# data[].attributes.body
In this segment, you will find 7 sections with curated resources on Film Criticism:

1. Introduction to Film Criticism

2. How do we critically engage with Film?

3. On writing Film Criticism

4. Comparative Analysis with Literary Works

5. Film Movements, Genres, & Periods

6. Film Theories and Approaches

7. Digital Resources and Additional Readings

# data[].attributes.headline
In this segment, you will find useful online resources for your research on film, resources on film criticism and leading sources of film criticism to take inspiration from.

# data[].attributes.subject
In this segment, you will find useful online resources for your research on film, resources on film criticism and leading sources of film criticism to take inspiration from.

# data[].attributes.body
Firstly, what is a film?

a visual text

a work of art

an economic commodity

a cultural artefact

a social and aesthetic experience

a technological achievement

a political vehicle

a collaboration

Film criticism is to firstly recognise a film as one or many of the above. It is then to think, feel and write about such. This includes the interpretation of the film text through its elements: such as narrative structure, performance critiques, visual and aural aesthetics, direction, etc. The nature of film criticism changes depending on the intended audience—academics, the general public, industry members—as well as the intended site of publication—scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, and industry trade publications. Film criticism also delves into theory, requiring the peeling off of layers of meaning within the film. Through criticism, critics strive to communicate about a film’s artistic, cultural, and social significance, highlighting its broader relevance and impact.

# data[].attributes.headline
1.2 What types of film criticism are there?

# data[].attributes.subject
1.2 What types of film criticism are there?

# data[].attributes.body
These types of film criticism are dependent both on the authorship and the readership. For example:

Academic film criticism is often written by academics in film, and would be read by researchers, students, and other academics.

Journalistic film criticism is written by journalists and often for newspapers or magazines, and this would be dependent on the readership of that media; often the general or mainstream public.

Curatorial film criticism is written by one who curates; this could be in the scenario of a film festival, online platforms, retrospectives, or anthologies, to name a few. The readership would also be similarly selective and niche; those interested in the specific theme of curation.

Therefore, when writing a piece of film criticism, it is important to understand deeply the context of publication and the intended audience.

# data[].attributes.headline
In this segment, you will learn about the definition of film criticism, and what it encompasses; as well as how it can be used to understand the nuances within the medium of cinema.

# data[].attributes.subject
In this segment, you will learn about the definition of film criticism, and what it encompasses; as well as how it can be used to understand the nuances within the medium of cinema.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to analyse a film: the complete beginners guide

# data[].attributes.headline
In this segment, you will learn how to analyse a film.

# data[].attributes.subject
In this segment, you will learn how to analyse a film.

# data[].attributes.headline
2.1 How does one understand a film on a critical level?

# data[].attributes.subject
2.1 How does one understand a film on a critical level?

# data[].attributes.body
The vital questions:

What is the film about?

How does the film communicate its meaning?

What, therefore, makes it important?

And therefore:

An understanding of the film's intentions

An interpretation of its elements

Hence, a judgment

# data[].attributes.body
Filmic techniques, or cinematic devices, are the essential tools filmmakers use to tell stories through movies. These include things like how the camera is positioned and moves, the lighting choices made, how scenes are edited together, the sounds and music we hear, any special visual effects used, and how actors bring characters to life. These techniques are really important in film criticism because they directly affect how we feel and understand a movie. By understanding and analysing these techniques, critics can explain why a film works well or doesn't work as effectively; they are crucial to writing a nuanced and complex piece of film criticism.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Film Analysis Web Site 2.0

WHAT THE FILM ANALYSIS GUIDE COVERS

Welcome to the Yale Film Analysis Web Site.

The Film Analysis Guide was developed to meet the needs of faculty and students at Yale who are interested in becoming familiar with the vocabulary of film studies and the techniques of cinema. The user can either read the complete document or search out a particular topic of interest. - Related links within the Guide are provided as appropriate, as are links to film clips illustrating the topic or term in question.

HOW THE GUIDE IS ORGANIZED

The Guide is broken into six parts corresponding to the major divisions within cinema technique and film studies. These major divisions are further broken down into sections, subsections and definitions for terms. The final Part (Analysis) offers basic examples of how to analyze two film sequences.

There are multiple ways to navigate the Film Analysis Guide, depending on the type of browser being used and the visitor's needs. For those who wish to read the Guide straight through without skipping around, the complete site can be navigated using the forward and backward arrows visible at the top of each page.

