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What Film Theories Exist & How Does Film Theory Impact Filmmaking

What Film Theories Exist & How Does Film Theory Impact Filmmaking?

Film theory represents the scholarly or academic study of films and cinema studies. As well as their impact on society. Early film theory, or the study of film, began in the 1920s. And continued to evolve with changing attitudes and conceptual frameworks over the next century. Today, the various film theories that have been founded since the 1920s are the basis for understanding the relationship between film and how we interact as a society. As well as the relationships between film and other arts, and the spectators that view the films. 

There are several different film theories that have come up over the past 100 years. Each represents a unique viewpoint as to the study of film and filmmaking. Theorists argue various philosophical concepts as they relate to film and media, each with their own ideas of the potential impacts of film on reality.

Types of Film Theories

Concepts for philosophical study of film medium have certainly evolved and changed with the times. Early film theories largely focused on the study of silent era films and their impacts on reality.

Early theorists argued first, that film was actually an art form, and defined the basis upon which future film studies, as an art, could continue to evolve and grow. 

Over the years, the following film theories have come up:

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s film theory would become a target for academia with various concepts being introduced into film studies.

Scholars, including Christian Metz, would approach disciplines in film theory including:

  • Psychoanalysis
  •  
  • Gender Studies
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  • Anthropology
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  • Literary Theory
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  • Semiotics
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  • Linguistics

Later, in the 1980s and 1990s, film theorists would take on a humanistic approach with auteur theory and a focus on  practical elements of filmmaking including script writing, production, editing and film criticism becoming the primary focus of academic study.

Film Theory & The Digital Revolution

Developments in film theory continue to evolve as we move past the 1980s and into the 1990s as well as the 2000s in which the digital revolution would largely influence the ways that films were made.

In more recent years, film theorists including Mary Ann Doane and Slavoj Zizek would introduce new concepts in film theory including many deeply psychoanalytic criticism. 

The Focus of Film Theory

Film theory would take on a shift in focus, in which many academic studies now rely heavily on historical theory, early screenings, and the evolution of film practices as well as the spectatorship of films and how people viewing film react and relate to what is seen on the screen. 

With so many different types of film theories, figuring out which theories to study or focus on can be tough. Typically, the basis of early film studies will dive into some of these theories with many students choosing to continue to focus heavily on specific philosophical concepts for cinema and media as they continue their studies. Which film theories are most interesting to you?

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