Mythic and Trope
Analysis
Developing an Argument About a
Film

Use questions to structure your inquiry.

Use questions to organize your essay

Your answers to the questions will produce your thesis statement

Your thesis statement will be complex, made up of answers to
various questions

Thesis will be supported by reasoning

Reasoning will be supported by evidence from the film(s)
Questions for Analyzing Mythic
Patterns/Tropes/Archetypes

Identify the myth or trope: What is the myth or trope embodied/exemplified by the
story or character?

How does the film or character follow the pre-existing pattern or “script” for this
myth or trope? What are the ways in which it meets the conditions that define this
mythic pattern or trope?

How does the film or character challenge/avoid/veer away from the pre-existing
pattern or “script” for this myth or trope? What are the ways in which it mixes
up/deviates/subverts the conditions that define this mythic pattern or trope?

What is significant about this deviation? Further questions: How does it complicate
our understanding of the myth or trope? What is the filmmaker “saying” by
deviating from the pre-existing pattern? What are some reasons why the filmmaker
may have deviated from the standard presentation of the myth or trope? What
are the results of this deviation?