Most users are likely to prefer to browse the site using the navigational tools offered in the top menu. The content for each of the major divisions (e.g., cinematography) is clustered in a single web page. In addition, particular topics within the major divisions can be accessed by expanding the table of contents and clicking on the relevant link or by using the alphabetized index. If you are unfamiliar with navigating this sort of site, more detailed instructions can be found in the menu item labeled About this Guide.

You can view the complete list of film clips used in the Guide by choosing the Film Clips option on the drop down menu to the left.

CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS GUIDE

Cross-links within the Guide are offered to direct the user to related concepts or to provide a more detailed discussion of a particular topic.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Yale University's Film Study Center houses a large collection of films on a variety of formats.

The Yale University Library research guide on film studies will help you to find film related articles and publications.

Check the Yale calendar of events for On-Campus Film Screenings.

CREDITS

Original site: Mariano Prunes, Michael Raine, Mary Litch

Updates, platform migration: Matt Regan, Justin Moore, Pam Patterson, Trip Kirkpatrick

Content originally posted on Yale's original online courses website.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to the Yale Film Analysis Web Site. The Film Analysis Guide was developed to meet the needs of faculty and students at Yale who are interested in becoming familiar with the vocabulary of film studies and the techniques of cinema. The user can either read the complete document or search out a particular topic of interest.

# data[].attributes.body
Like with a literary text, close reading (or watching) is important in delving deeper into a film, and understanding it on a more intimate level. It allows for an opportunity to find evidence - especially through the aforementioned filmic devices - that become stepping stones within your eventual arguments. Close reading becomes an integral part of your essay, giving your arguments depth and significance; showing your reader that your claims are deeply rooted in something substantial. Here is an example of (verbal) close reading.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Close Reading: the secret to understanding movies

# data[].attributes.headline
In this segment, there will be a brief overview of filmic periods and movements.

# data[].attributes.subject
In this segment, there will be a brief overview of filmic periods and movements.

# data[].attributes.body
In order to write about film, one should not only watch film extensively but read extensively as well. Here is a comprehensive but not exhaustive list of websites that publish creative and stimulating works of film criticism:

https://reverseshot.org/ - a publication of Museum of the Moving Image

https://www.rogerebert.com/ - a site started by the late and exceptionally seminal film critic Roger Ebert

https://asianfilmarchive.org/despatches/ - Asian Film Archive, a Singaporean non-profit organisation

https://mubi.com/en/notebook - the publication wing of curator-cum-streaming service MUBI

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts - an online magazine by The Criterion Collection

https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/ - an independent website that does monthly issues surrounding particular themes

https://www.euppublishing.com/loi/film - film-philosophy, an open-access journal that dates back over two decades

One can also check out more independent or regional sources, be it university society blogs, Substacks, or videoessays.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Notebook is a daily, international film publication. Our mission is to guide film lovers searching, lost or adrift in an overwhelming sea of content. We offer text, images, sounds and video as critical maps, passways and illuminations to the worlds of contemporary and classic film. Notebook is a MUBI publication.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Watch truly great cinema. Wherever you are. From iconic, award-winning directors to emerging auteurs. Transformative films from all over the world. Stream Now. Download to watch Offline. Start your free 7 day trial now.

# data[].attributes.headline
In this section, you'll explore how various theories offer analytical frameworks for critically interpreting films, as well as the different approaches. This list is not exhaustive, and many theories overlap or intersect in film analysis, offering diverse perspectives .

# data[].attributes.subject
In this section, you'll explore how various theories offer analytical frameworks for critically interpreting films, as well as the different approaches. This list is not exhaustive, and many theories overlap or intersect in film analysis, offering diverse perspectives .

# data[].attributes.headline
6.1 How an approach can influence one's analysis

# data[].attributes.subject
6.1 How an approach can influence one's analysis

# data[].attributes.body
Derived from Mark L. Schaefermeyer's "Film Criticism", this provides an example of how various approaches, when implemented, can manipulate or alter one's analysis drastically, depending on how they desire.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Semiotic Approaches Structuralist Approaches

Concerned with power, pursues the breakdown of oppressive hierarchical social structures

...analyze the treatment of women as they support or negate the role of women in contemporary society" (511). [What an awful description! — bk]

One might look Sigourney Weaver's character in Aliens and discuss the way it reifies woman as the stereotypical sacred mother, although it overtly depicts her as warrior.

