Reflection on a Film and Critical Analysis

For this assignment you are required to watch one of the following films on your own time:

• Okja (available on Netflix and streaming services)
• Do Donkeys Act? (available online via Western Libraries)
• Kedi (available online via Western Libraries)
• Honeyland (available to rent on iTunes)
• Virunga (available on Netflix and streaming services)

Write a 400-500 word response to the film. Do not summarize the plot of the film. This is a reflection paper in which you should consider the following questions:

• What does this film say, if anything, about the human and animal relationship (in the film, or in our broader society)?
  
  
• Are any of the relationships between people and animals in the film mutually beneficial?
  
  
• Are the animals depicted in the film allowed any agency or autonomy over their own lives? Please describe.
  
  
• How do the themes in the film tie into course themes? Be specific.
  
  
• Are there solutions to the problems depicted in the film? What are they? If you think there are none, explain why.

Please note:

You don’t have to answer all the questions if they are not relevant to your film. For example, in Virunga, questions of animal agency are not addressed. However, you can easily tie Virunga into course themes about conservation.

Please write in proper paragraphs. For this assignment, you do not have to use outside sources. You should, however, refer to relevant course materials. When doing so, please use Chicago style citations and references.

Okja depicts a fictional animal but is clearly about livestock agriculture so you should connect it to farmed animals