Seminar Paper #4 Assignment
The Hours (2002) Stephen Daldry
“Madness in Movies” Coordinated Studies
Brian Holt & JC Clapp, North Seattle Community College, 2013
Focus/Topic: Depression
Below is a list of common symptoms for Clinical Depression:
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Feelings of sadness or unhappiness
Irritability or frustration, even over small matters
Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities
Reduced sex drive
Insomnia or excessive sleeping
Changes in appetite — depression often causes decreased appetite and weight loss, but in some
people it causes increased cravings for food and weight gain
Agitation or restlessness — for example, pacing, hand-wringing or an inability to sit still
Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
Indecisiveness, distractibility and decreased concentration
Fatigue, tiredness and loss of energy — even small tasks may seem to require a lot of effort
Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself when things
aren't going right
Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
Crying spells for no apparent reason
Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
Your Tasks (What your paper should include): Separate and label each section, please.
Section 1: Choose one of the major female characters to focus on (Clarissa, Virginia, or Laura),
and then analyze: How does this character behave that might indicate that she suffers from
depression? What does she do, think, or say that shows the audience she is depressed? Identify
with a time stamp at least two specific scenes that illustrate your ideas. (about 1 ½ pages)
Grading Criteria for Section 1 (10 points):
 Identification of one character’s behaviors that indicate depression
 Two specific scenes (with time stamp) illustrating ideas
 A minimum of 500 words (about 1 ½ pages)
 A heading that includes the name of the film, the year, and the name of the director
 Assignment typed in 12 pt. font, double spaced, and has 1 inch margins
 Grammatically correct and proofread
Section 2: How is this same character portrayed, cinematically, to show the audience that she is
depressed? This would include filmmaking considerations such as how the lighting is used, or
what the camera angles are, or the music/sound she’s associated with that communicates
(outside of her behavior) that she is depressed. Cinematography refers to the camerawork in a
film, which includes the camera placement (slow/fast motion, camera height, angle
(perspective) and distance), length of take, lenses, filters, focal length, depth of field, film stock,
visual effects, computer-generation, and post-production. We’ve been looking at
cinematography this week, so look at how the cinematography specifically communicates that
the character is depressed. Identify with a time stamp at least two specific scenes that illustrate
your ideas. (about 1 ½ pages)
Grading Criteria for Section 2 (10 points):
 Analysis of how cinematic techniques are used to portray the depression
 Two specific scenes (with time stamp) illustrating ideas
 A minimum of 500 words (about 1 ½ pages)
 Grammatically correct and proofread
What your paper should not include:
 a biography of the director or actors
 a synopsis of what the director/actors say in the “Director’s Cut” of the film
 the use of any research (everything in your paper should be your own analysis, not
analysis you’ve read from research sources) -- if we find anything that is from any
sources (even if you cite them correctly) you will not earn a passing grade