The intersection of art and society, how they impact each other.

...uses sociological concepts, such as class, status, interaction, organization and culture" (511). [This one's bad, too!]

One might look at American History X to examine the roles of socialization and deviancy in American culture.

Viewer (audience) perception of film or the journey into the interior of the mind

...is concerned with the manner in which viewers perceive the film and/or its images (always, however, in relation to the whole)" (511)/

One might examine the spectators' perception of Being John Malkovich.

Contextual Approaches

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Semiotic Approaches Structuralist Approaches Concerned with power, pursues the breakdown of oppressive hierarchical social structures ...analyze the treatment of women as they support or negate the role of women in contemporary society" (511). [What an awful description!

# data[].attributes.headline
In this segment, you will learn about how to structure and construct an essay on film criticism.

# data[].attributes.subject
In this segment, you will learn about how to structure and construct an essay on film criticism.

# data[].attributes.body
Film criticism is not fixed or inflexible; there are multiple ways that one can go about constructing their film criticism. This can be in the form of informal film reviews, photo-essays, video-essays, Letterboxd reviews, podcasts, and even conversations with your friends. This particular resource focuses on an academic approach to film criticism.

# data[].attributes.body
A film essay is not dissimilar to other essays of the humanities, be such as literature or art. It requires a strong thesis that delineates what your essay is about, which is then backed up by examples and evidence (filmic devices) that is analysed and explained coherently and completely, which culminates in a strong and convincing conclusion.

# data[].attributes.body
A thesis is the central argument or main claim you make about a film or topic in your essay. It should go beyond stating the obvious or making self-evident points, and instead, present a viewpoint that is open to debate and analysis.

Formulating the Thesis:

Consider responses to the film that might not be immediately apparent. Ask yourself why this particular perspective would be compelling and encourage diverse interpretations.

Next, ensure your thesis introduces a novel insight rather than merely stating an established fact. Reflect on how your thesis connects to the broader themes and concerns of the film. Does applying a specific theoretical framework offer a fresh perspective on the film?

In developing your thesis, aim to provide a thought-provoking argument that invites readers to engage deeply with the film, considering alternative viewpoints and interpretations. It should not be absolute, but rather debatable.

# data[].attributes.body
In the feature about City of God (2002) by Ismail Xavier, the thesis would be as follows:

"City of God is a hit because of the way the situation is represented – as the basis for an action film that’s set within the realm of ‘real life’ rather than the usual stylised fantasy of blood, metal and pyrotechnics."

This is a strong thesis statement for the following reasons:

Arguability: Presents a debatable claim that can be supported or opposed, encouraging critical analysis.

Focus: Concentrates on the film's style and narrative approach, providing a clear direction for the essay.

Evidence of Cinematic Devices: Sets up a framework for examining cinematic elements like direction, cinematography, and music.

Comparative Aspect: Allows for comparisons with other films that use stylised fantasies "of blood, metal and pyrotechnics"; specifying the scope of the essay.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Released in Brazil in September [2002], Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund's City of God (Cidade de Deus) has become a smash hit. Seen by more than 2 million Brazilians in its first two months, it has received an overwhelming amount of press coverage and triggered heated debates among critics and intellectuals. In short, it has become a social event. Why?

Undoubtedly part of its impact is due to its subject matter - the street gangs formed by desperately poor children and teenagers to deal in drugs and violence. Brazilians confront unsafe streets and growing territories controlled by organised crime every day and the country is permeated by a sense of fear and widespread obsession with violence. But other works touching on the same themes have met with a less spectacular response.

City of God is a hit because of the way the situation is represented - as the basis for an action film that's set within the realm of 'real life' rather than the usual stylised fantasy of blood, metal and pyrotechnics. It's a film that deals with social concerns, but expresses them in the language of the MTV, rap and disco cultures familiar to young people of the same age as its protagonists. It's this style that has made City of God the most successful Brazilian attempt since the mid 1990s to render social drama palatable to a mass audience.

