McDonald - Film theory : the basics

FILM THEORY

THE BASICS

Many introductions to film theory confuse and confound the beginner. Kevin McDonalds addition to Routledges The Basics is different. It is one of the most accessible introductions to film theory currently available, and should become the first stop for students embarking on any future study of film theory.

Warren Buckland, Oxford Brookes University, UK

Film Theory: The Basics provides an accessible introduction to the key theorists, concepts, and debates that have shaped the study of moving images. It examines film theory from its emergence in the early twentieth century to its study in the present day, and explores why film has drawn special attention as a medium, as a form of representation, and as a focal point in the rise of modern visual culture.

The book emphasizes how film theory has developed as a historically contingent discourse, one that has evolved and changed in conjunction with different social, political, and intellectual factors. To explore this fully, the book is broken down into the following distinct sections:

Theory before theory, 191560

French theory, 194968

Screen theory, 196996

Post-theory, 19962015

Complete with questions for discussion and a glossary of both key terms and key theorists, Film Theory: The Basics is an invaluable resource for those new to film studies and for anyone else interested in the history and significance of critical thinking in relation to the moving image.

Kevin McDonald is a lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Northridge where he teaches popular culture and cultural theory. His research focuses on film theory and contemporary Hollywood. He is currently co-editing a collection titled The Netflix Effect.

THE BASICS

ACTING
BELLA MERLIN

AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY
NANCY STANLICK

ANCIENT NEAR EAST
DANIEL C. SNELL

ANIMAL ETHICS
TONY MILLIGAN

ANTHROPOLOGY
PETER METCALF

ARCHAEOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)
CLIVE GAMBLE

ART HISTORY
GRANT POOKE AND DIANA NEWALL

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
KEVIN WARWICK

THE BIBLE
JOHN BARTON

THE BIBLE AND LITERATURE
NORMAN W. JONES

BIOETHICS
ALASTAIR V. CAMPBELL

BODY STUDIES
NIALL RICHARDSON AND ADAM LOCKS

BRITISH POLITICS
BILL JONES

BUDDHISM
CATHY CANTWELL

CAPITALISM
DAVID COATES

CHRISTIANITY
BRUCE CHILTON

THE CITY
KEVIN ARCHER

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
SUMAN GUPTA

CRIMINAL LAW
JONATHAN HERRING

CRIMINOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)
SANDRA WALKLATE

DANCE STUDIES
JO BUTTERWORTH

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
VICTORIA S. HARRISON

ECONOMICS (THIRD EDITION)
TONY CLEAVER

EDUCATION
KAY WOOD

ENERGY
MICHAEL SCHOBERT

EUROPEAN UNION (SECOND EDITION)
ALEX WARLEIGH-LACK

EVOLUTION
SHERRIE LYONS

FILM STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)
AMY VILLAREJO

FILM THEORY
KEVIN MCDONALD

FINANCE (THIRD EDITION)
ERIK BANKS

FOOD ETHICS
RONALD SANDLER

FREE WILL
MEGHAN GRIFFITH

GENDER
HILARY LIPS

GENOCIDE
PAUL R. BARTROP

GLOBAL MIGRATION
BERNADETTE HANLON AND THOMAS VICINIO

GREEK HISTORY
ROBIN OSBORNE

HUMAN GENETICS
RICKI LEWIS

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
ANDREW JONES

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
PETER SUTCH AND JUANITA ELIAS

ISLAM (SECOND EDITION)
COLIN TURNER

JOURNALISM STUDIES
MARTIN CONBOY

JUDAISM
JACOB NEUSNER

LANGUAGE (SECOND EDITION)
R.L. TRASK

LAW
GARY SLAPPER AND DAVID KELLY

LITERARY ANALYSIS
CELENA KUSCH

LITERARY THEORY (THIRD EDITION)
HANS BERTENS

LOGIC
JC BEALL

MANAGEMENT
MORGEN WITZEL

MARKETING (SECOND EDITION)
KARL MOORE AND NIKETH PAREEK

MEDIA STUDIES
JULIAN MCDOUGALL

METAPHYSICS
MICHAEL REA

NARRATIVE
BRONWEN THOMAS

THE OLYMPICS
ANDY MIAH AND BEATRIZ GARCIA

PHILOSOPHY (FIFTH EDITION)
NIGEL WARBURTON

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
JOSEPH HOLDEN

POETRY (THIRD EDITION)
JEFFREY WAINWRIGHT

POLITICS (FIFTH EDITION)
STEPHEN TANSEY AND NIGEL JACKSON

PUBLIC RELATIONS
RON SMITH

THE QURAN
MASSIMO CAMPANINI

RACE AND ETHNICITY
PETER KIVISTO AND PAUL R. CROLL

RELIGION (SECOND EDITION)
MALORY NYE

RELIGION AND SCIENCE
PHILIP CLAYTON

RESEARCH METHODS
NICHOLAS WALLIMAN

ROMAN CATHOLICISM
MICHAEL WALSH

SEMIOTICS (SECOND EDITION)
DANIEL CHANDLER

SHAKESPEARE (THIRD EDITION)
SEAN MCEVOY

SOCIAL WORK
MARK DOEL

SOCIOLOGY
KEN PLUMMER

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITY (SECOND EDITION)
JANICE WEARMOUTH

SPORT MANAGEMENT
ROBERT WILSON AND MARK PIEKARZ

SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
DAVID TOD

STANISLAVSKI
ROSE WHYMAN

SUBCULTURES
ROSS HAENFLER

SUSTAINABILITY
PETER JACQUES

TELEVISION STUDIES
TOBY MILLER

TERRORISM
JAMES LUTZ AND BRENDA LUTZ

THEATRE STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)
ROBERT LEACH

WOMENS STUDIES
BONNIE SMITH

WORLD HISTORY
PETER N. STEARNS

FILM THEORY

THE BASICS

Kevin McDonald

First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2016 Kevin McDonald

The right of Kevin McDonald to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McDonald, Kevin, 1976
Film theory : the basics / Kevin McDonald.
pages cm. (The basics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Motion picturesPhilosophy. I. Title.
PN1995.M3775 2016
791.4301dc23
2015035053

ISBN: 978-1-138-79733-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-79734-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-75719-3 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK

I would like to thank Edward Branigan and Warren Buckland for providing me with an initial opportunity to think about the history of film theory. I am very thankful to Siobhan Poole for getting this project underway. Thank you to everyone else at Routledge, especially Natalie Foster and Sheni Kruger, for seeing this book all the way to the end. I want to also thank Andrew Ritchey and Ofer Eliaz for keeping theory interesting. My biggest thank you goes to Ben Stork and Kris Fallon. This book would not have been possible without them. Finally, I want to thank my mom, Joanne, my sisters Patricia and Krista, and Gina Giotta for being there for me both before the writing begins and whenever it ends.

For more than a century, film has drawn the interest of intellectuals, critics, artists, and scholars. Collectively, this group has asked questions about films fundamental qualities, its distinctive features, and its various effects. These questions eventually merged with broader debates about aesthetics, technology, culture, and society. And as these exchanges became the basis for an increasingly academic form of inquiry, they fostered their own specific set of terms, methods, and rhetorical positions. Together, these developments comprise film theory; the body of writing devoted to the critical understanding of film as a medium and as a vital part of visual culture more broadly.