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Film Theory and It's Application

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2019

Film Theory
TERM PAPER
FARYAL JOGEZAI
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2

Literature Review ..................................................................................................................... 6

Film Theory application in exploring TV dramas..................................................................... 6

Film Theory application in exploring art mood in cinema........................................................ 7

Film Theory application in exploring the depiction of female in films ....................................7

Film Theory application in exploring genre synopses ............................................................. 8

Film Theory application in exploring cartography .................................................................. 8

Film Theory application in film critics .................................................................................. 9

Film Theory application in editing strategies ……………………………………………… 10

Limitations ............................................................................................................................... 11

Future Prospect ........................................................................................................................ 12

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 12

References ............................................................................................................................... 15
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Abstract

Film theory is a scholarly theoretical approach to study cinema and motion pictures. The theory

came on its own in the mid-1890s to prove the essentialism of cinema, the relationship of the reel

with reality, arts with viewers and society. The theory developed with time but depended on

other theories relating them with film to study film. Film theory is as old as the cinema and it not

only extends into the future but also the past, bringing new implications and a new point of view

with each extension. Before the emergence of film theory, there was a variety of writings present

about cinema. Hugo Münsterberg, Béla Balász, and Rudolf Arnheim were the most renowned

theoretician however Eisenstein and Kuleshov also contributed significantly to the early era of

cinema and its impact. Although André Bazin aided noticeably to the modern-day and

contemporary film theory in the 1940s through his film magazine named Les Cahiers du cinéma.

These writings helped the film theory came into being as well as worked as a critic for the

cinema providing a new angle to the cinema. The objective of this study is to study the

correlation of films with the theory, how the theories have been used in different forms of

realism as well as arts. As the theory came to own its own and is still surviving, moving along

the technological and digital age. This paper will show the importance of film theory to the new

digital world, where the medium of films has advanced from the process of pre-production till

distribution. Film theory is not about film critic or film history but much rather about the making

of films, its effects on the society and its status among the art forms. The paper will look at

certain areas where the theory has been applied through the different tools, theoretic methods,

and approaches of film theory.

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Introduction

The film is a series of moving pictures, with sound and a story that is shown on screen in

the cinema. Making a film is a whole process of pre-production, production, and post-production

which results in a film. Films are made for certain purpose entertainment, visually appealing.

social construct, to express human relations, communication, and culture. Films relate or are

based on human emotions and reality, which makes them relatable to its audience and makes

them take interest as well as get influenced.

Films are not just for entertainment but they also contain certain effects both negative

and positive, they can bring revolution in society as well as manipulate nations and describe

those effects both on nations, society and individuals film theory is used. In the mid 1890s

cinema become the mass entertainer because of its function and features. The writings related to

cinema existed before the emergence of film theory. The cinema writers and academics were

more concerned with the comparison of film with other forms of arts, understanding the relation

of films to the theater, paintings, novels and photography as the film was considered an

extension to these forms of arts.

The film was described as a series of motion pictures, a mechanical recording of reality

but certainly did not have its form of art but rather was a contribution to the other forms of art. It

was felt necessary to distinguish the services of cinema and films. Film writings contributed to

the cinema academic but not as a whole form of theory, as its being. To understand the nature of

cinema and its essence the academic discipline was introduced in writings to explain the

connection of films to realism, society, and culture. Film theory overlaps with film criticism and

film history but all three discipline is different in their nature.

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Along with the journey of film writings came the Avant-garde movement in the 1910s

where the movies were related to abstract art, movie directors started making movies that seemed

ahead of their time giving cinema a new meaning and proposed new theories. Although the

development of film theory was present in the writings of French philosopher Henri Bergson's

Matter and Memory in 1896 but was considered film-philosophy.

The early film theory arose during the silent era and it was only concerned with the

medium but it evolved with the works of directors like Germaine Dulac, Sergei Eisenstein, Lev

Kuleshov, and Dziga Vertov and film theorists like Rudolf Arnheim, Béla Balázs and Siegfried

Kracauer. After World War II, French film theorist André Bazin came with a new approach that

the cinema is mechanical motion in his magazine Les Cahiers du cinéma in the 1940s.