The disturbing combination of violence and organised crime and children - familiar in Brazilian cinema at least since Pixote (Hector Babenco, 1981) is here confined to a single favela or shantytown where disputes involving territory and power create chains of revenge that fuel an ever-growing wave of violence. The fate of the characters is mostly tragic, except for one boy who manages to escape from the circle of hell. It's no accident that Buscape, nicknamed Rocket, is the narrator: taking on board the realpolitik of the NGOs which work with young people from the favelas, he refuses to engage in the gang wars, substituting a camera for a gun, culture for violence.

The area of Rio de Janeiro known as City of God is a huge housing complex created in the 1960s as part of a conservative programme to eradicate the favelas on hillsides close to the fancy beaches by forcibly relocating their thousands of inhabitants to the periphery. This is what Rocket tells us in one of his first voiceovers at the start of a long flashback that describes the origins of a young gang known as the Tender Trio: Shaggy/Cabeleira, Clipper/Alicate and Goose/Marreco. The film examines the escalation of violence from the 'innocent' robberies performed by these inexperienced amateurs in the 1960s to the organised cocaine wars of the mid 1970s to which the survivors graduate. It covers of lot of ground and sometimes pays a price - for instance, as an action film it omits any explanation of the overall logic of the international drugs trade, concentrating instead on the most visible side of the game: the scandalous death of children involved in illegal trafficking and the intimidation of members of the local community.

Many of the events selected from true-life stories provide intensely dramatic material which is skilfully developed in Braulio Mantovani's screenplay and wonderfully performed by an impressive number of non-professional actors. The social issues are complex, but the film focuses instead on those aspects of people's experience that make for gripping visual drama in a classical sense, feeding our fascination and fear with convincing representations of incidents that would be unbearable in real life. Its power depends on its credibility, which is enhanced by the performances of amateurs with unknown faces. These 'actors' have set a new standard of verisimilitude in Brazilian cinema that lays down a challenge to similar future projects.

The children and teenagers were selected largely from Rio's favelas (some came from theatre group Nós do morro/We from the hillside) and were trained by Fátima Toledo and Katia Lund for a year. Thus in its espousal of the idea of 'rescue through culture', the film's production became part of the very process it takes as its theme. The rhetoric of authenticity culminates in the final images from a television news programme in which the real Knockout Ned/Mané Galinha, the last of the main characters to come on the scene, is interviewed in jail. But the neorealism is combined with a sense of the image as artifice, the narrative as a fast-moving train of emotions conveyed through elaborate fast edits and computer-created effects (tellingly, Meirelles' background is as a director of commercials).

The emphasis on rhythm is apparent in the opening sequence where we jump from the Rabelaisian atmosphere of a popular banquet and the seductive sound of samba to a harsh confrontation between the bandits and the police. This is the late 1970s, when the warfare had escalated to an unprecedented level, and a shot/counter-shot sequence shows the two opposing armies facing each other, their guns at the ready. Right in the middle is Rocket. This image was used on the poster to convey the film's promise of an insider's view, the direct experience of a reality already known in its overall shape but never shown from the position of our narrator. And Rocket here also functions as a metaphor for the vulnerability of the wider community caught in the crossfire or figuring as possible targets.

In João Moreira Salles and Katia Lund's 1998 documentary News from a Particular War (Notícias de una guerra particular) the irreconcilable viewpoints of the bandits, the police and those caught in between became an element in the structure. At one point a woman from a shantytown describes her feelings of helplessness and characterises the teenagers as suicide-seekers who have lost all sense of self-protection. Meirelles and Lund used as their major source Paulo Lins' autobiographical novel City of God. Since its publication in 1997, Lins has become something of an authority, consulted by filmmakers from João Salles to Carlos Diegues (Orfeu, 1999). But nobody before Meirelles had tried to translate to the screen his 550-page account of the early experiences he shared with many friends who are now dead. Lins' book is largely a straightforward record of his youth, its impact springing from the sheer number of tragic real-life stories he tells. The picture drawn is even more shocking than that shown on screen since here the filmmakers narrowed down the plot to those episodes lived by Shaggy, Rocket's brother, Beny/Bené, Knockout Ned, Li'l Ze/Zé Pequeño and Carrot/Sandra Cenoura (a white bandit played by the only well-known professional actor). Each character embodies a typical life story and sets a specific tone.

