Early Hollywood & the Globalization of Cinema (1890s-1920)
Films for discussion and exploration…
Lumière (1896)
Edison (1898)
Méliès (1902)
Porter (1903)
Griffith (1915-19)
Other Short Films
Readings
Flashback - Chapters 1 & 2
Short Guide - Chapter 2
Looking at Movies - Chapter 1
Week 01 Notes
COURSE INTRODUCTION
We will look at how to look at and read visually how movies operate as a visual document.
IT IS VERY USEFUL to attend all of the screenings - to see the films with new eyes, and to learn how to approach viewing films with full engagement. Stay on top of readings.
Screening Journal – watch a film, take notes and then write journals. Be consistent and write the entries up right after a class. Consistency is key as the ideas grow and work with each other as you move forward. A template for the journals will come next week.
Independent Screening Report – Wonderful to utilize the VIFF as part of the course. Options to approach it – Ridge, Van City, Pacific Cinemateque – independent or non-mainstream film with special function for how it plays. Take in the feel of seeing a film that is not a mainstream film – it immerses you in the culture of film (http://viff.org/ ) or (http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/ ) or (http://www.festivalcinemas.ca/ ).
Research Essay – 6-8 page scholarly essay. Teacher has a process to help us walk through preparing the essay. It will be specific and developed to make it your own.
Exams – are easy if you attend class. There will be a series of T/F, fill in the blanks, as well as small clips where you identify and respond to them in short paragraphs. They will determine who was here and who was not; as based on material clearly covered in class or obvious stuff in the text book.
With all of your work >>> Looking for critical thinking and good ideas.
When E-mailing, write in header name of course you are inquiring from. If late, e-mail copy and bring hard copy to next class.
Some possible changes regarding the films screened…
Week 3 – Metropolis (alternative)
Week 4 – Top Hat (alternative)
Week 8 – Breathless
READING RESPONSE QUESTIONS
These questions were included in Barsam and Monaham’s book, LOOKING AT MOVIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO FILM.
1. What do you think of when you hear the word movie? Has your perception changed since reading the week 1 introductory chapters? In what ways?
When I think about the word MOVIE, the word MOVING comes to mind first and foremost. On its most basic level, a movie is a series of moving still frame photographic images, shot and projected together to mimic the movements the eye sees in everyday life. Barsam and Monaham in their book, LOOKING AT MOVIES: AN INTRODUCTION TO FILM note how the term CINEMA’s etymology is rooted in the Greek word doe KINESIS, which describes movement (3).
But the word MOVIE can be a more colloquially casual and informal word used to describe the more formal word, FILM. MOVIE feels more commercial, something made for pure pleasure and entertainment. As such, a MOVIE could be called fluff, a popcorn piece where one checks their brain at the door, and even low-brow compared to the more academic, artistic (arthouse), thoughtful, and high-brow term, FILM. To this end, one might argue that director Steven Spielberg’s JURASSIC PARK (1993) is a MOVIE, whereas Spielberg’s SCHINDLER’S LIST (also 1993) is a FILM.
Barsam and Monaham also reveal how the word MOVIE is “…simply short for (the term) motion pictures” (3). Thinking about the commercialization that is so often tied to the word MOVIE, I remembered one of the iterations of the early television movie review program hosted by critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, called AT THE MOVIES. Siskel & Ebert paved the way for helping to move film criticism into the mainstream, paving the way for so many reviewers today, especially those who populate social media. They helped inform my own love of film growing up in a relatively small town with one small movie theatre and video rentals you picked up from the grocery store. I learned about both popular and arthouse titles from them, many of which my parents would rent and watch on a Friday or Saturday night.
ARTIFACT 01 > Tribune Entertainment. “Siskel & Ebert At the Movies.” 1982-1990.
