Misc Terms 

  • Studio System(including the 5 majors and 3 minors, what separates the majors for the minors \n [theater ownership], and the three main components of filmmaking—production, \n distribution, and exhibition)
  • The Paramount Decree of 1948
    • Government decreed that studios could no longer own their own theaters
  • The Hays Code/Motion Picture Production Code (MPCC)
    • Self-imposed censorships laws on the part of Hollywood
  • Genre
    • Formulas used in making popular films
    • Film Noir (including the difference between Classical film noir and neo-noir--consciousness!)
    • Musicals
    • Westerns
    • Social-Problem Films
    • Romantic Comedies
    • Horror Films
  • The Star System
    • System by which studios virtually owned stars, who were known as “property”, via long-term contracts and image cultivation
  • The Classical Hollywood Style
    • Values mise-en-scene>montage
    • Minimal cinematic trickery (special effects)
    • Comparatively less cuts
    • Real-life shots
    • Classical Hollywood Era
    • 1930-1967
  • The New American Style
    • Values montage>mise-en-scene
    • Welcoming of cinematic trickery
    • Comparatively more cuts
    • New American Cinema
    • 1967-present
  • The Auteur Theory
    • Proposed by Andre Bazin in Cahiers du Cinema
    • Essentially states that at their best, directors and their works should be considered to be on the same level of artistic prestige as the best musicians, painters, etc.
    • So-called “Auteurs” have a personal style/calling card
      • Contradicted by the likes of Steven Speilberg, Rob Reiner
  • The Cahiers du Cinema
    • 1951 French movie journal
    • Andre Bazin and co.
  • The Film School Generation
    • First generation of classically influences, formally trained filmmakers
  • The Male Gaze Theory
    • Proposed by Laura Mulvey
    • Essentially suggests that because the gross majority of films have been produced by men, their perspectives behind the camera influence those who consume their films
  • High Concept Filmmaking
    • Films based on concept rather than story (think Fast and Furious)
  • Independent Cinema
    • Any film made outside of traditional Hollywood filmmaking