Rocket represents the most optimistic side of the story and achieves a relatively happy ending. Li'l Ze embodies the most tragic side - he starts as Li'l Dice/Dadinho, a child filled with a seemingly unmotivated hatred whose gratuitous violence gives rise to the most shocking scene from the childhood stage of the drama. Later, re-emerging as Li'l Ze, he demonstrates a readiness to kill that goes beyond pragmatism, his victim a scapegoat chosen at random to satisfy his unfocused urge for revenge. From beginning to end he's the incarnation of lack of measure, of tragic hubris. Beny, his buddy and partner, is the figure of conciliation and compromise, the hedonist who surprises the audience with his good humour and ironic consumerism. Like Rocket he can laugh at himself ("I became a playboy"). For Rocket Beny is the person who takes away his pleasure (conquering the girl he loves) whereas Li'l Ze takes his brother's life. But he can't commit himself to revenge, partly out of fear but also because he's able to stand back and acknowledge his limits. Fear and good humour save him from joining in the frenetic action that fills the lives of the other boys.

The film's restless urgency makes it difficult to relate what's on screen to a wider context. Some critics have objected to what they describe as the MTV "effectism" of the narration, but spectators obviously feel moved and take the images as the 'real thing'. Special effects, manipulation of speed and computer graphics haven't hindered audiences' recognition of the authenticity of the events shown. Obviously we no longer identify such effects purely with superficial drama and voyeuristic pleasure.

City of God is not fun. At one point, as Li'l Ze takes revenge on a rival group, he forces a little boy to decide which of his friends he will be made to kill and two others to choose between being shot in the hands or the feet. The boys under pressure end up crying, their denied childhood emerging on faces otherwise trained to look tough. The scene is long, so we have time to process our emotions, and the effect is a mix of catharsis and identification.

The tension is almost constant, with intermittent moments of relief provided by Beny or by comic incidents involving Rocket. His fragile voice helps the audience to assimilate the shock of what they're seeing and he becomes a filter for questions of interpretation. In theory - since he acts as our mediator - the meanings we take from the film should be confined to his perceptions, but films, even when they employ such figures, often say more than their characters do. Here the voiceover functions as much to solve structural problems of condensation of information as to offer an ultimate source of meaning.

Rocket cannot be taken as expressing Lins' experience since his book refuses the idea of a surrogate conscience embodied in a first-person narrator. Rather he is a metaphor for the film's directors, especially in his acknowledgement at the end that he can't give the most revealing picture he's shot to the press. City of God too has had to adjust its viewpoint and tone in order to play to a mass audience, setting aside a balanced picture of the community and a clear sense of context. But the drama's focus on action, and the outstanding screenplay and mise en scene, instead expose the very texture of an experience that's invariably obscured in television news.

The film reveals the role played by the fabric of emotions spun from intense, frustrated desire. By bringing to the fore the resentment that lurks beneath such shocking forms of aggression, it gives powerful expression to the feelings of class and racial disenfranchisement that create a subjectivity under siege in a society swamped by images of glamour and sex appeal and a rhetoric of advertising intent on the exploitation of mimetic desire. It's a rhetoric that gives elegant new forms to old associations of aggressive virility, the accumulation of goods and power. Young people's expectations are shaped in daily contact with a vision of consumption way beyond their reach. With legitimate work barely an option, is it surprising they're seduced by the promise of easy money, self-affirmation and a prestigious image in the community, trading their future (what future?) for a brief life in power?

Many Brazilian films have dealt with domestic or public violence and focused on resentful characters whose social impotence is translated into acts of random aggression. And the child protagonists place City of God within a tradition that turns to children as the last emblematic pillars of humanity. But City of God reworks these figures in a spectacular way. Tensions explode and resentment is converted into an exhibition of power. City of God adds a new piece to the mosaic of violence composed by recent Brazilian cinema. It adds up to a picture of a consumerist society of scandalous social inequality.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
City of God is a gangster movie with real-life edge acted out by Brazilian street children for whom guns and drugs are the everyday, said this 2003 feature.

# data[].attributes.body
As aforementioned, the elements of cinematic techniques within your film of analysis should be heavily broken down to explain the point you are making. For example, in his essay about Perfect Days (2023) by Wim Wenders, Sam Sodomsky writes:

Because Hirayama rarely speaks, Wenders and cowriter Takuma Takasaki embellish his world by alerting us to the subtle voices and textures that mark his time. We hear the sound of the street being swept as Hirayama’s eyes open in the morning, the clink of his coins in a vending machine to kickstart the workday, the wind through the trees as he takes his lunch in the park. Just from observing Hirayama in these environments, we feel a vicarious sense of peace. Much is left to the imagination, and the tension comes largely from our own response to the film—the way our attention is prolonged or disrupted, our expectations fulfilled or upended.

