This evening we found ourselves overwhelmed by the numerous possibilities of film theory.  How can we analyze and think about film itself?  What approaches can we take?  Sadly there was no chalk mark, so we can’t really be sure which theory is for us.  Oh that reminds me, we also watch Lars von Trier’s Europa.Film Theory & Criticism (a rapid overview & listing – you can look up some of the ones that I do not focus on) classic film theory – designate specific value of cinema formalist (creationist) film theory – Rudolf Arnheim, Sergei Eisenstein, Bela Balazs

cinema more than “the feeble mechanical reproduction of real life” transforms and constructs reality the how of artistic expression – editing, cinematography

realist film theory – Andre Bazin, Siegfried Kracauer

reality possesses ambiguous quality Bazin believed filmmakers should develop style that respected ambiguities & that did not unfairly coerce or manipulate viewers into sharing a single, mass emotional response to a scene or film techniques best suited to represent reality were deep focus cinematography (great distance separate sharply focused foreground & background objects) & the long take (shots of long duration) & minimizing editing

auteur theory – from French New Wave era (more on this later) structuralism & semiotics – total theory or grand theory approach

concentrated on film’s relationship to underlying structures that govern production of all meaning myths

post-structuralism & deconstruction – Jacques Derrida & Michel Foucault

denial of existence of a knowable truth & quasi-scientific analysis of text move away from textual interpretation & move to interaction of text and spectator reception theory – relation of audience to text (focusing on gender, race, social status) auteur-structuralism

psychoanalytic film theory – film medium activates deep-rooted psychological desires & anxieties

voyeurism fetishizing the body taboo images

ideological film theory – examine relationship between movies & society & specifically how film represents social & political realities (social and political issues) Marxist theory – examination of social & political ideologies, class struggle feminist film theory – collection of approaches

images of women and stereotypes assume male as dominant audience – male gaze and women viewed as objects influenced many other theories

gay & lesbian criticism – look at homosexuals in film, hidden stars

The Celluloid Closet ((book on homosexuality in Hollywood)) investigating stereotypes & rereading

queer theory – non-normative expressions of gender & a concern with non-straight expressions of sexuality & rereading

new ways of thinking about sexuality – bisexuality, androgyny, transgender looks more at films made for this reason than gay & lesbian camp

post theory – argue against a “Grand Theory” of film cognitive film theory – studies way viewers process & interpret visual & auditory information in film & how specific structural features may invite particular kinds of interpretation star system / theory – exam star as a combination of image, labour, capital With only one film left, we are certainly at the end of the line.  Please discuss Europa in the comments!  Is it postmodern?  Analyze it with one of the above theories.  Next week we work on auteur theory and watch The Boss of it All.