You may need to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style guide when writing an essay or article assignment at high school or university. Perhaps, you too are a graduate student or researcher who should always use the MLA style of citation. When writing an essay or article about a film, or need to include the film in a research article on another topic/field, you need to cite the film appropriately. By making reference lists and incorporating in-text citations into articles or essays, you can show your readers that you are not stealing other people's information or work.
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Method 1 of 2: Creating a Reference List
Step 1. Start with the title of the movie written in italics
Type the title of the movie in italics. Continue by putting a period after the title of the movie. All reference entries for movies begin with this step.
- For now, your quote might look something like this: “The Forbidden Door.”
- If the title of the film is a translation, include the original title in square brackets. For example: “The Forbidden Door.”
Step 2. Add the director's name
After entering the movie title, type in “Dir.” as an abbreviation for “director” or (or “Sut.” for director). Add the director's first and last name. Place a dot between the words “Dir” or “Sut” and the director's full name.
- Your quote now looks like this: “The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar."
- For a quote in Indonesian: “''Forbidden Door''. Sut. Joko Anwar."
Step 3. Begin the quote with the director's name if the director is your focus
If you're writing an article that compares directors, or focuses on the director of the film rather than the film itself, start the quote with the director's name. In this situation, the director's last name should be listed first, followed by a comma, first name, and another comma. After that, enter “dir.” and end with a dot.
- The quote will look like this: “Anwar, Joko, dir. The Forbidden Door."
- For Indonesian: “Anwar, Joko, sut. ''The Forbidden Door'''."
Step 4. Include the name of the player if it is important for the article
After the title of the film and the name of the director, enter the name of the main cast if you wish to discuss them in the article. Type in "Perf." (or “Pem.” for cast) and list the names of the actors/actresses in order in the film's credits section, with the first name followed by the last name. Separate each name with a comma and end the player list with a period.
- Your quote should look something like this: “The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar. perf. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu.”
- For a quote in Indonesian: “''Forbidden Door''. Sut. Joko Anwar. NS. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu.”
- If your article is about a particular player, you can start the quote with his or her name. The citation format would look like this: “Timothy, Marsha, perf. The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar."
- For Indonesian: “Timothy, Marsha, pem. ''The Forbidden Door''. Sut. Joko Anwar."
Step 5. Add film distributor information
Include the name of the distributor or company that released the film. You'll also need to add the movie's release date. Type in the name of the distributor, followed by a comma, then enter the release date of the film.
- Almost complete! Your quote should look something like this: “The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar. perf. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. Lifelike Pictures, 2009.”
- For Indonesian: "''Forbidden Door''. Sut. Joko Anwar. NS. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. Lifelike Pictures, 2009.”
Step 6. Determine the format of the movie you are watching
Type in the movie format used as a reference (eg VHS, DVD, or Blu-Ray). End the format with a period.
- If you watched the film from the internet, skip to step eight.
- For VHS, type “videocassette” or “video cassette” into the quote. Now, your quote should look like this: “The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar. perf. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. Lifelike Pictures, 2009. Videocassette.”
- For Indonesian: "''Forbidden Door''. Sut. Joko Anwar. NS. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. Lifelike Pictures, 2009. Videotape.”
- If you saw the film in theaters, just type “Movie” to complete the quote! Now, the quote would look like this: “The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar. perf. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. Lifelike Pictures, 2009. Films.” The same steps also apply to quotes in Indonesian
Step 7. Include the original release date and format
If the format of the movie you're watching was released after the movie's actual release date, you'll need to include both dates. However, the order of information will change slightly. After listing the names of the cast (or directors), type in the film's original release date and place a period. After that, enter the name of the distributor, a comma, the release date of the film format used, and a period. End the quote with the type of film format.
If you watched The Forbidden Door on Blu-Ray, for example, your quote would look something like this: “The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar. perf. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. 2009. Lifelike Pictures, 2013. Blu-Ray.”
Step 8. Add website and movie access date on internet
If you're watching the movie from the internet, you'll need some other information to include. After the release date, determine the online platform on which to watch the film. Type platform in italic text. After that, add the word “Web.” Finally, write down the movie access date, starting with the date, month, and year. Separate each piece of information with a dot.
- The quote would look like this: “The Forbidden Door. director. Joko Anwar. perf. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. Lifelike Pictures, 2009. Netflix. Web. November 9, 2019.”
- For Indonesian: "''Forbidden Door''. Sut. Joko Anwar. NS. Fachri Albar, Marsha Timothy, and Ario Bayu. Lifelike Pictures, 2009. ''Netflix''. Web. November 9, 2019.”
Step 9. Sort the list alphabetically
Check the first letter of each citation entry in the reference list. Sort alphabetically from A to Z. Make the second row of each entry protrude 1.25 centimeters, including subsequent rows.
- The list of references should appear on a separate page at the end of the article, and be given a title such as “Works Cited” or “References”. However, you don't need to enclose the words “Works Cited” or “References” in quotation marks, or type them in italics.
- Double-space the entire document, but don't add extra lines between each citation entry.
Method 2 of 2: Creating In-Text Quotes
Step 1. Insert the title of the movie in parentheses if you are focusing on the movie
If you're talking about the entire film and not focusing on the director or cast, what you need is the title of the film. Type the title in italics and enclose it in parentheses, then place it at the end of the film's discussion sentence. Add a period after the closing parenthesis.
For example: “The initial scene of Gundala represents the struggle of the proletariat against the injustice of the holders of production power in the economy. (Gundala).”
Step 2. Include the director's last name (in parentheses) if you are focusing on the director
When discussing the director of a film, you need to include his last name. However, also make sure you keep the title of the movie (in italics).
For example: "Joko Anwar was finally appointed as the director of Gundala after Hanung Bramantyo's name was previously called (Anwar, Gundala)."
Step 3. Include the player's last name if the actor/actress is the topic of discussion
You can also discuss specific players in the film. For this discussion, enter the last name of the actor/actress, followed by the title of the film (in italics).
For example, you could write: "Tara Basro's performance in Gundala received positive responses from the audience (Basro, Gundala)."
Step 4. Add a timestamp if you are quoting a specific scene or time in the movie
When writing a specific scene or segment in a film, it's a good idea to include a time marker. These markers function like book page numbers for article readers.
You could add a timestamp like this: “The party scene at the Shang residence features a Peranakan-style interior design that features a distinctive European layout and a Chinese touch (Crazy Rich Asians, 36:53-38:15).”
Step 5. Insert the citation after the reference and before the period
The quote in the text is part of the sentence that refers to the film. Therefore, make sure a period is inserted after the closing parenthesis.
