Adanggaman Film Review Essay
(assignment 13)

Notes:

1) This assignment, like ALL assignments in this class, must be typed. See handout on class expectations

2) You MUST use blackboard's digital dropbox (details here) to submit this homework

3) BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR THIS COURSE.

All files should be named as: your last name, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by a your first initial, followed by an underscore ("_"), followed by the assignment number. So if a student named Saddam Hussein were to submit assignment number 13, the file name would be:

hussein_s_13.doc

THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 13

4) Remember, you must do one "long paper option" from the four papers assigned between 3/01 and 4/05. For any essay that you do not chose the "long paper option," you must do the "short essay option." So, you must write one "full paper option" andthree"short essay options." Although "long paper option" essays may be turned in late (with the usual penalties), "short essay option" MAY NOT BE TURNED IN LATE.

click here for short option or scroll down

Long Option

Due: Tuesday, March 22

Imaginee both that you are a famous historian of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and that Roger Gnoan M'Bala’s film Adanggaman has just been released. The New York Post has asked you to write a review that assesses the historical accuracy of the film. Your review should be no less than 550 words and no more 850. Historical inaccuracies, in the context of your review, may include not only aspects of the film that are outright false but also (and more interestingly) aspects that -- although plausible -- misrepresent what was typical or common for the slave trade at the time.

Feel free to use the abbreviations WTWA for our textbook Worlds Together, Worlds Apart as well as TST for the transatlantic slave trade.

In short, take as the primary goal for your review answering this question:

"How can the content of Roger Gnoan M'Bala’s film Adanggaman be interpreted to demonstrate that the film is (or is not) an historically accurate representation of BOTH the external and internal slave trade in West Africa in the seventeenth century?"

(By internal slave trade, I mean the capture and sale of enslaved Africans WHOLLY within the continent).

Spend no more than a few sentences summarizing the story; again, your job here is to tell audiences whether or not what they are seeing is accurate -- not whether or not the film is good (although it did get excellent reviews in Africa and Europe).

For the purposes of this paper, assume:

A) the history in the textbook and additional readings is accurate

B) the only history you need to know is contained in the course readings so far. I neither expect or want you to do outside research.

C) Your response can argue the film is entirely accurate, entirely inaccurate, or a mix of accuracies and inaccuracies.

To receive full credit for this paper you must:

PAPERS THAT DO NOT IDENTIFY THE CLAIM/EVIDENCE/WARRANT UNITS WILL RECEIVE NO CREDIT. (I am serious)

1) underline your thesis

2) label your claim/evidence/warrant units (see below) with some clear system. For example, you might write (cl) or (ev) in the margins, or include the word (claim) before your claim. Remember, only paragraphs the present evidence will have claim/evidence/warrant units. Others -- your introduction, for example -- will not.

3) cite all references from the course readings. Example: (WTWA, p. 17)

4) Have three points of comparison between the film and the readings When comparing the film to the reading, you must have at least on piece of evidence from the film and one from the reading.

5) Address BOTH the external and internal slave trade in West Africa. Papers that do not address the film's portrayal of the internal slave trade in West Africa will lose 15% of the top.

6) Finally, no outside research is necessary, desirable, or even permitted for this paper. DO NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES IN WRITING THIS PAPER. Papers that use outside sources as the basis either a direct and indirect quotation will receive an "F".

Writing Tips:

1) you will need to organize your response around a thesis statement (which you must underline to get credit for the paper). As we discussed in class, your thesis must answer the "how and why" questions, rather than simply assert an observation. (See here for a refresher handout on the thesis statement.)

2) The textbook does not directly address the internal African slave trade at any real length, so to answer that part of the question based of the textbook, you will have to extrapolate. (ex·trap·o·late, v.: to use known facts as the starting point from which to draw inferences or draw conclusions about something unknown). Keep in mind your responses to the short answer questions on the slave trade.

SAMPLE PARAGRAPH:

(cl) The film accurately portayed (phenomenon x). (ev) WTWA notes that (historical fact y). This fact finds reflection in the film when (event y) occurs. (wa) (event y) accurately portrays (historical fact y) because (analysis t).

3) In those paragraphs in which you present evidence (and only those paragraphs), be sure to use warrants to explain how the evidence you supply supports your thesis.

See here for an example of claim/evidence/warrant structure.

See here for a discussion of how to handle evidence, including the use of warrants.



 


So, one way to organize your paper might be:

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Establish the context for your argument. What are (briefly) the important facts your audience must know to read further (No more than 3 sentences)

Example: The historical accuracy of the film Adanggaman’s depiction of the slave trade in West Africa in the seventeenth century can be seen in A, B, and C. (where A,B, and C are aspects of the film that you note)

B. Thesis


I I. Point A

A. Claim
B. Evidence (from film and readings)
C. Warrant

III. Point B

A. Claim
B. Evidence (from film and readings)
C. Warrant

III Point C

A. Claim
B. Evidence (from film and readings)
C. Warrant

V Conclusion

 

Short Option

Due: Tuesday, March 22

In one or two paragraphs, andswer this question:

How accurately did the film portray Africa's internal slave trade in the seventeenth century and why?

By internal slave trade, I mean the capture and sale of enslaved Africans WHOLLY within the continent. Historical inaccuracies, in the context of your paragraph, may include not only aspects of the film that are outright false but also (and more interestingly) aspects that -- although plausible -- misrepresent what was typical or common for the slave trade at the time.

For the purposes of this paper, assume:

A) the history in the textbook and additional readings is accurate

B) the only history you need to know is contained in the course readings so far. I neither expect or want you to do outside research.

C) Your response can argue the film is entirely accurate, entirely inaccurate, or a mix of accuracies and inaccuracies.

 

Writing Tip: The textbook does not directly address the internal African slave trade at any real length, so to answer this question, you will have to extrapolate. (ex·trap·o·late, v.: to use known facts as the starting point from which to draw inferences or draw conclusions about something unknown). Keep in mind your responses to the short answer questions on the slave trade.

To receive full credit for this paper you must:

PARAGRAPHS THAT DO NOT IDENTIFY THE CLAIM/EVIDENCE/WARRANT UNITS WILL RECEIVE NO CREDIT. (I am serious)


1 ) label your claim/evidence/warrant units (see below) with some clear system. For example, you might write (cl) or (ev) in the margins, or include the word (claim) before your claim.

2 ) cite all references from the course readings. Example: (WTWA, p. 17)

3) Finally, no outside research is necessary, desirable, or even permitted for this paper. DO NOT USE OUTSIDE SOURCES IN WRITING THIS PAPER. Papers that use outside sources as the basis either a direct and indirect quotation will receive an "F"