Demystifying Movies in APA: Your Guide to Flawless Citations

What is APA style and why use it?

APA style is a set of guidelines for writing and formatting papers in the social and behavioral sciences. It was developed by the American Psychological Association (APA) and is widely used by researchers, students, and professionals in various fields. APA style has several benefits, such as:

• It helps you organize your paper and present your ideas clearly and logically.
• It helps you avoid plagiarism and give proper credit to the original sources of your information.
• It helps you communicate with your audience and demonstrate your credibility and authority on your topic.

How to cite a movie in APA style?

To cite a movie in APA style, you need to provide the following information in your reference list:

• The name of the director (s) in the author position, followed by the initials and the word “(Director)” in parentheses.
• The year of release in parentheses after the director’s name.
• The title of the movie in italics and sentence case, followed by the word “[Film]” in square brackets.
• The name of the production company.

The general format is:

Director, A. A. (Director). (Year). Title of movie [Film]. Production Company.

For example:

Lee, S. (Director). (1989). Do the right thing [Film]. 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks.

To cite a movie in your text, you need to use the author-date citation system. This means that you need to include the director’s last name and the year of release in parentheses at the end of the sentence where you mention the movie. For example:

Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989) is a classic movie that explores the racial tensions and conflicts in a Brooklyn neighborhood.

If you want to cite a specific part of the movie, such as a scene or a quote, you need to add a timestamp to the citation, indicating the hour, minute, and second where the part begins. Use a colon to separate the units of time. For example:

One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Mookie throws a trash can through the window of Sal’s pizzeria, sparking a riot (Lee, 1989, 1:47:23).

How to cite a movie in different formats or versions?

Sometimes, you may need to cite a movie that is not in its original format or version, such as a DVD release, a director’s cut, or a foreign language film. In these cases, you need to specify the format or version in the citation, after the word “[Film]”. For example:

Coppola, F. F. (Director). (1979). Apocalypse now [Film; Redux version]. Zoetrope Studios.

Kurosawa, A. (Director). (1954). Shichinin no samurai [Seven samurai] [Film]. Toho Company.

If you watched the movie on a streaming service, such as Netflix or Hulu, you do not need to include the URL or the name of the service in the citation, unless it is relevant to your discussion or analysis. For example:

Gerwig, G. (Director). (2019). Little women [Film]. Columbia Pictures. Available on Netflix.

Tips for citing movies in APA style

Here are some tips to help you cite movies in APA style correctly and consistently:

• Use reliable and credible sources to find the information for your citations, such as the movie’s credits, the packaging, or the IMDb website.
• Use compare and contrast words and phrases, such as similarly, likewise, however, on the other hand, in contrast, etc., to show the relationship between your subjects and points.
• Use specific and relevant examples and evidence to support your points and illustrate the similarities and differences between your subjects.
• Use analysis and explanation to show how your examples and evidence relate to your thesis statement and main points.
• Use a consistent and logical order for your points, such as chronological, spatial, or order of importance.
• Use a formal and objective tone, and avoid using personal pronouns, slang, or biased language.