The theory officially took place in the 1960s and received academic importance through

different disciplines. Starting from academic theories like structuralism, semiotics and linguistics

by Saussure, psychoanalysis by Freud and Lacan, Marxist film theory by Marx and Althusser,

film-philosophy by Derrida, Foucault and gender studies. All these many more connected film

theories to new fields giving the theory more exposure and new ideologies.

Auteur Film Theory

The theory proposes that the director is the only entity that makes the film unique and is

the only creative genius person the film credit should go to.

Aesthetics Film Theory

The theory works on the beauty, artistic and visual appeal of shots, music and the film as

a whole. Judging the aim of the artwork, its purpose and portrayal is aesthetic film theory.
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Cognitive Film Theory

The theory was presented to study the experience and reaction of the film audience. The

relationship between audience understanding of the film content and context and their

psychology.

Feminist Film Theory

The theory works on the perspective of women in film and cinema, their characters,

portrayals, opinions, and set-ups. As well as the elements of male supremacy, patriarchy, and

hegemony over women both in film and cinema.

Marxist Film Theory

The theory was introduced after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 under the influence of

Marxist communists’ power. The theory focuses on the context of the shots rather than

characters or plot-line. It promotes that editing is the most important factor in a film.

Genre Theory

According to this theory the understanding of structural elements carries the meaning of

film text are important. These generic film texts should be recognizable, expected and

predictable by film audiences.

Formalist Film Theory

The theory aims to discuss the technical features of a film (Lighting, sound, set, editing

and shot composition) and how it is different from other mediums of art.
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Structuralist Film Theory

The theory explains the film genre for the audience, to understand the potential of the

film and its significance. It says that the movie is about reality and a reflection of human life.

The era of the 1980s and 90s brought the digital revolution, technological changes with

better sound quality, HD picture, and special effects to give more real experience to the audience.

The cinema shifted to home through videocassette recorder (VCR), made the distribution and

circulation of films easier throughout the world. The rise of cable, satellite television system and

DVDs (digital video discs) gave direct access to films at home. Expending the cinema as well as

introducing new concepts in film theory. With the advancements of technology and the

increasing capabilities of a computer, the field of animation widening the scholarly approach to

film theory.

This paper is concerned with the advancement and influence of the internet in today's age

and the application of film theory on different aspects of both arts and culture. Film theory has

been used in different researches to provide scholarly insight through different theoretical

methods and approaches. The film is a very different medium when compared to Tv or new

media such as the internet, giving different experience from the two as well. The paper will

define the subsidiaries of film theory as well as their application in the academics explaining the

relation of theory from past to future.

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Literature Review

Film Theory Application In Exploring TV Dramas

There is a study of Barry Salt on finding whether the TV-style is uniform and

uninteresting or not. He applied the idea to 21 television dramas of the different genres as well as

soap operas (1994-2000) from different regions such as Britain, Australia, the United States, and

Finland. He analyzed both films and dramas with the application of film theory based on their

Shots, Average Shot Length (ASL) and Camera Movements to see the uniformity.

He explored that dramas from Finland, Britain, and Australia were shot on tapes except

for American Tv programs that were shot on film. His findings included that there was variety in

the Shots as well as ASL even among the different genres of the soap operas such as Baywatch

had diverse shots used such as crane shots and was different from police and crime dramas such

as New Burke’s Law – Who Killed Nick Hazard? And NYPD Blue.

The study very reasonably argues and proves its point that there is no uniformity in TV

programs or dramas in-fact they are quite interesting. As the zoom lens is no longer used for the

shoot of Tv dramas and focal length lenses are considered better that can change the focus and

zoom in between the shots. With the evolution of cinema through the lens of film theory, the

drama style has followed film style. A special shooting style was used in the making of NYPD

Blue and Homicide– Life on the Street. As well as a combination of different shots used in

Homicide– Life on the Street was adopted by Lars von Trier for his several cinematic features.
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Film Theory Application In Exploring Art Mood In Cinema

Carl Plantinga's paper looks at the concept of mood in cinema creating the emotional

impact. He aesthetically examines the film noir 'Touch of Evil' by Orson Wells. He argues that

the film sets a dark mood, a sense of dread and decay in a positive way that emotionally appeals

to the audience sets a mood. He claims that mood can affect the perspective, thought of the

audience as well as maintain their mood. Regarding film theory, he claims that mood is a key

point in aesthetic films.