Barsam and Monaham further note how: “… The designation FILM is often applied to a motion picture that critics and scholars considered to be more serious or challenging than the MOVIE that entertain the masses at the multiplex” (3), which fits into the distinction my gut has always felt about these terms. On a technical level, they deacribe how the term FILM “… drives from the cellulite strip on which the images that make up motion, pictures were originally captured, cut, and projected” (3). And they raise the stakes by introducing a third term I had not considered, explaining how: “There’s still (the) lofty designation of CINEMA seems reserved for groups of films that are considered works of art…” (3). Thomas Caldwell, in his book, THE FILM ANALYSIS HANDBOOK: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING, ANALYZING, AND WRITING ON FILM, notes how “ Cinema is also the general term used when discussing an analyzing all aspects of film in filmmaking” (3). Ultimately though, Barsam and Monaham remind readers that: “The truth is the three terms are intentionally interchangeable” (3).
I am not sure my perceptions of films and movies has changed a lot after reading these introductory chapters, although I appreciated the discussion in Timothy Corrigan’s SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING ABOUT FILM regarding the personal expectations one may have when approaching a movie (which could actually apply to the viewing of any creative object). I also appreciated the reminder of the wide range of endeavours that can be pulled from when crafting a film from writing the script to costumes, financial considerations, makeup, marketing, musical scores, project management decisions, set design, special effects, as well as sound design. It really can take a large community of individuals from different areas of expertise to make a movie today! But in today’s world, Barsam and Monaham remind us how technology allows a film to be made by even a single individual (4), a point also explored by Corrigan (24). And Caldwell further notes how cinema studies can expansively draw upon and involve: “… The interplay between film and art, religion, politics, philosophy, economics, social theory, psychoanalysis, literature, architecture, theater, painting, sculpture, comic books, computer, games, theme, parks, and so on” (3).
2. How is the experience of seeing a movie different from watching a play? Reading a book? Viewing a painting or photograph?
Caldwell begins his book by stating how: “ Cinema is a visual art form. Cinema is not literature. A film is not a novel. A film is a text, just as a play, a poem, a television show, or a novel is a text… A film is visual. You can… be asked to read a film text, which means that you are being asked to understand, interpret, and analyze it” (1).
From reviewing the introductory readings this week, it is known that movies deliver a controlled, multi-sensory, time-based sequence of moving images and sound that is fixed in advance. From this, my instinct wants to say that the experience of seeing a movie in a packed theatre is an immersive one, on a level that trumps the experiences of watching a play, reading a book, or viewing a painting or photograph. And certainly, all of these experiences can be immersive for a viewer. Movies do excel at delivering a directed, multi-sensory ride that many find immediately gripping. But immersion alone is not a simple ranking of media. A mediocre film in a noisy room can feel less absorbing than a great novel read in silence, or seeing a powerful live performance in a crowded theatre. Ultimately, I think that personal preferences, attention, prior experience, and elements of the specific work itself matter more than the medium of the work alone. As such, you could argue that although whole movies are often efficiently immersive, they are not automatically the most immersive for everyone.
When seen in a theatre, a movie is an immediate shared experience between audience members who can laugh together, cry, or be spooked together. But so too is the experience of seeing a stage play. The main difference with a stage-play is in how it is performed live, and unfolds in real time by performers who occupy the same space as their viewing audience. An actor’s physical presence, vocal projection, and energy all interact with and respond to a crowd’s reactions and as such, every performance can vary slightly. A movie is pre-recorded, edited, and framed through deliberate camera choices, cuts, close-ups, lighting, and sound design (including score and effects). The viewer experiences a polished, repeatable artifact that can incorporate locations, scales, and visual effects that are impossible to replicate on a stage. Pacing is locked in by the filmmaker and when viewed at home one can pause or rewatch, but in a theatre the experience is still essentially fixed and passive in terms of content. Staging is also constrained by the theatre’s architecture and the need for continuous real-time action, so the experience relies more on theatrical convention, imagination of offstage space, and the communal electricity of being there together. A stage play confines the viewer to a single wide-angle view of the action. There are typically no cinematic close-ups or seamless scene changes in a play. An audience sees the whole stage at once and accepts artifice more openly. As such, the difference between seeing a movie and seeing a live performance is one of immediacy and uniqueness (as seen with a play) versus crafted, repeatable visual-auditory immersion (as seen with a movie).
