Business, Government and Society PGP TERM-I (2011-13) Prof. M.V. Rajeev Gowda Prof. N. Ravi Prof.

Deepak Malghan

First Assignment Instructions The assignment is due on or before 16:00 hours, Monday, 18th July 2011 Please submit printed hard copies of this assignment to your respective section TA Please print on both sides of the paper and do NOT use any fancy binders, etc. Please follow standard academic integrity protocols o Cite all your quotes o This is a common assignment across all sections and the three instructors will actively look for plagiarism cases both within, and between sections (all common films/books will be compared across sections). o Any cases of plagiarism will be reported to the PGP office for appropriate action.

Film or Book Review I have been wondering how to give you a break from the usual routine of business school, to give you a chance to catch a well-made film or curl up with a good book. I think I have found a way. But, as it happens so often in life, there is a catch. The catch is that you need to tell me about the experience. And you will have to watch the film or read the book through the eyes of a student of Business, Government and Society. There are many excellent movies and books that have had an impact on society, that have been agenda setting in their own way, that have captured the mood of the era. These are the sorts of movies and books that I would like you to engage with. The movies could be documentaries and the books could be serious non-fiction. Or they could be Bollywood hits or pulp bestsellers. The important thing is that either they have a theme that impacts society in some way, or they generate a reaction from society, positive or negative. So, for example, a thriller like The Da Vinci Code generated strong reactions, including bans on the film in some parts of India. What was the fuss all about? Similarly, Yuva and Rang de Basanti seemed to catch the imagination of Indias youth. How come? So, you can see that anything like this is fine. I was originally going to come up with a list of books or films for you to check out, and I wanted to approve each one of your choices. Now, I have decided to leave it entirely up to your judgment. (OK; I will come up with a small list of suggestions at the end, just to give you a quick sense of the range of possibilities, but these will be limited by my imagination and exposure). Part of my evaluation of your review (i.e., your grade) will be my judgment on your choice and how you justify its relevance to our Business, Government, and Society context. Your review should be at least 4 double-spaced pages long, 12 point Arial or Times font. Now, assuming that you have figured out which film or book to choose, how do you go about reviewing it? How do you maintain that keen sense of how the film or book relates to issues that we have discussed in class? Perhaps things will get easier if you follow the steps below and answer a few pointed questions. What is the central story or message of the film or book? Where is the director/author coming from? That is, in your opinion, what ideological point of view or starting premises affects the way the work is positioned and laid out? How does the director/author convey his/her point of view? What are the special techniques used? What are the metaphors and symbols used to evoke empathy and a rapport with the audience/reader?

What all aspects of Business, Government, and Society does the film/book relate to? How? Explain in some detail. Keep your answer simple and accessible, as if you were writing for a general audience. What are the limitations that you see in the director/authors effort? What are your criticismsof the approach, the assumptions, the way the point was pitched, the evidence used, etc.? Elaborate. How does the film/book fit into the larger social, economic, political context? What genre (category) does it belong to? Is it still relevant to todays changed times and milieu? Did you like the film/book? Do you think it is worth recommending to others? Did the film/book leave a lasting impression? What was the takeaway? Does it still haunt you in some way? Elaborate. In terms of books, many of the books worth considering are those at the top of the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list. Go visit good bookstores in the city or our library and leaf through books in different sections. Steer clear of solid academic tomes; focus on books aimed at the general public. Another idea would be to reflect on some of the authors that we have covered in our course, find someone whose work you liked, and look for a general public oriented book from them. Generally not a novel though. For example, in the Environmental field, numerous books have had an impact. Rachel Carsons Silent Spring, E. E. Schumachers Small is Beautiful, Al Gores Earth in the Balance, Lomborgs Skeptical Environmentalist. In terms of international politics, development and globalization, Thomas Friedmans Lexus and the Olive Tree, or The World is Flat, Huntingtons The Clash of Civilizations, Kenichi Ohmaes The Borderless World, Diamonds Guns Germs and Steel. In terms of Indian politics, you can go back to Gandhi and My Experiments with Truth, or to Nehru and Discovery of India or Autobiography or to Golwalkars We or our Nationhood Defined or to Ambedkars The Untouchables. Or the new wave, Sunil Khilnanis The Idea of India, Gurcharan Dass India Unbound or Elephant Paradigm, Shashi Tharoors India From Midnight to Millennium. VS Naipaul and Arun Shourie have numerous books that are relevant. Chomsky is a good bet. Go ahead and explore a bit. There is a treasure trove out there. In terms of films, other than the documentary genre, there are art films. Some, such as The Bandit Queen, cross boundaries. Generally there are numerous directors who are renowned for making meaningful movies. Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta come to mind, as does Michael Moore. There are very wry spoofs such as Wag the Dog that actually say a lot more in a fun way. From Bollywood, Swades is a serious film that would qualify. There are numerous films in regional languages that are worth checking out. You can go back to the Bengali masters, Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. You could check out books by Jnanpith awardees that have been made into films. Theres a surfeit of riches out there.

