Documentary review guidelines
Putin’s Russia: A Country at War with Itself
Typewritten, double spaced, Times New Roman, font size 12, 1-inch margins in MS-Word compatible format. It has the following structure:
1. Introduction (1 paragraph)
– Identify the documentary by title and specify its type (fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography…). Describe the general problem the documentary addresses.
– What is the purpose of the documentary?
– What is the main message of the documentary?
2. Summary (1 page)
Provide a description of events that occurred during the film. List the principal topics, and briefly summarize the ideas expressed in the documentary about these topics, main points, and conclusions.
3. Connections to course material (1.5+ pages)
Examine how the documentary relates to the topics discussed in class. Does the documentary bring new elements or provide new optics on the topics that we covered in class? Discuss.
For this section, you may want to revisit the materials assigned for class so far.
4. Personal Reflections (1.5+ pages)
– What are the three main takeaways from the video? Discuss.
– Identify and reflect on four issues that you found interesting in the documentary. Do you agree or disagree with the arguments presented in the documentary in relation to those four issues? Any specific points are not convincing? Explain.
– Briefly, evaluate the documentary for interest, objectivity, importance, thoroughness, and usefulness to its intended audience.