Written Response #7
History of Film I
November 23, 2022
Due Wednesday, November 30 (not Mon., Nov. 28), at the beginning of class.
Responses must be submitted via email to both Mr. Rubin
(mrubin1@uic.edu) and Mr. Goldbach (jgoldb9@uic.edu). Do not submit them via
Google Docs or Google Drive; email them as attachments directly to the instructors.
Please name your submitted file in the following format: “Last Name, First
Name_Response Number_F2022.” For example, a submission for the fourth
response paper would have this file name: Kane, Charles_R4_F2022.
Responses should be submitted preferably in Microsoft Word format (.docx or
.doc) or, if necessary, in .pdf format.
Responses turned in late before the end of the class period will be marked
down one full grade (e.g., from A to B). Responses turned in after the class period
will not be accepted.
In multi-part answers, please set off each part clearly via a number, bullet,
line-space, and/or paragraph indentation. Do not lump different questions or parts
of questions together into a single answer.
The topic of this assignment concerns Vittorio De Sicaà1948 film Bicycle
Thieves. It can be viewed online at
https://uic.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=019663da-c55b4d0a-905f-aed701092af0 or https://uic.kanopy.com/video/bicycle-thieves . It is
also available (with subscription) on HBO Max and the Criterion Channel.
Please note that the assignment is due next Wednesday, Nov. 30 (the last day of
classes), not on the usual Monday date.
(cont.)
Answer both Question 1 and Question 2:
Question 1. Three motifs from Bicycle Thieves are listed below. They are assigned
by alphabetical order of your last name. Write only about the option corresponding
to your alphabetical section. Please double-check to make sure that you have
correctly selected your assigned motif:
Motif 1. Abediìaudio: Buses/trolleys (they together form one motif).
Motif 2. DeBlasecNicholas: Windows.
Motif 3. Mohammadùgonski: Doorways.
Describe at least four of the most significant examples of your motifÊoccurrence. Discuss how the motif helps to develop ideas and meanings that are
central to the film.
Try to maintain a sense of how your different examples cohere into a general
theme or development. The element need not have a single, unchanging meaning
throughout the film, but there should be some sense of connection, continuity,
and/or significant comparison between its various occurrences.
As in previous motif-centered assignments, it is recommended that you
choose examples that are spread out over the course of film (rather than all
bunched together at the beginning), so that you can better track the progression or
development of the motif.
Motif: A recurring element that forms a meaningful pattern.
Question 2. All students are required to answer all parts of this question.
Discuss the final scene of Bicycle Thieves (ca. 1:21:00–1:28:00) in these
terms:
(a) Whose perspective or point of view dominates the first half of the scene?
Explain.
(b) Whose perspective or point of view dominates the second half of the
scene? Explain.
(c) To what extent and in what ways might the ending of the film be
considered pessimistic?
(d) To what extent and in what ways might the ending of the film be
considered optimistic (or, at least, not completely negative or pessimistic)?

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