Reading a book is generally a more intimate, one on one experience between a reader and their book. Unless someone is at a book reading event, this activity is not an experience shared in real time with other people. In this respect, reading a book can be similar to the singular intimate experience individuals have when watching a film on a smart phone, or on the rare occasion when an individual is alone in a theatre. Books however, demand active imaginative construction, which takes time. The experience is private, slower, and more participatory—the “movie” crafted by the words on the page plays inside the reader’s mind and is therefore unique to each person. A book consists of words that the reader must translate into mental images, voices, and sensations. Pace, emphasis, and visualization are all under the reader’s control; one can linger, re-read, or skip. Access to a character’s interiority is often deeper and more direct. Movies trade that generative freedom for sensory richness and collective standardization of the story’s look and sound as interpreted and presented by the director and the crew helping to achieve that interpretation. Further, a movie externalizes nearly everything: faces, settings, movement, dialogue delivery, and atmosphere are supplied ready-made. The viewer’s role is primarily receptive where one’s imagination can fill in gaps but does not invent the primary images or voices given in a movie or even a play. When engaging with a book, readers can lose track of time inside a novel in a way that feels more personally encompassing because the experience is generated internally rather than received ready-made. This slower, controllable pace can deepen absorption. The duration of a movie is fixed (at usually 90–180 minutes), as is the duration of a play where narrative information arrives in a tightly orchestrated audiovisual flow. Internal thoughts are often externalized through performance, voice-over, or visual metaphor.
Like reading, viewing artwork such as paintings and other still images invites open-ended contemplation without imposed duration or motion. And like seeing a movie or a play, viewing an artwork in an art gallery can also be a shared experience that is influenced by how busy it is, as shown by Thomas Struth’s fine art photograph, AUDIENCE 11, FLORENCE, in Artifact 02 below. Barsam and Monaham note that “…unlike photography or painting, film s are constructed from individual shots - an unbroken span of action captured by an uninterrupted run of a motion-picture camera - that allows visual elements to rearrange themselves and the viewer’s perspective itself to shift within any composition” (4). They continue, explaining how: “With each transition from one shot to another, a movie is able to move the viewer through time and space” (5).
ARTIFACT 02 > Struth, Thomas. “Audience 11, Florence.” Chromogenic print, 179.5 × 291.5 cm. 2004.
Overall, a movie is temporal and sequential where images change, its narrative or mood develops over time, and sound adds another layer. The viewer is carried along a predetermined path of attention and duration; even experimental or non-narrative films impose rhythm through editing and motion. By contrast, a painting or photograph is static. A painting or photograph tends to foster a quieter, more contemplative immersion. The eye is free to roam, return, and dwell for as long as desired. Meaning often arises from prolonged looking, composition, texture, light, and the viewer’s own associations rather than from unfolding events. Without imposed time or motion, the viewer can dwell, notice layers, and enter a prolonged reflective state that some find more profound than narrative propulsion. Outside of digital and film art, there is no soundtrack, no obligatory sequence, and no fixed runtime. The experience tends to be more contemplative and open-ended; the still image holds a single (or layered) moment rather than a progression. Movies, by contrast, use time itself as a primary expressive material.