Sodomsky refers to techniques like dialogue and sound design to support his point on audience experience.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Wim Wenders's Perfect Days is now showing on MUBI in many countries.
"She uses the same words we do, yet there's something so special."

This commentary is delivered by a bookseller (Inuko Inuyama) in Wim Wenders's Perfect Days (2023). The woman behind the counter is recommending the works of Japanese author Aya Kōda to the film's protagonist, Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho). But she could just as easily be describing the spell cast by the movie itself, which uses familiar settings and understated dialogue to summon a quiet, pervasive magic. In the New German Cinema director's latest feature, which takes place in present-day Tokyo, sudden waves of hope, gratitude, and meaning can arrive through brief interactions with strangers, a tall glass of ice water, a beloved song heard through car speakers, or just an upward glance at the sky upon leaving the house in the morning.

Through these simple encounters, Hirayama becomes a portal to a specific way of looking at the world, one that's informed by what Wenders has referred to as the "common good." Elaborating on this theme, he has discussed the distinction between life in Germany and Japan in the wake of the pandemic-how public spaces were maintained, how strangers interact with each other-but the film adopts a more timeless vantage. Wenders, like Hirayma, operates with a strict sense of routine, never lingering too long on any setting and moving fluidly through the man's days; his vivid waking life to his imagistic, black-and-white dreams; his regimented weeks to his weekends of decompression, spent perusing the bookstore, getting photos developed, and visiting the local spots where he has become a regular: the ideal position, in which he doesn't have to say a word to take part in a reliable ecosystem.

Because Hirayama rarely speaks, Wenders and cowriter Takuma Takasaki embellish his world by alerting us to the subtle voices and textures that mark his time. We hear the sound of the street being swept as Hirayama's eyes open in the morning, the clink of his coins in a vending machine to kickstart the workday, the wind through the trees as he takes his lunch in the park. Just from observing Hirayama in these environments, we feel a vicarious sense of peace. Much is left to the imagination, and the tension comes largely from our own response to the film-the way our attention is prolonged or disrupted, our expectations fulfilled or upended.

In Wenders's dynamic body of work, which spans intimate portraits like Alice in the Cities (1974) to travelog epics like Until the End of the World (1991), he often depicts characters wandering toward some distant goal: a sense of home or escape or something just beyond their reach. The most memorable scenes in Paris, Texas (1984) arrive early in the film as we watch its protagonist (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering through the desert. Without revealing his motives or destination, Wenders tells the story through the landscape, the soundtrack, the pacing. These atmospheric details can make the act of watching Wenders's films feel like a voyage in itself, leading us to unexpected places and drawing our attention to the sites along the way.

In Perfect Days, the journeys are shorter-often just the car ride from Hirayama's house to the public toilets he cleans for a living-and the rewards are humbler. In this story is an implicit message about aging; through Hirayama's incidental conversations with strangers and his loaded confrontations with the few people who know him well, Wenders suggests that Hirayama's arrival at this contented, pared-down lifestyle is hard-won and colored by loss. ("Remember what used to be here?" an older man in the neighborhood asks Hirayama, happening upon an empty lot. "That's what growing old means." Without saying a word in response, Hirayama seems to agree.)

Like Wenders himself-whose films are often remembered for their iconic soundtracks as much as their striking visuals-Hirayama puts deep thought into the music of his life. (In one scene, he visits a record store at a coworker's urging, to have some of the rare items in his collection appraised. Fittingly, Wenders makes a brief cameo as a fellow patron.) Hirayama begins his commute each morning by meticulously selecting a song to accompany the ride, one of which gives the film its title; his otherwise ascetic bedroom contains a vast selection of cassette tapes. Despite his effort to keep his days as predictable as possible, the sprawling range of music at his disposal suggests a deep well of emotions, any of which could arise at any moment. In one of the film's most touching scenes, Hirayama observes a young woman hearing Patti Smith for the first time, his eyes drifting between her expression and the tape deck, tracing the alchemy that occurs as art finds a home in our hearts.

