frailty of life and impacted his
connection with nature.In a documentary, it is critical that the film provides sufficient
visuals and footage to depict whatever is being discussed. These optic displays keep the
viewers’ attention, but most importantly, it helps them comprehend what is going on. This
documentary does a remarkable job of fulfilling this important criterion. The viewer is
immediately thrown into an underwater world with incredible and awe-inspiring visuals
that persist throughout the entirety of the film. The vast majority of the footage in this
documentary is taken either underwater or right above it, therefore the visuals depicted in
this film are going to show scenes that the average person is not used to seeing every day.
Forests of kelp, sea urchins, clams, shells, sharks, varieties of fish, and the main star herself,
the octopus, are just a few of the amazing depictions from this underwater terrain. As Foster
tells the story, he has footage for each and every event so that the viewers can see exactly
what is happening. The viewers are not simply listening to a story; they are experiencing it
themselves.The purpose of a documentary is obviously to document some kind of story,
event, or educational information, and it needs to cover something new and exciting if it
wants to be seen as superb. Perhaps, this is one of the most obvious attributes in My
Octopus Teacher, because it has great potential to teach the viewers something new and
captivating. Not only does it teach the viewers about the surprising intellectual capabilities
of the common octopus, such as how the octopus knows to cover herself in shells to hide or
jump on the back of a hungry shark to avoid being prey, but it makes a point to emphasize
the potential relationships between man and wildlife. It is not often that a person can form a
relationship with a wild animal in its own habitat and without the use of domestication. As
Nick Schager stated in his February 2021 film review, “My Octopus Teacher captures a
majestic sense of how inquisitiveness, empathy and compassion can give birth to
connections between disparate beings.” Based on just a few simple traits, two completely
different species can form a special bond even if everything else about them is different. As
the film depicts Foster forming a friendship with the octopus, the viewers learn that all that
is needed to form a connection with another being is the mutual ability to be curious and
care about one another.Perhaps, one of the easiest ways to mess up a documentary is to not
use a reliable source for the information included. This film bypasses this potential issue
with ease, as it provides all the information on this story directly from the man who
experienced it. This means there is no room for information to be lost or warped through
miscommunications. Not only is Foster the most reliable source of information for this
story, but he is also a very well-spoken man. Even though the footage provided is enough to
tell the story almost completely on its own, Foster narrates the entire film providing
important details and additional information. It is critical that a story like this be told
directly from Foster, as it is so personal and complex that any secondhand account would be
very unlikely to have such a bold impact on the viewer. Throughout the film, the viewer can
pick up on the emotions and feelings Foster experiences as he recounts this important story,
thus making it more likely to keep the viewers’ attention as it tugs on their

3. heartstrings.There are numerous elements that can determine whether a documentary
could be argued as good, bad, or anywhere in between. In My Octopus Teacher, all of these
elements come together to create an educational, captivating, and emotional film that is
sure to be remembered for decades to come. This film has an amazing story to tell, and
thankfully, it was preserved and retold exquisitely. It contains something for almost anyone,
as it could be a good documentary for someone just wanting to watch a visually pleasing
nature documentary, someone wanting to hear an interesting and emotional story, or
someone just wanting to learn more about octopus behavior from a reliable source. My
Octopus Teacher is not just a documentary, because it feels more like an experience. Not
only do the viewers get the recount of the story, but they also get to live it and learn from
this one special octopus just as Craig Foster did.THIS IS A SAMPLE ESSAY (FOR REFERENCE
ONLY)Student SomebodyProfessor WhoEnglish 10103 April 2021Silence Means DeathWith
over thirteen-thousand nuclear warheads currently on earth, humanity possesses the
capability to ignite its own extinction in a matter of minutes. Three directors attempt to
raise new awareness to this decade’s old predicament in their sobering documentary, The
Bomb. With a topic more relevant than ever, the movie provokes and forces societies across
the world to reconsider their silence and complicity in nuclear weaponry. Considering the
film’s stunning imagery, intriguing soundtrack, profound relevance, and ability to stir minds
to action, The Bomb possesses the necessary elements required for a great
documentary.Released in 2017 by United Visual Artists, producers and directors Smriti