3. Why has the grammar of film evolved to allow audiences to absorb movie meaning intuitively?
Barsam and Monaham begin their chapter describing how: “In just over 100 years, MOVIES have evolved into a complex form of artistic representation and communication: they are at once a hugely influential, widely profitable, global industry, and a modern art – the most popular art form today…” (2). They continue, explaining how: “…you have likely devoted thousands of hours to absorbing the motion picture medium… For most of us most of the time, movies are a break from our daily obligations – a form of escape, entertainment, and pleasure” (2). Finally, Barsam and Monaham also explain how: “Every movie is a complex synthesis - a combination of many seperate, interrelated elements that form a coherent whole” (6). Considering this, one could argue that film grammar has evolved toward intuitive absorption primarily because it proved the most efficient way to communicate narrative, emotion, and spatial relations to large, diverse audiences while exploiting how human perception and attention already work. Barsam and Monaham describe this as being able to recognize how film viewers have a: “…tendency (especially when sitting in a dark theater, staring at a large screen) To identify subconsciously with the cameras, viewpoint, early filmmaking pioneers created a film grammar (or cinematic language) That draws upon the way, we automatically interpret visual information in our lives, the allowing audiences to absorb movie meaning intuitively – and instantly” (6). These ideas are further empathized by understanding the following ideas…
Alignment with perception and cognition: Many core conventions parallel ordinary visual experience and mental processes. Continuity editing (match-on-action, eyeline matches, the 180-degree rule) creates a smooth sense of space and time that feels continuous rather than jarring. Establishing shots orient the viewer the way a person scans a new environment. Close-ups direct attention the way we focus on a face or object in conversation. Barsam and Monaham note how: “We experience a movie shot, which is capable of delivering multiple layers of visual and auditory information, for the briefest of moments before it is replaced with another moving image and another, and another” (6). Cuts often mimic the natural jumps of eye movements (saccades). Music, lighting, and camera movement further cue emotion without verbal explanation. These techniques reduce cognitive load: once learned through repeated exposure, they operate largely below conscious awareness, letting audiences follow story and meaning fluidly.
Practical and commercial pressures: Early cinema (late 1890s–1910s) began with relatively static, theatrical, or documentary-style presentations. Filmmakers such as Edwin S. Porter and D.W. Griffith discovered that controlled framing, cross-cutting, and closer shots could heighten drama and clarity. In the silent era especially, films needed to reach international and often non-literate audiences - and as such, a reliance o visual storytelling that required minimal cultural or linguistic decoding expanded the market. Hollywood’s classical continuity system standardized these methods because they reliably produced legible, emotionally engaging narratives on an industrial scale. Techniques that confused viewers or slowed comprehension were discarded; those that guided attention efficiently and created an illusion of seamless reality were refined and repeated until they felt “natural.” This idea is reinforced by Barsam and Monaham who note how “…most scenes in most films that most of us watch rely heavily on largely invisible techniques that convey meaning intuitively. It’s not that cinematic language is impossible to spot; you simply have to know what you’re looking at” (9).
Efficiency of a time-based, expensive medium: Film is linear and costly. Grammar that lets audiences absorb who is where, what they feel, causal links, and thematic emphasis in seconds (rather than through lengthy exposition) maximizes dramatic impact within fixed running times. Montage, shot-reverse-shot dialogue, and point-of-view structures compress information while preserving emotional continuity. Over decades of practice, experimentation, and audience feedback, the system self-selected for conventions that worked intuitively for most viewers.
Cultural standardization and learning: Once dominant practices (especially classical Hollywood style) became widespread, successive generations absorbed them through exposure rather than formal study. What began as invented techniques came to feel transparent. Later styles (Soviet montage, art cinema, modern fast cutting) built on or deliberately broke these foundations. Barsam and Monaham explain how “…from the earliest days of movie, making, innovative, filmmakers have revealed against the notion of hidden structures and need… Filmmaker whose worked is labelled ‘experimental’… embrace Self – reflexive styles that confront and confound conventional motions of continuity… (thereby) Forcing viewers to actively scrutinize a cinematic structures on the screen in order to assemble, and thus comprehend, the story” (9). Ultimately though, the baseline grammar of film remains intuitive precisely because it was optimized for broad comprehension and perceptual ease.