Perfect Days had an unlikely genesis. Wenders was approached to document the Tokyo Toilet project, an initiative launched in 2020 that paired architects around the world with public restrooms in the Shibuya district. Instead of crafting a documentary about the initiative, Wenders decided to expand his vision into a full-length, scripted project, marking the latest in a long line of works inspired by the setting of Japan. These projects pay homage, more specifically, to the films of director Yasujiro Ozu, a major influence on Perfect Days, whom Wenders also explored in his 1985 documentary, Tokyo-Ga, and his 2009 photography book, Journey to Onomichi.

You can see why this assignment spoke to Wenders: the facilities are indeed beautiful. In one particularly stunning bathroom, the translucent walls turn opaque once the light is turned on. Through Hirayama's devotion to maintaining the restrooms' appearance, Wenders illustrates how much pride we can take in our shared spaces, honoring the sense of community that seemed in danger during those early pandemic days. But it's not all sparkle. Because of the gentle nature of the film, it feels like a major infraction when expectations are not upheld: when an uncaring teen kicks over a caution sign, when friendly eye contact is not reciprocated. The first time we see Hirayama embody anything resembling anger-his expression shifting into a kind of hopelessness, his words emerging clipped and stern over the phone-comes not from a personal affront but from a hard shift in his routine, when his coworker quits unexpectedly. By this point, late in the film, we have become so accustomed to Hirayama's lifestyle, his reactions to both human error and natural beauty, that we too feel the shock of the sudden absence. In Perfect Days, little is taken for granted, and even these workplace dynamics can be full of love and trust. This may lead to small moments of connection with the universe. But it also leaves him vulnerable to profound heartbreak.

Wenders has spoken about the "spiritual" quality of Perfect Days, comparing it to his 1987 masterpiece, Wings of Desire. Between the monastic lifestyle of its central character and its poetic depiction of a world at peace, Wenders manages to eschew any sense of moralism in his reflections on the divine. As the film works toward its mortality-focused climax, Hirayama's young niece, Niko (Arisa Nakano), appears on his doorstep, having run away from home. As she learns from her uncle's lifestyle and even works alongside him, her tender questions about their family offer brief glimpses into a past that Hirayama keeps hidden. Instead of speaking directly about these subjects, the pair seems to adopt their own language, culminating in a mantra they repeat while riding their bikes: "Next time is next time. Now is now." Just when we come to accept this outlook, Wenders shows how easy it is to disrupt any feelings of certainty in the present with momentous appearances from Hirayama's estranged sister (Yumi Asō) and a terminally ill stranger (Tomokazu Miura).

In these instances when emotions overtake Hirayama, Wenders reveals the natural effects of such close listening. Through Yakusho's virtuosic performance, he finds a perfect vessel: a character equally sensitive to the tapping of rain outside his window as to the booming, ageless voice narrating his interior monologue through the stereo. At the film's conclusion, as Hirayama accompanies his morning commute with Nina Simone's "Feeling Good," his expression drifts between despair and elation; both childlike with joy and hardened by wisdom; alone on his journey but, when the camera zooms out, a humble part of a vibrant city humming around him. As the journey comes to an end, we see the day is just beginning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Now Is Now: On Wim Wenders's "Perfect Days"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The German director's latest Japanese picture traces the alchemy that occurs as art finds a home in our hearts.

# data[].attributes.body
For an essay to have a strong argument, alternate perspectives are vital to be considered and responded to; and arguments should also be supported by research. Therefore, writers should engage with different reputable sources to enhance the quality of their essay.

A primary source would include the film itself, the script of the film, interviews with the filmmakers or team, production notes, director's commentaries , or promotional materials. These provide direct evidence or firsthand accounts related to the film.

A secondary source would include similar and dissenting opinions or interpretations of the same film. It includes materials that analyse, interpret, or critique the film, often building upon primary sources. These sources help provide context, theoretical frameworks, and critical perspectives. By acknowledging and responding to secondary sources, an argument becomes richer and more nuanced. These include academic articles, film theories, other reviews or essays, etc.

