Film Theories

Film theories provide frameworks for understanding and analyzing movies on multiple levels. They help us look beyond the surface of films to discover deeper meanings, technical innovations, and cultural significance. As you learn about different film theories, you'll develop a richer appreciation for movies and the deliberate choices filmmakers make to create meaning.

Film Fact: Every film you watch was created with specific techniques and choices that influence how you experience the story, even if you don't consciously notice them!

History of Film Theory

Early film theorists were on a mission to prove that movies deserved respect as a legitimate art form. As the youngest art medium of the 20th century, film initially struggled with an "inferiority complex" compared to established arts like painting, literature, and theater. These early theorists worked to define what made cinema unique and valuable.

Early approaches often focused on distinguishing film from other art forms by highlighting its special qualities and techniques. Theorists wanted to show that film wasn't just recorded theater but something entirely new with its own creative possibilities.

These foundational theories helped establish film studies as a serious discipline and gave filmmakers a vocabulary to discuss their craft.

History of Film Theory (Continued)

After World War II, French critic André Bazin challenged earlier film theories with a revolutionary perspective. Unlike those who emphasized film's differences from reality, Bazin argued that cinema's true power came from its ability to mechanically reproduce reality.

Bazin believed that film's most important quality was its capacity to capture authentic moments of real life. This perspective valued long takes, deep focus photography, and minimal editing that allowed viewers to experience scenes more naturally.

This realistic approach influenced many filmmakers and created a theoretical foundation for movements like Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave.

History of Film Theory (Academic Period)

During the 1960s and 1970s, film theory found a permanent home in universities and colleges. This academic turn brought sophisticated concepts from established disciplines into film analysis. Theorists began applying ideas from psychoanalysis, gender studies, literary theory, semiotics, and linguistics.

This period saw film theory become more complex and specialized. Movies were analyzed not just as entertainment but as cultural texts that revealed unconscious desires, social power structures, and linguistic patterns.

Learning Connection: Think about a movie you recently watched—could you analyze it using concepts from psychology or gender studies? Academic film theory gives you tools to see films in entirely new ways!

Formalism

The formalist approach focuses directly on the film itself—examining its structure, techniques, and formal elements rather than outside influences. While other theories might look at historical context or filmmaker biography, formalism zeroes in on what's actually on screen.

Formalists analyze how a film's plot structure controls what viewers see and when they see it. This ordering of information can dramatically change audience reactions. For example, revealing a character's secret at the beginning versus the end creates completely different viewing experiences.

Formalist analysis is like examining how a car is built rather than where it's going. You look at the individual parts (camera angles, lighting, editing) to understand how they work together to create meaning.

Formalism (Continued)

Narrative analysis, a key formalist technique, examines how films use storytelling elements like character development, settings, repetition patterns, and time structure to communicate meaning. For example, a circular narrative where the ending mirrors the beginning often suggests themes of fate or inevitability.

Formalists also analyze specific technical choices in films. They might study how camera movements create tension, how editing establishes relationships between characters, or how sound effects enhance the emotional impact of a scene. Each technical decision shapes how viewers experience and interpret the film.

These formal elements aren't just style choices—they're the building blocks of meaning in cinema. By studying them, you can understand how directors communicate complex ideas without directly stating them.

Psychological Approach

The psychological approach to film analysis connects movie elements to established psychological theories, particularly those of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. This approach searches for deeper meanings by identifying sexual symbolism, representations of the unconscious mind, and psychological character types.

Films often reveal characters' inner conflicts and desires through visual metaphors that psychological analysis can help decode. A character repeatedly shown behind bars or fences might represent feeling trapped in their own mind, not just physical confinement.

Psychological film theory suggests that movies can function like dreams, allowing viewers to experience repressed wishes and fears in a safe, fictional context.

Psychological Approach (Continued)

According to Freud's theory, which heavily influences psychological film analysis, the human mind consists of three distinct parts. The Id represents our uncontrolled, primal desires and impulses, often appearing as villains or monsters in films.

The Ego acts as the rational mediator, repressing the id's wilder impulses to function in society—typically represented by protagonists struggling with inner conflicts. Meanwhile, the Super Ego serves as the moral authority over both, often portrayed as parent figures, mentors, or societal rules.

Many films dramatize the conflict between these three forces. For example, a character might struggle between what they want (id), what they know is practical (ego), and what they feel is right (super ego).

Psychological Theory - Lacan's Approach

Lacanian theory, developed by psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, explains how people divide themselves into ideal and false selves to create a sense of unified identity. This theory identifies three key concepts in film analysis: the creation of subject, the divided self, and three orders of subjectivity.

According to Lacan, we experience reality through three distinct orders: the Imaginary (how we want to see ourselves), the Symbolic (language and social rules that define us), and the Real (the unattainable authentic reality that exists beyond our perception).

Films often play with these orders, showing characters struggling between who they imagine themselves to be versus who society tells them they are. This explains why identity crises and character transformations make such compelling storylines.

Think About It: In your favorite movies, how often do characters discover their "true selves" are different from how they or others saw them? That's Lacanian theory at work!

Psychological Approach (Spectator Theory)

Research on how viewers respond to different film genres like sci-fi, horror, and thrillers has expanded psychological film theory. Scientists began studying the cognitive abilities and knowledge viewers use to process and analyze film scenes in their brains.

This research revealed that watching movies isn't passive entertainment but an active psychological process. Our brains constantly predict what will happen next, fill in missing information, and connect emotional responses to visual cues.

The psychological activity that forms the spectator-screen relationship has become a fascinating area of study, helping explain why certain films create such powerful emotional reactions and why different audiences might interpret the same film in dramatically different ways.