In short, film grammar did not evolve toward intuition by accident or through pure aesthetics. It was shaped by the medium’s need to tell stories clearly and powerfully to mass audiences, by alignment with human perceptual habits, and by the commercial and practical advantages of techniques that minimize friction between screen and spectator. The result is a visual-auditory language most people can “read” without conscious effort.
4. In what ways do movies minimize viewers’ awareness that they are experiencing a highly manipulated, artificial reality?
In order to minimalize viewers awarness that they are, in fact experiencing a highly
manipulated, artificial realty, moviemakers utilize lighting, performance, makeup and movement
along with smooth editing transitions such as cutting in on the action or fade in/fade out to tell
its story moment to moment. Much of a movies function is to make us forget we are viewing a
highly manipulated reality. This is also known as cinematic invisibility.
5. What do we mean by cultural invisibility? How is this different from cinematic invisibility?
Cultural invisibility is different from cinematic invisibility (see question 4).Cultural invisibility is
a consequence of shared belief systems and is often driven by a commercial nature. It can be a
moviemaker’s way to unconsciously challenge viewers’ shared belief systems.
What is the difference between implicit and explicit meaning?
Explicit meaning is on the surface of a film for all to observe. Explicit meaning encompasses
everything that a movie presents on its surface. Implicit meaning is a suggestion, association,
or inference that we make because of the given (explicit) meaning carried by the story of the
movie.
How might your previous experiences of a particular actor influence your reaction to a new movie featuring the same performer?
Viewer expectations are included and taken into consideration in how movies are made.
Particular expectations a viewer may have to an actor or director can alter the way they
anticipate and perceive a movie.
What are some of the other expectations that can affect the way viewers react to a movie?
The Oxford dictionary defines expectation (n) as “…a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.” Dictionary.com describes it as “…the act or state of looking forward or anticipating. Synonyms include trust, hope, anticipation, expectancy. an expectant mental attitude: a high pitch of expectation. something expected; a thing looked forward to.
Expect(v): regard (something) as likely to happen (Oxford). The words hope and look are common synonyms of expect. While all three words mean "to await some occurrence or outcome," expect implies a high degree of certainty and usually involves the idea of preparing or envisioning.
Anticipate (v): 1. to regard as probable or likely; anticipate. she expects to win. 2. to look forward to or be waiting for (Collin’s). Synonyms include: guess, imagine, opine, reckon, suppose, think. expect, believe, or suppose. assume, presume, take for granted. take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof. conjecture, hypothecate, hypothesise, hypothesize, speculate, suppose, theorise, theorize.
The fiveable website defines AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS as “…the ideas viewers bring to a film or media text before and while watching it. In Film and Media Theory, they shape how you read genre, character, style, and twists.” Ultimately, for me, expectations are the strong belief that something will happen or be the case. When watching a film, expectations can range from specific details like plot, character development, and cinematography to broader, more subjective experiences like entertainment, emotional impact, and originality. Our expectations determine the reality of what we experience, and those expectations can be shaped by a film’s commercials, interviews, reviews, and word of mouth. So, in essence, it is safe to say that a film's success often hinges on how well it fulfills or exceeds these varied expectations.
What are you looking for when you do a formal analysis of a movie scene?
When I do a formal analysis, I will be carefully consider and synthesize the cinematography,
sound, composition, design, movement, and performance of the film. I will study the work
coordinated by screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, actors, editors, sound designers and
art directors. I will consider the narrative intent of the moment, scene and sequence before I
interpret the formal elements or explicit meaning.
What are some other alternative approaches to analysis, and what sorts of meaning might they uncover?
An alternative approach to analysis might be one of looking beneath the films form and content
to uncover unspoken or hidden meanings that expose any significance of the movie within, for
example, pop culture or the influence of pop culture on the movie.
At this point, would you say that learning what a movie is all about is more challenging than you first thought? If so, why?
It will be a challenge to achieve and succeed in a condensed course over the sunny hot summer
months!
