How to Do an In-Text Citation for a Movie in APA Style
If you write a film analysis or review, you will undoubtedly need to cite any movies you discuss in your paper. In addition to including movies in the reference list, you should cite them in the text any time you refer to them. Since movies, unlike most reference works, do not have authors, American Psychological Association (APA) style for in-text citations of movies differs slightly from that used for other references.
Step 1
Use the producer's and director's surnames where you would typically use the author's surname for an in-text citation. Separate the names with "and" if you place the names in the text or with an ampersand in a parenthetical citation. For example, "according to Lucas and Spielberg" or "(Lucas & Spielberg)."
Step 2
Follow the names with a comma in a parenthetical citation, then list the year the movie was released. For example, "(Lucas & Spielberg, 2000)." Give the year in parentheses if you give the names in the text; for example, "according to Lucas and Spielberg (2000)."
Step 3
Include the scene number or scene name in the parenthetical citation when you cite a direct quote from a movie. Use quotation marks around a scene name and capitalize all words more than three letters long. For example, "(Lucas & Spielberg, 2000, scene 5)" or "according to the main character in Lucas and Spielberg's movie ... (2000, "Death-Defying Escape Scene")."
References
- "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition"; Editorial Staff; 2010
- Purdue Online Writing Lab; In-Text Citations: The Basics; Elizabeth Angeli, et al.; December 2010
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