Sociology of Health and Illness

Assignment - A sociological film analysis

Learning outcome 1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key theoretical perspectives of sociology of health and illness using evidence from a selected film;

Learning outcome 2: Demonstrate the following skills and abilities: acquire, apply, and evaluate a range of academic evidence relevant to a sociological investigation of aspects of health and illness.

For this assignment, you are required to complete the following:
You will choose and watch ONE of the following films you would like to conduct a sociological analysis on:
Amour (2012). (English subtitles) Directed by Michael Haneke
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. (2005). (English subtitles). Directed by CristiPuiu
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. (2007). (English subtitles). Directed by Julian Schnabel
Mar Adentro [The sea inside]. (2005). (English subtitles). Directed by Alejandro Amenabar
My Sister's Keeper.(2009). Directed by Nick Cassavetes
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. (1975) Directed by Milos Forman

PLEASE NOTE:
-The hyper-links to access these films are available in the Reading List, at the bottom, under ‘Feature films'. Click on the title to watch the film online.
-You MUST select one of the films aboveand NOT a random film of your choice
-You must select ONE film ONLY for your analysis
-Include the film title in the title of your essay submission (Example: ‘A Sociological Analysis of the film Amour')
-Extensively reference and integrate at least one (1) theory taught in this Unit into an in-depth sociological analysis of a film of your choice.

- Select, research, and draw on the main theoretical approaches to sociology of health and illness and apply appropriately to a selected film.
- Identify sociological themes, ideas, and theories in the film, by including events from the plot, descriptions of scenes, and quotes from character dialogues.
Communicate confidently and coherently in written form following standard rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling and referencing, and referencing your core texts plus wider reading.

Ensure that you write the assignment in essay format with a clear introduction, body and conclusion, dealing with the points below. A key feature of an essay should be a continuous narrative throughout your writing. In that, you will not use headings and subheadings to break up the information that you are discussing (as would be the case with a report).

1. Write a clear Introduction:
• Name the film you are going to talk about
• Briefly describe the plot
• Briefly explain the sociological relevance of the film (what is/are the health issue(s) being represented?)
• Briefly state which sociological theory(ies)/concept(s) of health and illness you are going to link to/explain through the film

2. Body/the bulk of your essay:
• Reference and discuss at least one sociological theory/concept from the lectures to analyse one of the character's behaviours and interactions in the film. For example, you could use Parsons' Sick Role Theory, Goffman's Insanity Role Theory, or the concepts of medicalisation, pharmaceuticalisation, euthanasia, or Bury'sbiographical disruption, to analyse the behaviours and interactions of one or more characters; how do the scenes in the film illustrate the concepts/theories?
• Explain what the filmmaker is trying to convey about the social representations of health, illness and disease issues
• Explain how the film contributes to an understanding of health and illness issues represented (does it challenge stereotypes or rather reinforce? Does it try to change social perception? Does the film promote tolerance or difference?)

3. Write a clear Conclusion:
• Remind the reader of why the film is sociologically relevant, and what sociological theories it exemplifies
• Where you draw the threads of your discussion together and show how you have addressed your aims and objectives

4. Understand that this assignment is neither a general plot summary nor a movie review - all description should be relevant to the analysis.

5. While watching other films might help, understand that the focus is on one film and the selected one should be core to your sociological analysis

6. You must show evidence of wider reading in the academic literature to pass this assessment. You should do this using written formulations, for example: ‘According to X...'. In contrast to Y, Z claims that...', etc.

7. You cannot just rely on the core text books; you will need to search for other books/ journals/articles to help you complete the task. You will need to source articles in the library, especially journal articles, as they will provide you with the latest research evidence/arguments.