ARTIFACT 03 > CrashCourse. “Crash Course Media Literacy Preview.” YouTube, 20 Feb 2018.
Artifact 03 Summary
Overview
Jay Smooth introduces a 12-week course on Media Literacy where media literacy is defined as the ability to Access, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, and Act using communication.
Smooth is the host of New York's longest-running hip-hop radio show, Underground Railroad. He is also a media commentator known for his video blog Ill Doctrine.
The course will introduce the importance of understanding media manipulation and fact-checking.
The course will cover popular culture, propaganda, and communication skills.
Definition of Media Literacy
Media literacy involves the ability to Access, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, and Act using all forms of communication. These videos will explore these aspects in detail.
Importance of Media Literacy
Media is omnipresent, and understanding it is crucial in a saturated environment.
Skills include identifying media manipulation and ensuring news is fact-based.
Course Content Overview
Exploration of the purpose and goals behind media creation.
Analysis of various media forms, including popular movies, propaganda, and text messages.
Focus on improving navigation through popular culture, citizenship, and communication.
Course Goals
Equip participants with skills to better understand and engage with media.
Encourage participants to be better communicators and more informed citizens.
ARTIFACT 04 > CrashCourse. “Introduction to Media Literacy: Crash Course Media Literacy #1.” YouTube, 27 Feb 2018.
Artifact 04 Summary
Overview
Media consumption is a significant part of daily life, with U.S. adults spending over 10 hours a day on average consuming media.
Media literacy is crucial for understanding and navigating the vast array of media messages and effects.
This series of videos will explore media history, effects, creation, and regulation.
Stuart Hall's theory of encoding and decoding highlights the complexity of media messages.
Media literacy education is essential for critical engagement with media.
Media Consumption
Jay Smooth highlighted the extensive time spent on media by individuals, with U.S. adults averaging 10 hours daily.
Media includes a wide range of formats such as books, films, TV shows, podcasts, and social media.
Definition and Importance of Media Literacy
Media literacy is defined as the ability to Access, Analyze, Evaluate, Create, and Act using all forms of communication.
Understanding media literacy helps individuals critically engage with media messages and their impacts.
Media Messages and Effects
Media messages convey values and ideas, while media effects are their influences on audiences.
Stuart Hall's encoding and decoding theory suggests that messages are encoded by creators and decoded by audiences, allowing for varied interpretations.
Challenges and Education
Media literacy is essential in navigating challenges such as fake news and understanding the role of tech companies in news dissemination.
The course aims to equip individuals with skills to critically assess media and share these skills with others.
Course Structure
The course will cover media history, how to find reliable sources, media interactions with the mind, and media creation responsibilities.
It will also address media regulation, propaganda, misinformation, advertising, and the influence of big tech companies.
Viewers are encouraged to spread media literacy knowledge, emphasizing collective effort in understanding media.
ARTIFACT 05 > CrashCourse. “Cinema, Radio, and Television: Crash Course History of Science.” YouTube, 26 Nov 2018.
Artifact 05 Summary
Overview
The Telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication in the 1800s.
The Telephone invented by Bell and Gray in 1876, enabling personal communication.
Edison developed the phonograph and contributed to motion pictures.
The Radio emerged in the early 20th century, transforming mass communication.
Television developed in the 1920s, became widespread post-WWII.
Telegraph and Telephone
The telegraph, invented in the mid-1800s, allowed communication over long distances, useful for updates on stock prices or military movements.
The telephone, developed by Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray in 1876, enabled personal communication but was not suited for mass entertainment.
Edison's Innovations
Thomas Edison, working at Menlo Park, developed the phonograph in 1877, which recorded and played back sound.
Edison's phonograph used a recording cylinder but was mostly used for office dictation.
He also created a talking doll, which was a commercial failure.
Edison and William Dickson developed the Kinetograph, the first motion picture camera, leading to the creation of short films.
Edison's early films were simple and short, often lacking plot.