Some Western films (the list is merely indicative) that you chose to review include:
Constant Gardener (Based on the book by John le Carre about abuses of pharma companies testing drugs in African countries) Erin Brockovich (Based on a true story of the eponymous heroine fighting a company that pollutes the environment) Good Night and Good Luck( Nominated for the Oscar in 2005. The story deals with a CBS-TV journalist who stands up for ethical journalism during the McCarthy era of the fifties.) Inside Out (2011 Oscar Winner for the Best Documentary film. Deals with the US Triggered economic crisis) Capitalism: A Love Story ( Documentary on the US triggered economic crisis) Sicko! (Documentary on the health care system in the US, UK and France, compared with no holds barred) All the Presidents Men (The famous Dustin Hoffmann and Robert Redford Movie about the decline and fall of Richard Nixon, courtesy investigative reporting by the media)

MORE GUIDELINES FROM SOME WEB SOURCES FOLLOW. Guidelines from the Literacy Education Online website http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/bookrev.html The following questions are designed to help you generate and focus your ideas when writing a book, movie, or film review. You won't need to answer all of these questions for your paper, but many of the answers will help you discover information and focus your thinking. What questions

What are you reviewing? What is it about? What's the plot? What's the theme? What is the author's/director's purpose? What genre or classification does it fit? What is the tone? What is the point of view? What's the mood?

When and Where questions

When was this done? Or when does the action take place? Where was this done? Or where does the action take place?

Who questions

Who wrote it, directed it, or acted in it? What else have they done? Who are the main characters? Who's the intended audience? Who has said what about this? Why?

How questions

How does it convey its main point, mood, or theme? How did the audience react to it? How well does it fulfill its purpose?

Evaluation questions

Did I like this in general? Why? Did I agree with the main theme/purpose? Why or why not? What specifically did I like/dislike? Why? Did the author/actors/director do a good job? Why or why not? How could it be improved? Why would particular changes help?

After you have answered these questions, begin selecting and organizing the information that you'll include in your paper.

Steps for Writing a Good Book Review

Introduce the subject, scope, and type of book
Identify the book by author, title, and sometimes publishing information. Specify the type of book (for example, fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography). Help your readers to review with perspective. Mention the book's theme. Sometimes you will need to include background to enable reader(s) to place the book into a specific context. For example, you might want to describe the general problem the book addresses or earlier work the author or others have done.

Briefly summarize the content

For a nonfiction book, provide an overview, including paraphrases and quotations, of the book's thesis and primary supporting points. For a work of fiction, briefly review the story line for readers, being careful not to give away anything that would lessen the suspense for readers.

Provide your reactions to the book

Describe the book: Is it interesting, memorable, entertaining, instructive? Why?

Respond to the author's opinions: What do you agree with? And why? What do you disagree with? And why? Explore issues the book raises: What possibilities does the book suggest? Explain. What matters does the book leave out? Explain. Relate your argument to other books or authors: Support your argument for or against the author's opinions by bringing in other authors you agree with. Relate the book to larger issues: How did the book affect you? How have your opinions about the topic changed? How is the book related to your own course or personal agenda.

