ENGL 382-01, Film Theory, Spring 2012

Abstract

It has been over a century since the first grainy images flickered on a silent screen. Legend has it that at an early screening in Paris, spectators were so stunned by the image of a life-sized train hurtling toward them that they shrieked and ducked for cover. Since then, films have intrigued and frustrated, perplexed and inspired billions of viewers around the world. The issues that preoccupied the earliest film theorists continue to puzzle later generations: What is cinema? Is it an art? Is it a language? Is the filmed world realistic or artificial? In addition, since the 1960s, other important issues have been considered: What do movies reveal about the underlying ideologies of the cultures that produce them? How do they manipulate audience beliefs? How do they address, exploit, and satisfy various audience desires?