Video Reaction Paper.
“Africa: Paper Gods” :
African people are deeply religious. There are few things in their lives outside the realm of the sacrity. However, it is not easy to find an orthodox idea of God.
VIDEO REACTION PAPER
Completed every other week, opposite of quizzes, these papers are to be 750 words in length and should be APA, 6th edition, style (no abstract necessary).
HANDY-DANDY GUIDE TO WRITING A VIDEO REACTION PAPER
If you were to ask 10 people, “How do I write a Video Reaction Paper?” you’d probably get 10 different responses. No one seems to know exactly how to do one, yet almost everyone is assigned one at some point in his or her academic career. Here is a guide to what faculty are usually “looking for” in a well-written video reaction paper.
Remember, however, that every faculty member is different: some will want you to spend more time “analyzing” or “evaluating” the piece, others on giving your personal reactions to it. The best rule of thumb is to ask your faculty member for clarification. You might even consider giving him or her this guideline and asking him or her to revise it to reflect his or her expectations.
I. SUMMARY/SYNOPSIS
– What are you reacting to? GOAL: Show that you understand the thesis, main ideas, and supporting ideas in the documentary you’re writing about.
Identify all of the “basic information: about the documentary that you can, including:
the source and narrator of the piece, the title of the piece, the title of the documentary, the producer, and the year of production; the topic or subject of the piece—for example, “Africa: Paper Gods” or “Around the World in 80 Faiths – Europe.”
In other words, tell what the piece is about in a word or a phrase; the producer’s purpose or motive for filming the documentary—for example, “to expose the dangerous conditions factory workers in the United States faced prior in the early decades of the twentieth century” or “to show how residents can unite to improve their neighborhood”; the documentary’s thesis statement (might be similar to the purpose, but not necessarily); the documentary’s primary supporting ideas.
II. ANALYSIS/EVALUATION
–What are the strengths and weaknesses of the documentary? Goal: Show that you understand what the documentary does well and what it does not do so well.
1. Answer the “w” questions, like why, why not, what, what if, what for, where, why there, who, how, when . . . Specific questions you might take up include:
was the documentary convincing? why or why not, specifically? is it well-researched? are the sources the documentary uses reputable? why or why not?
did the documentary overlook or leave out anything important? what?
did the documentary over-emphasize or over-privilege anything? what?
is the documentary one-sided (even if he or she takes your side), or does the documentary present a balanced view?
III. YOUR REACTIONS
–How do you react to the documentary on a personal level? How does the documentary relate to your experience? Goal: Share your own impressions and your own experiences with readers.
1. Here are some questions you might consider answering:
did the documentary hold your interest? Why or why not?
did the documentary bother or annoy you? why or why not?
what would you ask, or tell, the producer of the piece if you could?
what did you realize as a result of viewing the documentary?