He discusses that the combination of human mood and art mood affects the aesthetic of

narrative cinema. Both moods are created with the help of different lighting, camera movements,

and angels. He explains that the mood in this film was created with the use of neon lights,

shadows, unbalanced camera composition to show vagueness and produce a perfect film noir. He

successfully explains that in narrative cinema the mood rather than to character relates to all

other elements of the film and that is what makes a film memorable to the audience.

Film Theory Application In Exploring The Depiction Of Female In Films

The study is conducted by Jenni Kinnunen questioning the depiction of female characters

in both Marvel and Dc superhero movies. For her research she chooses Cat Woman from The

Dark Knight Rises (2012), Gwen Stacy from The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Pepper Pots

from Iron Man 3 (2013), Black Widow form Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and

Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). She argues that according to MPAA research

most of the film audience is a young female, which arises the question of female portrayal in

such films.
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Jenni analyzes the five blockbuster comic adaptations and examines the ethnicity, speech,

behavior, visual image and function of females in the storyline. Her theoretical approach is

gender studies and Feminist Film theory. Whereas her methodological approach was both critical

discourse analysis and textual analysis as well as Bechdel test for both of her research questions.

She proved that female characters were stereotyped in visual, speech and behavior whereas there

was a slight distinction ethnically in the character Gamora which again can't be identified as she

is a green-colored alien.

Film Theory Application In Exploring Genre Synopses

A study over crime genre films and films containing crime is conducted by Jessica Allen,

Sonia Livingstone, and Robert Reiner. The paper looks at the number of crime films and crime in

different genre British and American films between 1945 and 1991. They applied the method of

content analysis and textual analysis with the approach to film theory. They wanted to explore

whether the generic content in films has altered since 1945 and what generic alterations have

influenced the framework for crime depictions.

In the results, the different genres such as War, sex, romance, western, and adventure

films declined the depiction of crimes. Whereas the genres of crime, drama, and farce showed

constant results on average while the only increase was noticed in the fantasy genre by 20%. In

conclusion, the films of Britain do contain crime as a crucial part of their storyline but not

certainly increased yet may stay perpetual in the future.

Film Theory Application In Exploring Cartography

The paper by Ian Muehlenhaus explains the need to apply film theory to the making of

maps also called cartography. He suggested that with the use of film theory more meaning and
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aesthetically pleasing maps designs could be created which can be more memorable as well. He

describes the relationship between cinema and cartography with the approach of film theory. The

paper links map designing to animation in the past and present, use of YouTube map video to

design persuasive film maps.

He describes the map as a visual communication of spatial information. He says that

films and maps are not reality but rather a recreation of reality and that form a relationship

between map forms and film forms. He describes that filmmakers use cartography to make films

similarly film theory could be used in cartography to create advanced more appealing and

meaningful maps that would attract the audience to learn about maps. He gives examples of

different movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pulp Fiction and Blood Simple where

cartography was used while making certain scenes.

He explains the use of graphic designing and typography through the film theory could be

used to introduce new ideologies, story maps, eloquence, and color schemes to make the maps

more attention-grabbing and interesting. He concluded with the point that film theory can help

create more meaningful, rationale and aesthetic maps for the map users and map critics.

Film Theory Application In Films Critics

The study is conducted by Michael Patrick Allen and Anne E. Lincoln, examining the

cultural consecration and recognition of American films and their directors. The paper looks at

the reconsidered praise for American films by the American Film Institute and the National Film

Registry based on cultural, historical and aesthetic significance. They conducted a critical

analysis of 1,277 films released between 1929 and 1991 who received critical acclaim, and
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awards after their release as well as their directors. Working on the factor that affects its release

and popularity both about the film and their directors approaching auteur film theory.

