1500 words 6 paragraphs

Paper 1—Race in SF: Messages & Methods (150 points)

The Basic Assignment

Responding to one topic below and meeting the stated content criteria, write a unified, creatively titled
argument essay of at least 1500 words and at least six paragraphs. Properly format the paper, cite in
MLA style, and use formal English. The paper is incomplete without a correct MLA list of works cited.

TOPIC 1: What is one of the key messages that Get Out conveys to viewers about race in twenty-first-
century American society?

• Caveat: Do not perform the same kind of literary/film analysis that you may have learned in high
school. You must decide on and argue for one specific message that the film intentionally or
unintentionally conveys, and state this message in your thesis statement. The message can be quite
sophisticated, however.

TOPIC 2: In his essay, Michael Omi mentions the concept of racial passing, but in the context of music. A
person who passes crosses the boundary between groups and is read by others as belonging to a group
that he or she would not ordinarily belong to. This term originally applied to light-skinned Blacks who
passed for white, thus reaping the benefits of whiteness. Passing narratives—nonfiction and fiction stories
of Blacks who passed for white—have existed in American literature (and later, film) for over 150 years.

Rather than telling a mainstream or reality-based passing story, “A Habit of Waste” consciously employs
the science-fiction tactic of brain transplantation or body trade-ins to tell its story and make its points.
What does this tactic or method enable Hopkinson to do and/or say that a mainstream story cannot?

• Caveat: Again, do not simply write the same kind of literary/film interpretation paper you might have
written in the past. This topic asks you to focus on a particular literary device—specifically one
available only in speculative fiction and science fiction—and argue about its capabilities in the story. To
do so successfully, you must also consider the limitations of reality-based fiction.

Content Criteria

Passing papers need to meet all of the following bulleted criteria:

• consistently argue the thesis in affirmative argument body paragraphs that have a fairly standard
“sandwich” or MEAL structure.

• for support, use extensive textual evidence in the form of specific scenes, descriptions, or stretches

of dialogue from the film, or the equivalent from the story.

• to support your view or the opposition’s, include at least one cited quotation from Michael Omi’s

article “In Living Color: Race and American Culture.”

• to support your view or the opposition’s, or to define a useful term or discuss background, include a

cited paraphrase from Michael Omi, Brittney Cooper (“Hollywood’s Post-Racial Mirage”), or Matt
Zoller Seitz (“The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won’t Die”).

• include a chunk of embedded counterargument in a body paragraph. Bold the opposition’s claim.

• include an MLA list of works cited (I will provide entries). Do not perform any outside research.

Helpful Resources

• For a sample paper, please see the Paper 1 post on Blackboard (give me a day or two).

• For information about layout for the essay and works cited, consult my core file called Essay Format.

• For help with structuring paragraphs, see the core file called Essay Basics.

• For information on counterarguments, see the core file called Counterarguing.

• For basic movie information, use my Movie Minutes II file and/or the film’s page at www.imdb.com.

• For grammar and editing help, see the Grammar Resources section of Blackboard.

Milestones

Week 3—Monday, April 12

In one submission cycle, load two copies each of a qualifying draft and a self-review letter to the Paper 1

submission folder on Blackboard.

• Submit a doc/docx file and a PDF file of BOTH items in the SAME submission cycle.

• Be sure to check the draft criteria well in advance

• Criteria for self-review letters are specific; read the Paper 1 self-review file well in advance.

• Think of the letter as practice for the type of letters you will write for partners on subsequent essays.

Week 3—Friday, April 16

Submit the final copy of your draft in two different formats to the same submission folder as before.

• Submit BOTH a doc/docx file and a PDF file in the SAME submission cycle.

• If you use Google Docs, you should be able to easily convert to both document types.

A Few Pointers

In the past, I have seen patterns that result in unsuccessful papers. The most frequent oversight is the lack
of an embedded counterargument (as I define it). Here is an overview of other things to avoid.

Often, people will write a thesis saying that Get Out “sends the message of racial division” (or racism, or
something of that nature). Racial division is a phenomenon, not a message. I can say the same of racism.
What about racial division? What about racism? What is the film saying about the phenomenon?

I also frequently see Get Out papers that merely trace parallels. For example, a paragraph might argue
that the auction scene resembles slave auctions. Such a paragraph is not arguing about a message.

Other people wind up arguing something they believe about society rather than what the film is saying
about society. These folks take a position on a social issue and then use movie examples to illustrate what
they mean or to support their position. Such a paper is a 1B position paper, not a 1C interpretation paper.

The most common failing in Hopkinson papers occurs when the writers claim that the science fictional
device does what mainstream fiction cannot do—and repeat the claim over and over in different terms
without actually arguing or supporting it. They do not actually show that the claim is true. These papers
must show the benefits of the body-swapping device and the limitations of mainstream fiction.