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Films in the classical Hollywood style offer closure for the cultural conflicts that they enact, providing what
Robert Kolker calls the stories we want to see.” But by tying up the “loose ends” of these stories, Hollywood
cinema also strives to resolve contradictions or dichotomies within the dominant ideologies that shape
American life. In “The Thematic Paradigm,” Robert Ray shows how one such dichotomy-individualism and
community-has been embodied by two enduring traditions in Hollywood film.
Our first paper assignment asks you to demonstrate your understanding of Ray’s paradigm by explaining his
ideas and by showing that you can use them. Please feel free to write in first person; academic writers in film
studies and American studies have been doing this for quite some time. Use the citation format of your choice
to document Ray’s work and any other film, TV or other cultural texts that you discuss. Don’t incorporate the
work of other scholars.
I. The three main areas to cover are:
1) the dichotomy of individual vs. community
2) the “3 competing values” with which Ray outlines the traits of official heroes and outlaw heroes
3) American culture’s refusal to choose between its heroes (and as a general a ‘psychological pattern)
II) Engaging substantively with Ray’s work means going beyond just explaining his ideas. This part of your
paper will reflect the time and care you expended thinking about Ray’s work, and it’s the part of the assignment
that will be most original to you. There are several ways to grapple with Ray’s work. Feel free to focus on
either A or B below; you can also combine them. They represent springboards for your original thought.
A) Where in contemporary American society do you see the conflict between individualism and community?
What does this current example of the conflict suggest about the dichotomy in the 21st century, in your view?
There are many aspects of American life that reflect Ray’s dichotomy; the pandemic is just one.
B) Where in popular culture do you see either of the two heroes that Ray describes? Use his ideas to analyze
one or more film or TV texts, taking care to apply Ray’s model fully. Remember, Ray’s model allows for
“composite” heroes, so there’s no need to force a character into parts of the model that don’t really fit.
Composite heroes may well be more numerous than either official or outlaw heroes.
Papers will be evaluated for the comprehensiveness, specificity, and depth with which Ray’s work is discussed
as well as their clarity, coherence, grammatical and documentation standards.
Ray, Robert, “The Thematic Paradigm.” Signs of Life in the U.S.A, Sixth Edition, edited by Sonia
Maasik and Jack Solomon, 2009, pp. 342-350.

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