Pitch Perfect Synthesis Essay
English
March 2013
Topic: After watching Pitch Perfect, write a compare and/or contrast essay that discusses FOUR (or three
for the 11s) elements of the movie. However, you must compare/contrast this story to any other
story (book, movie, show, comic) of your choice.
Think about choosing FOUR elements from this list: characters (protagonist, antagonist, complimentary),
settings, themes, plots (actual scenes, introductions, climaxes), moods, relationships, conflicts, or any
other aspects of the movies that you might be able to write 10-12 sentences per body about.
Movies or stories to consider: The Breakfast Club, Glee, Rise of the Guardians, Friday Night Lights, Toy
Story, Brave, Superbad, Lord of the Rings, Mean Girls, The Hunger Games, or any other story that
involves a protagonist who has to do the following: try to fit in to a new environment, overcome
adversity, figure things out as a female, deal with problems with relationships and/or family. But also
consider movies/shows that revolve around music, dance, high school life and cliques, or final
competitions that require the once-rebel who must now rally the team to victory.
Length:
Introduction (7-10 sentences)
- consider
a) a general introduction
b) topic sentence with both titles
c) short background/intro of both
d) a clear thesis statement
Body One (10-12 sentences)
- consider the order of your bodies; usually you
want to end with your strongest points unless
your topics follow a natural order
ex. Body #1 – early development of antagonists
Body #2 – major fight scenes between good
and bad guys
Body #3 – One prominent/shared theme
Body #4 – Another shared theme
Body Two (10-12)
Body Three (10-12)
Body Four (10-12)
Conclusion (5-7)
Other requirements/reminders:
- write about events within the stories’ setting in the PRESENT TENSE
ex. Luke Skywalker is a Jedi
- write only in the THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW, not the first person
Correct: The death of the younglings is a true turning point in the transformation of
Anakin
Incorrect: I think that the death of the younglings is a true turning…
Ex. Here’s an introduction for a hypothetical essay introduction synthesizing Star Wars and the cartoon
series Transformers. It’s decent and has room for improvement
A story doesn’t have to be an Oscar award winner to convincingly explore the themes that have
defined the very existence of humans on this planet. The struggle to survive in hostile territories while
defending the virtues of good against evil are two inextricably linked themes that are manifest throughout
the Star Wars saga and the cartoon series from the 1980s, The Transformers. What is considered by
many to be the biggest contributor to pop culture over the past 30 years, Star Wars and, ultimately, Luke’s
efforts to see Darth Vader become “dad” again - even for just one final climactic scene - has been
parodied and critiqued for two generations. Similarly, the Transformers brand has experienced a
resurrection over the past few years with Michael Bay’s retelling of the epic battle between Autobots and
Decepticons. In the series that helped introduce the world to Optimus Prime and Megatron, the enemy
Decepticons imperil the safety of humankind as they fight to steal our energy resources, thus enabling
them to return to their home planet of Cybetron. After critically analyzing these two great stories, it’s
obvious that they share similarities in the leadership styles of the antagonists, the influence of the smallest
robots, and the final battle scenes in the episodes that mark the end of the classic tales.
- needs work, especially my last sentence: my thesis statement
- but, this is just a first draft!