Keshari, Eric Schlosser, and Kevin Ford offer a fresh look in their award-winning film, The
Bomb. The movie incorporates decade’s worth of archival footage mingled with modern
electronic music to shed new light on an often-forgotten existential threat. From the
conception of the first nuclear weapon during the early twentieth century, to the current
state of nuclear weaponry, The Bomb reveals the power and terror these weapons are
capable of unleashing.Viewers are not left wanting when it comes to imagery. Captivating
visuals are thrust upon the audience from the opening scene, and do not let up until the final
credits roll. Christopher Campbell states in his review that the film offers “a kaleidoscopic
montage of archival footage… and more unnerving material – some of it more beautiful than
you’d prefer to acknowledge.” Many people have seen the iconic and monstrous mushroom
cloud footage at some point or another in their life, but many have never seen the less
known, uglier elements that took place during the initial nuclear testing of the nineteen
forties and fifties. Gruesome realities are revealed as horses, dogs, pigs, and other livestock
are locked in cages at the ground zero sites (the area directly below an explosion) of nuclear
detonations. At one point in the film, an oceanic nuclear test is shown creating waves of
water so high the sky is no longer visible, being completely blocked out by the colossal
tsunami. Scenes of awe and intrigue give way to haunting sobriety as footage of the nuclear
holocaust in Nagasaki and Hiroshima are suddenly on the screen. The directors thoroughly
portray what enthralling power these weapons are capable of unleashing, should they ever
be used again.Sight is not the only sense satisfied by the documentary. The ears are equally
treated with a soundtrack as unique as the videography. Originally performed live during
the premier, electronic music quartet, The Acid, beautifully provided the abstract ambience
needed for such a film. Scenes of total destruction are paired perfectly with the ghostly,

4. haunting sounds provided by the musicians. A sense of dread enters the ears
simultaneously as death is passed before the eyes. Portions of the film are fast and
momentous, and The Acid engages the accompanying video with equally driving beats and
bass lines. As critic Bilge Ebiri puts it in his review, “… it’s a death wish you can dance
to.”Now that governments are no longer openly testing these devastating weapons and
releasing the harrowing video footage, it is easy for societies to forget the existential threat
looming over their heads. Nuclear warfare has fallen out of the spotlight and focus of most
people’s attention, but The Bomb brings the forgotten reality of potential nuclear warfare
front and center. The documentary spends a good portion of time displaying archival
footage from once widely distributed government instructional videos that taught the
American people how to prepare for a nuclear attack. Watching actual young boys and girls
“duck and cover” under school desks quickly makes nuclear warfare relevant to the twenty-
first century audience. Once possessed by only the American government, nuclear bombs
previously brought a sense of security to the average American citizen; however, all
peaceful feelings melt away after seeing one foreign military parade after another proudly
showcase nuclear weapons stamped with rival countries flags. Politics become irrelevant
when facing a potential nuclear holocaust, and The Bomb deserves a standing ovation for
highlighting how all humanity will suffer, no matter which flag is on the warhead before it
explodes.This movie will indeed entertain and captivate, but in a morbid sort of way. In fact,
Bilge Ebiri commented in his review of the film, “I enjoyed it. I’m still not sure if I was
supposed to.” Clearly, entertainment was not the directors’ main motivation behind the
talented work, as the viewer is left with a sobering warning in the end – “Our silence is a
form of consent.” Some may be motivated to begin public debate concerning the
proliferation of nuclear weapons due to the grim scenes of Japanese children losing their
hair from radiation exposure during WWII. Perhaps, some will be spurred to action from
the scenes of bewildering power displayed as tsunamis caused by nuclear detonations
swallow whole battleships effortlessly. Ignorance is no longer a valid excuse for inaction
and silence after watching the film. Regardless of what scene ends up being the catalyst for
action, the filmmakers achieved their goal of waking the audience out of its complicit
slumber.Well-made documentaries such as The Bomb are valuable. They provide a way for
filmmakers to teach, raise awareness, and potentially change the course of humanity for the
better. Every aspect of what a successful documentary requires is included in this thought-
provoking film. Directors Keshari, Schlosser, and Ford have made a lasting impact upon
their audiences, and they have earned every ounce of praise they received from critics
abroad. Few films successfully reach across the barriers of language and different cultures
as effectively as this film. Many thanks to the creators of this enlightening work of art for
utilizing the powers at their disposal to help ensure the children of the future can live above
the shadow of nuclear war.