The paper questions whether the popularity of the director affects the success of a film

along with the film anthologies. The paper suggests that the auteur directors are praised by film

critics more in comparison to the films of other creative directors. He compared two famous

award-winning films 'The Searchers' directed by auteur director John Ford and received award

10 years after its release and in contrast ‘The Country Girl’ directed by creative director George

Seaton received 7 awards and literary acclaim yet was not retrospectively consecrated.

The theory validates the point that auteur film theory works as a cultural schema and

gives privilege to auteur film directors over the creative directors as they are the subject of more

books by film scholars than others. This critical approach in the books by the film scholar proves

as a benefit to the selection of films by the AFI and NFR.

Film Theory Application In Editing Strategies

This study by Richard J. Schaefer focuses on the editing techniques applied in television

news documentaries by journalists and news video editors. The paper studied four documentaries

aired between 1954 and 1982. The paper chooses quantitative analysis and comparative case

study analysis as it's a methodology with the application of film theory and Pierce's theory of

sign.

Richard analyzed the editing style, use of transitions and effects, cutting rate and audio

synchronization of the documentaries comparing them to classic film realism and montage

strategies. To verify the claim that news documentaries have become more of journalist centered.

The paper concludes with the results that according to findings use of traditional montages and
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separately edited audio and visual cuts appear in the four documentaries verifies the claim of

press critics that the documentaries have become more journalist centered.

But the findings also revealed that these documentaries presented editorial sentiments

from the producers of the documentaries including the report on Senator McCarthy which

presented classic realism. Although Richard says that the paper doesn't prove that broadcast

journalism is changing into a montage from classic realism. However, the study does show

various techniques used in news documentaries. Also, the lack of editing and shooting

professional vocabulary among the news cameramen and editors as well as lack of understanding

of film theory which leads to affect the factor of realism in new documentaries.

Limitations

Film theory is a theoretical approach to the making of films and examining films together

with cinema. The theory is just a century old and lacks supplementary theoretic and hypothetical

work. The limitation of the theory is that the theory is not self-explanatory but rather relays on

different approaches from other social theories to explain cinema and film and their relationship

with the audience. The paper consisted of a literature review of different approaches in the

academic field of film theory as applied by theorists.

The limitation of my papers is that it lacks a literature review of the theory linking to new

media and technologically advanced pieces of equipment and techniques used in the cinema

now. The theory is only applied practically in cinema as well as new medium structures such as

YouTube content, vlogs, infographics and other video content present on the web using film

techniques and practices. But failed to find literature related to the new media as well as new
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genres created with time. The literature is also limited due to time constraints and the absence of

thorough study in the field.

Future Research

The theory has a vast future and could be applied to achieve fascinating results as well as

draw new conclusions. The theory has been less worked on and if used can identify new fields

within the cinema as well as concerning both TV and new media. Scientific advancements have

helped uniformly the cinema and filmmakers both quality wise and technological innovations

equipment-wise. Cameras and lenses of the future have gotten smaller and more advanced

providing high-quality resolution so are the lighting gears and tripods making filmmaking easier

and more accessible.

Consequently, is the post-production and editing machinery and practices have reached a

new level introducing high-quality SFX, VFX and CFX effects. The theory only holds revisiting

literature to the evolution of the theory while practically the theory has advanced a great deal. In

future research the theorists can work on the aspects of new media and advancements of

equipment's and techniques of filmmaking, editing as well as the distribution of films using the

approaches of film theory and explore new dimensions.

Conclusion

Film theory came on its own in the mid-1890s through the writings of different theorists

such as Hugo Münsterberg, Béla Balász, Rudolf Arnheim, Eisenstein, and Kuleshov. While

André Bazin pursued a contemporary approach towards the theory on which basis the theory

stands today. The theory is a theoretical approach to the existence of cinema and its relationship

with reality, providing its space as an art form itself. Film theory follows different disciplines
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and concepts then it stands because of different approaches to explain the film as a process and

its relationship with its audience.

The different concepts are Semiotics, Linguistics, Psychoanalysis, Marxism, Philosophy

and Gender Studies. Different subsidiaries have been created in film theory under these concepts

to enlighten the theory. Film and Cinema have evolved over the years with the help of

technology and with regarding these evolutions this paper focuses on the different approaches

where film theory has been applied to. The literature review comprises on different areas of

research where the theory was applied.

