Movie stories as examples?

[kwame.appau]

Hi everybody!
Please when writing Issue Essay, can one use stories in famous movies as an examples in supporting his or her thesis?

[tommywallach]

Hey Kwame,

Technically you can, as long as it really fits. I'd need to see a more specific prompt/example to tell you if you're doing it in a safe way.

-t

[kwame.appau]

For instance, "Often times the results of a particular action are not of consequence; rather, it the way we go about the action that matter most"

Write an essay in which you take a position on the statement above. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider situations in which the ways matter as well as situations in which the results matter most. ( Source: Cracking the GRE Princeton Review)

I used The movie "John Q". This is when John Q threatened the staffs in the hospital where his son was admitted to put his name on the Donor List. In the end he was able to achieve the results he want.

I support that " it is the results of an action that matter most not the way" so I will use the case of "John Q" to support my thesis.
Does that fit?

[tommywallach]

Hey Kwame,

Sorry, but I'd need to see a real example as you'd actually use it. This as written is not very good. With such a broad prompt like this, where you could talk about ANYTHING, why talk about fiction? Use your life. Use history. Use current events. Again, I'm not saying it isn't possible to use this stuff. But I am saying that it's tough, and needs to be very specific and very applicable to the prompt as it's given. This example you're giving, because it's so vague, definitely doesn't feel like a good choice! I'd say it's safer to stick with the real world.

-t