Conclude by summarizing your ideas

Close with a direct comment on the book, and tie together issues raised in the review. Briefly restate your main points and your thesis statement if your teacher requires it. If you like, you can offer advice for potential readers.

How to Write a Book Review, Film Review, or Other Critique

by Brittany Harrison, in collaboration with Barbara Hardie

http://www.wcu.edu/writingcenter/isource.asp?page=wbreviews.html The key to writing a good review or critique of any media - books, films, music, etc. - is knowing what you think and why you think it. There is no way to have a wrong opinion, but in order to have a useful opinion, you must be able to explain your opinion clearly. 1. How to Develop a Defensible Opinion Students may often feel shy about expressing their opinions because they're afraid they're not educated or sophisticated enough to "know what they're talking about." If this is the case for you, remember the point of a review or critique is to discover and examine your thoughts on the subject you are reviewing. In other words, the point of a review is to learn "what you're talking about." The best way to have confidence in your opinion and convince others to take your opinion seriously is to develop principles. You probably already have principles-you just don't call them by that name. A good way to discover your principles is to ask yourself relentlessly why? For example, let's say you read a book (or watch a movie) and don't enjoy it very much. Someone asks you, "Why?" You say you "don't like stories with happy endings." I don't like stories with happy endings is a principle. Perhaps you genuinely do not like any stories with happy endings. But if you ask yourself why again, you might come up with a more specific principle. Why didn't I like the happy ending in this story? Because it was cheesy and unrealistic. I don't like stories with sentimental and unrealistic endings is a more specific and more interesting principle than the first. If you can figure out what your principles are, then you will "know what you're talking about" any time you give your opinion. The next time 6

someone asks you why you don't care for a particular movie, you can say, "I don't really like movies with unrealistic endings. But if you like love stories where lovers always wind up together in the end, you might like it." By articulating your principles fully, you are saying to another person, "This isn't really my cup of tea, but you have the right to feel differently." You are giving an intelligent, well-reasoned opinion and at the same time treating other opinions with respect. This is the cornerstone of intelligent discussion and a key component in effective writing. 2. How to Read or Watch for an Opinion The kind of principle described above works well for fiction books and most Hollywood movies. However, if you are reviewing a non-fiction book in some specialized field, or a documentary or avant-garde film, then you may not have enough experience with the genre to know ahead of time what your principles are. One way to get started is to figure out what purpose the author or filmmaker has and whether or not she achieves that purpose. In a non-conventional film, the director's purpose may be difficult to determine, and a great deal of critical thinking on your part may be necessary. You might arrive at the conclusion that the filmmaker's purpose is to leave the viewer with a sense of confusion. If you can support your perspective with evidence, then you have something to write about. One way to articulate this position might be to write, I do not care for confusing films; however, the filmmaker has accomplished her purpose. On the other hand, non-fiction books often contain a preface in which the author states her purpose. If your author's purpose - as indicated in her preface - is to educate the reader about bipolar depression, and the author spends most of the book talking about unipolar depression, then the author has not met her goal. Gauging how well the creator has achieved her purpose is the best way to write a fair review, even if you hate the book or movie you are reviewing. You have the right to the principle I don't like books about psychology or I don't like avant-garde films, but if your assignment is to write a psychology book review or a critique of an avant-garde film, then the I-don't-like principle won't get you very far. If you say instead, I can respect books or movies in which the creator clearly states her purpose and then accomplishes it, even if I don't give a rip about the subject matter, then you have somewhere to go with your review. 3. Your Opinion Is Best Defended With Evidence--So Take Notes As you read your book, make a note of the sentences and phrases that best illustrate your opinion of it. If you are reviewing a film, make notes of the scenes that affect you most strongly. Study the image on the screen carefully and analyze what you see. Note any character dialogue that seems to be especially significant. One of the most common student complaints is that their assigned work is "boring" or that they "don't understand it." If this happens to you, think about your book or movie from these perspectives:

