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What are some viable career options for an English major?
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English majors can become actors or actresses

Many famous actors and actresses came from an English background, adding to the inherent connection between entertainment and writing. The wide understanding and interpretation of literature can propel an actor forward through versatile character development and storytelling.

The Argument

The entertainment industry is fundamentally built upon creative writing, whether that be in screenwriting, storyboards, or acting. Actors and actresses from all across the world, including stars like Emma Watson, James Franco, and Hugh Grant,[1] made English their priority in school and for good reason. Actors use interpretation and adaptation to bring their characters from the script to life, acting as critical readers in their own way. Similar to an analytical essay or observation of classic literature, actors and actresses form their own characters and their backgrounds, shaping a unique narrative that they believe fits the circumstances of the source material, whether that be in the form of novels, original screenwriting ideas, or any other creative medium.

Counter arguments

There is an incredibly loose connection between majoring in English and actors and actresses. Yes, some very famous stars on film came from an English background, but a majority of actors did not. Simply because some of the most famous names received English degrees does not necessarily equate to an inherent bond between the entertainment industry and English. An actor's skills are vastly different from those of a critical reader or analytical essay writer, and to claim they are at all linked with one another is stretching the argument itself thin over a multitude of seemingly unrelated fields of study. The argument is purely based off of circumstance, not much else.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] The entertainment industry is fundamentally built upon creative writing, whether that be in screenwriting, storyboards, or acting. [P2] Similar to an analytical essay or observation of classic literature, actors and actresses form their own characters and their backgrounds, shaping a unique narrative that they believe fits the circumstances of the source material. [P3] Therefore, English majors can become actors or actresses.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] The connection between writing and filmmaking does not equate to a connection between majoring in English and acting. Many actors and actresses are very famous who did not major in English, so the proposed correlation between the two is thin at best. Acting and writing analytical essays or close reading are different disciplines. [Rejecting P3] English majors should not necessarily be actors or actresses.

Further Reading

https://english.gmu.edu/careers/famous-english-majors

References

  1. https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/celebrities-degrees-english
This page was last edited on Monday, 8 Jun 2020 at 18:51 UTC

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