The Motion Picture Industry
Edison was known for aggressively defending his patents, and he formed THE EDISON TRUST, which ultimately served to push other filmmakers out of NYC to move to Los Angeles.
The Lumière brothers in France invented the cinematograph, promoting mass screenings.
By 1902, U.S. courts limited Edison's patent control, allowing the film industry to flourish.
Radio Development
Radio waves were predicted by James Clerk Maxwell and discovered by Heinrich Hertz.
Guglielmo Marconi developed the first commercial radio system, sending signals across the English Channel and the Atlantic.
Radio gained popularity in the 1920s, with stations like KDKA and the BBC leading the way.
Radio transformed communication, connecting rural areas and becoming a tool for propaganda and news.
Television and Other Developments
John Baird invented a mechanical television in the 1920s, demonstrating the first televised images.
The BBC initially used Baird's system but switched to electronic TV in 1936.
Television became a major industry post-WWII, with the first global broadcast satellite, Telstar, launched in 1962.
Corporate Research and Development
Innovations in communication technology were driven by corporate research labs like Bell Labs and IBM Labs.
These entities focused on turning scientific discoveries into profitable technologies.
ARTIFACT 06 > Patrick (H) Willems. “How to Analyze Movies - Film Studies 101.” YouTube, 30 Jan 2023.
Artifact 06 Summary
Introductory Overview
Host Patrick Willams aims to teach viewers to look beyond the surface of movies and understand their deeper meanings.
The video essentially acts as a class on how to analyze movies, initially written for Nebula but later adapted for YouTube.
Cinema is a relatively young art form compared to literature or painting.
Movies are more than just surface-level stories; they involve deliberate artistic choices.
Analyzing movies involves interpreting story, shots, editing, and understanding their emotional impact.
Home Alone is used as a case study to demonstrate how to extract meaning from films.
Film analysis includes examining themes, visual storytelling, sound, and genre.
Cinema as an Art Form
Williams notes how cinema is a relatively new art form, with moving picture cameras invented in the late 1800s.
Ultimately, MOVIES have been the most popular art form for the past century.
Analyzing movies is similar to analyzing other art forms, focusing on the deliberate choices made by artists.
Analyzing Movies
Williams explains this as being a two-step process where you:
Describe what you see; and
Ask why.
Every element in a movie is a choice made by the director (artist), who understands how those choices influences and affects viewers emotionally.
Art is subjective, and viewers can interpret it differently from the artist's intent.
Case Study: Home Alone
Main Themes: Responsibility, forgiveness, and the importance of family.
The movie is about a kid defending his home while his mother tries to return to him.
Analyzing the movie involves looking at its primary themes and how they are expressed through the story and visuals.
Visual Storytelling
Mise-en-scène: Refers to what is in the frame, including costumes, locations, lighting, etc.
Perspective: Can be objective or subjective, affecting how the story is perceived.
Technical Aspects: Understanding lenses, colour, and lighting helps in analyzing the creative choices.
Editing and Sound
Editing: Usually invisible, it provides spatial and temporal continuity.
Sound: Includes dialogue, sound effects, and music, contributing to the film's emotional impact.
Music: John Williams' score in Home Alone adds depth to the narrative.
Genre and Interpretation
Genre: Sets audience expectations and influences the storytelling approach.
Home Alone blends comedy with elements of horror to convey Kevin's perspective.
Multiple Interpretations: Movies can be analyzed through various lenses like gender studies or class warfare.
Conclusion
Analyzing movies involves observing, questioning, and interpreting different elements.
Every movie has meaning, even if it's not immediately apparent.
Viewers are encouraged to re-examine their favorite films and explore deeper meanings.
ARTIFACT 07 > Brickwall Pictures. “Film History Crash Course - One Essential Film for Every Year of Cinema.” YouTube, 17 Jan 2023.
Header Photo > Artist Unknown. “Georges Mèliés collage.”