When I say boring, do I mean unfamiliar? or, When I say boring, do I mean that this somehow makes me uncomfortable? If you find that a book is boring, slow down. You might be missing something, and you will want your review to be as fair as possible. However, pointless books have indeed been published, and it may have been your misfortune to encounter a book that is indeed "boring." Consider, though, how the content might line up with the author's purpose. If the author's purpose was to educate readers about bipolar depression, and her book is nothing but an endless parade of statistics, then she probably hasn't educated anyone, because she hasn't presented her material in an accessible manner. If, however, the purpose of the book was to publish the statistics of bipolar depression occurring in the US during a certain time period, then the author has probably met her goal, which was simply to provide data. Whatever your opinion may be, the best way to back it up is to provide examples. If you provide a quote illustrating the kind of language you find dense and impossible to understand, or describe a scene that strikes you as overdone and silly, then your reader will be better equipped to judge your opinion.

Film Reviews
By Esther Godfrey http://www.wcu.edu/writingcenter/isource.asp?page=freviews.html

Before you begin:

View the film critically. Analyze the film as you watch it. Take notes on the film, listing major scenes, personal reactions, and common themes. Also write comments about any questions or criticism that may arise. If possible, view the film once or twice again. Focus the purpose and position of your review. Most reviews assume that the reader has not seen the film. Decide whether or not you wish to recommend the film. Support your stance with evidence from the film.

Organize your review:

General information about the film is essential at the beginning of a review. Try to incorporate several facts that the reader needs to know into clear, concise statements. The first paragraph should include information about the name of the movie, the genre (horror, science fiction, action, drama, etc.), the main actors, the director, the setting, or any other elements of the film that are notable (the public reaction to The Last Temptation of Christ, the literary history of A Room with a View, the MTV origins of Beavis and Butthead). By including brief descriptive words or phrases like "revolutionary," "depressing," or "politically incorrect" in your introductory paragraph, you give the reader a preview of your opinion of the 8

film. Also, try to strengthen your role as reviewer by establishing as much evidence of your expertise as possible. For example, refer to other works by the same director or other works in the same genre. Provide the reader a short plot summary. Limit the summary to less than one-fourth of your paper. Keep in mind that you only wish to reveal enough basic knowledge concerning the film so that your criticism will have a foundation. The plot summary is a minor element of the review upon which the main purpose builds its case. The plot summary is not the main purpose of your review. Begin the critical portion of your review. Support your opinion of the film with facts. For example, "In the fourth scene, Kevin Costner acts like a wet handkerchief flapping in the breeze." If certain segments of the film worked and others did not, explain why. If you believe that the film will appeal to a certain audience, state that audience and explain why. If you believe that the film has social, philosophical, emotional, political or religious implications, state those implications and explain why. This section of the review is the most important, and it is also where you have the most freedom as a critic.

Other useful information:

Treat the film as a work of art. Underline its title or put it in italics. Like action in a novel or a painting, the material within the art remains in an eternal present. For example, you would write, "Luke Skywalker looks into the distance and plans his attack on Darth Vader," not "Luke looked into the distance and planned his attack on Darth Vader. " Don't reveal the ending unless you believe that your audience has already seen the film. If you need to applaud or criticize the ending, express your ideas without specifically referring to facts (this is the only place where not using facts is a good idea). To state that "the conclusion dissolves into sentimental drivel" or that "ultimately the director loses focus and lapses into the predictable" gives the reader the idea of why the ending was not successful without compromising the element of the unknown.

Some questions to consider in your review:

What was the film trying to convey? Was it successful? What did you like or dislike? What are the film's strengths and weaknesses? How do the characters develop in the film? Was the dialogue believable? What did you think of the film's acting/directing/special effects? When, if ever, does the film drag? What scenes were unnecessary or problematic? What more could/should have been done in the film?