English 101 Fall 2014

Essay Two – The Expository Essay

 

Requirements:

3-4 typed, double-spaced pages in length

(Please refer to the Syllabus for MLA format)

 

For this essay, you will view the documentary, Waste Land (2010) directed by Lucy Walker(The film features artist Vik Muniz). It is available via:

Amazon – to rent for $3.99 or for free with a Prime Membership/1 month trial

Netflix – if you don’t have a Netflix account, they are offering a free trial as well.

YouTube – but I don’t completely trust this version…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtBG53pHO_w…and you have to create an account (if you don’t already have one) to view the film because it has an adult content warning.

The Assignment:

After viewing the film, you will write a 3-4 page expository essay in reaction to the film.Make sure you clearly reference the film, noting key characters, scenes and events. The essay will use the film as a resource, almost like a research paper in that you will be drawing from an outside source (the film, its characters) to illustrate your point. Review the documents posted inModule 4 to learn about the two types of expository writing.

Choose only one of the five followingtopicsas a guide to writing this essay:

1.       What is dignity? How would you describe it? When, in your lives, do you see the term dignity used and in what context? Can you give an example?  When do you feel like you have dignity? What is the difference between being dignified and being treated with dignity?  What is the relationship between dignity and ideas like self-respect and self-worth?  How is our work and what we do to make a living connected to our sense of dignity?  How was this reflected in the film (give specific examples)? Who deserves to be treated with dignity? Are some people more deserving than others? Why or why not?  Can you give an example of a time when you or someone you know was not treated with dignity? What impact did it have?

2.       What does it mean to try to change the lives of people through an art project? What is the artist’s responsibility to the communities s/he represents? If art can transform an object, can it also transform an individual, a community, a society? In Waste Land which was the most surprising change (be specific and explain why)?

3.       What do we mean when we say something is art? What are the qualities that make something art? What are some examples of art? Who makes art? What makes someone an artist? How do we decide that something is or is not art? Who makes that decision?Vik Muniz wanted to move away from fine art. Why? Did he accomplish this? How? It would help to explain what fine art is and how or if it differs from what we have grown to consider art.

4.       There was a debate in the film between Vik Muniz and his collaborators about the responsibility they had to the catadores who were participating in the project and the effect this experience was having on their lives. Muniz says, “If I was a catador and somebody said to me, ‘Listen do you want to come work for two weeks in an artist studio … Oh, and by the way, we may take you to a foreign country, but at the end of all of this you’ll be back here collecting garbage,’ I know I’d say yes.” Would you say yes? Why or why not? What concerns did the other members of the creative team raise? Do you agree with their concerns? If not, why? If so, what would you have done differently? What responsibility do you think an artist has to her/his subjects?

5.       Would you rather be poor with morals or rich with no morals? Why? In connection to this, Muniz discusses his preference for “wanting everything and having nothing, rather than to have everything and want nothing.” Which would you prefer? Why? What parts of the film inspired or impacted your thinking on this topic? How?