The paper explored the relation of film to television dramas concerning research. To

explain how the Tv dramas rely on film and how much uniformity they show comparing the

different camera shots and length of shots. The paper also worked on the relation of film to art

moods and human moods demonstrating that different light and shadow techniques play a vital

role in creating an art mood for the audience which works as a vital key in the success of a film.

The film has a very deep role in gender studies and has a concept of feminist film theory

and the Bechdel test, which explores the role of women in film. A research paper over the female

character projection in Marvel and DC superhero movies was reviewed. Explaining that as much

the comic-based movies have a heavy young female audience the movies fail to do justice to

their female superheroes.

With the approach to genre synopses, the paper explains the depiction of crime in both

crime movies and other genres. Explaining that regarding film theory there is a low amount of

crime found in genres of films rather than crime movies itself, except the genre of fantasy which

showed an increased ratio of crime projection.

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The relation of filmmaking to cartography is old and films for a long time have been

using the techniques of cartography to form film maps. Whereas the research paper proposed the

idea of maps using film theory to produce more creative, attractive and aesthetically pleasing

maps. With the help of an animation, graphic designing and typography to make them attention-

grabbing along with to understand the maps better.

Film theory's subsidiary branch auteur film theory was applied to judge the criteria of the

top 10 American films of the decade awarded by the American Film Institute and the National

Film Registry based on cultural, historical and aesthetic significance. The study examined the

process retrospective cultural consecration of both the films and their directors.

The paper investigated the reason why certain films win an award after their release while

others don't despite being perfect. The study suggested that the privilege of auteur directors is the

factor provided by film critics and scholars through literary writings in books and magazines.

The paper conducted a critical analysis of the films and their directors and verified their claim.

The final literature review was the application of film theory to editing strategies and

techniques used in television documentaries are claimed to be broadcast journalist centered. With

the sample of four famous documentaries the claim was validated but the reason was stated lack

of knowledge of film theory and professional vocabulary of filming.

There was a certain limitation to the paper a vital reason was that the theory was

dependent on other theories to describe different disciplines. The lack of time was another

element that affected the research and deficiency of various new media related approaches. A

prospect was suggested that the theory is still holding on to the past findings while the
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advancement of technology and film equipment could be a new source of research for the theory

to explore new territories and new aspects to the theory with the digital age.

Bibliography

• Allen, M., & Lincoln, A. (2004). Critical Discourse and the Cultural Consecration of

American Films. Social Forces, 82(3), 871-893. Retrieved from

www.jstor.org/stable/3598360

• Film theory.org. List of film theories https://www.filmtheory.org/list-of-theories/

• James Cateridge, Studying Film with Different Film Theory Approaches.

https://www.dummies.com/art-center/performing-arts/filmmaking/studying-film-with-

different-film-theory-approaches/

• Jason Hellerman (2019). Understanding Film Theory: An Essential Guide retrieved

from https://nofilmschool.com/Film-theory-basic-terms

Jessica Allen, Sonia Livingstone, Robert Reiner, The Changing Generic Location of

Crime in Film: A Content Analysis of Film Synopses, 1945–1991, Journal of

Communication, Volume 47, Issue 4, December 1997, Pages 89–101,

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1997.tb02727.x

• Kinnunen, J. (2016). Badass bitches, damsels in distress, or something in between? :

representation of female characters in superhero action films.

• Muehlenhaus, I. (2014). Looking at the Big Picture: Adapting Film Theory to Examine

Map Form, Meaning, and Aesthetic. Cartographic Perspectives, 0(77), 46–66.

doi:10.14714/cp77.1239

• Plantinga, C. (2012). Art Moods and Human Moods in Narrative Cinema. New Literary

History, 43(3), 455-475. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/23358875

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• Richard J. Schaefer, Editing Strategies in Television News Documentaries, Journal of

Communication, Volume 47, Issue 4, December 1997, Pages 69–88,

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1997.tb02726.x

• Salt, B. (2001). Practical Film Theory and its Application to TV Series Dramas. Journal

of Media Practice, 2(2), 98–113. doi:10.1386/jmpr.2.2.98

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