film week one

Film Theory

A broad field encompassing multiple theories that help us understand how films work, convey meaning, and affect audiences.

Cinephilia

A passion for cinema that contributed to the institutionalization of film studies as an academic field.

New Hollywood

A movement in American cinema characterized by self-conscious, auteur-driven films influenced by European cinema, emerging in the late 1960s.

Political Engagement in Film Theory

A shift in film theory that examines the relationship between film and political ideologies, often influenced by social movements.

Realism

A film theory perspective that values cinema's ability to record and reproduce reality without authorial intervention.

Formalist Perspective

A perspective that highlights the art of cinema as a transformative medium that alters reality and engages with artistic expression.

Screen Theory

An important theoretical approach in film studies that examines the cinematic apparatus and its ideological implications.

Psychoanalysis in Film Theory

A film theory approach inspired by Freud that analyzes films for their psychological and symbolic meanings.

Feminist Film Theory

A perspective that critiques the portrayal of women in cinema and advocates for more authentic representations of female experiences.

Postcolonial Film Theory

A movement that focuses on the representation of minority groups in cinema and challenges dominant narratives in mainstream film.

Semiotics in Film Theory

An approach that studies film language as a system of signs and structures that convey meaning.

Intersectionality

The concept recognizing that social categories like gender, race, class, and sexuality intersect, shaping individuals' experiences.

Classical Film Theory (1915-1960)

A theoretical stage focused on defending cinema as an art form, led by figures like Arnheim and Eisenstein.

Contemporary Film Theory (1960-present)

A phase characterized by diverse ideologies such as feminism, psychoanalysis, and Marxism in film analysis.

Georges Méliès

An early filmmaker known for his innovative works and the foundational figure of the formalist tradition in film.

A Trip to the Moon (1902)

A famous film by Méliès that used imaginative elements and special effects rather than realistic depictions.

Lumière Brothers

Early filmmakers known for their documentary-style short films, which initiated the realist tradition in cinema.

Narrative Structures in Film Theory

The frameworks through which film narratives are constructed, analyzed, and understood within various theories.