# data[].attributes.headline
3.5.1 Incorporating theories within your essay

# data[].attributes.subject
3.5.1 Incorporating theories within your essay

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A common technique for analyzing literature (by which we mean poetry, fiction, and essays) is to apply a theory developed by a scholar or other expert to the source text under scrutiny. The theory may or may not have been developed in the service literary scholarship. One may apply, say, a Marxist theory of historical materialism to a novel, or a Freudian theory of personality development to a poem. In the hands of an analyst, another's theory (in parts or whole) acts as a conceptual lens that when brought to the material brings certain elements into focus. The theory magnifies aspects of the text according to its special interests. The term theory may sound rarified or abstract, but in reality a theory is simply an argument that attempts to explain something. Anytime you go to analyze literature-as you attempt to explain its meanings-you are applying theory, whether you recognize its exact dimensions or not. All analysis proceeds with certain interests, desires, and commitments (and not others) in mind. One way to define the theory-implicit or explicit-that you bring to a text is to ask yourself what assumptions (for instance, about how stories are told, about how language operates aesthetically, or about the quality of characters' actions) guide your findings.

A theory is an argument that attempts to explain something.

Let's turn again to the insights about using theories to analyze literature provided in Joanna Wolfe's and Laura Wilder's Digging into Literature: Strategies for Reading, Analysis, and Writing (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2016).

Here's a brief example of a writer using a theoretical text as a lens for reading the primary text:

In her book, The Second Sex, the feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir describes how many mothers initially feel indifferent toward and estranged from their new infants, asserting that though "the woman would like to feel that the new baby is surely hers as is her own hand,. . . she does not recognize him because. . .she has experienced her pregnancy without him: she has no past in common with this little stranger" (507). Sylvia Plath's "Morning Song" exemplifies the indifference and estrangement that de Beauvoir describes. However, where de Beauvoir asserts that "a whole complex of economical and sentimental considerations makes the baby seem either a hindrance or a jewel" (510), Plath's poem illustrates how a child can simultaneously be both hindrance and jewel. Ultimately, "Morning Song" shows us how new mothers can overcome the conflicting emotions de Beauvoir describes.

Daniel DiGiacomo. From Mourning Song to "Morning Song": The Maturation of a Maternal Bond.

Notice that in this brief passage, the writer fairly represents de Beauvoir's theory about maternal feelings, then goes on to apply a portion of that theory to Plath's poem, a focusing move that establishes the writer's special interest in an aspect of Plath's text. In this case, the application yields new insight about the non-universality of de Beauvoir's theory, which Plath's poem troubles. The theory magnifies a portion of the primary text, and its application puts pressure on the soundness of the theory.

Applying a Theoretical Lens: W.E.B. Du Bois Applied to Langston Hughes

Experienced literary critics are familiar with a wide range of theoretical texts they can use to interpret a primary text. As a less experienced student, your instructors will likely suggest pairings of theoretical and primary texts. We would like you to consider the writerly workings of the theory-primary text application by examining a student's paper entitled "Double-consciousness in 'Theme for English B," an essay which uses W.E.B. Du Bois's theory (of double-consciousness) to elucidate and interpret Langston Hughes's poem ("Theme for English B"). W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an American sociologist, civil rights activist, author, and editor. Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an American poet, activist, editor, and guiding member of the group of artists now known as the Harlem Renaissance.

But before you can make sense of that student's essay, we ask that you read both a synopsis of the theoretical textand the primary text .
Primary Text

Theme for English B Langston Hughes

The instructor said,
Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come out of you- Then, it will be true.
I wonder if it's that simple?

I am a twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.

I went to school there, then Durham, then here

to this college on the hill above Harlem,

I am the only colored student in my class.

The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,

Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,

the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator

up to my room, site down, and write this page:

It's not easy to know what is true for you or me

at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what

I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:

hear you, hear me-we two-you, me, talk on this page.

(I hear New York, too.) Me-who?

Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.

I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.

I like a pipe for a Christmas present,

or records-Bessie, bop, or Bach.

I guess being colored doesn't make me not like

the same things other folks like who are other races.

So will my page be colored that I write?

Being me, it will not be white.

But it will be a part of you, instructor.

You are white-

yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.

That's American.

Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me.

Nor do I often want to be a part of you.

But we are, that's true!

As I learn from you,

I guess you learn from me-

although you're older-and white-

and somewhat more free.

This is my page for English B.

Theoretical Text

Of Our Spiritual Strivings

W.E.B. Du Bois
Of Our Spiritual Strivings O water, voice of my heart, crying in the sand, All night long crying with a mournful cry, As I lie and listen, and cannot understand The voice of my heart in my side or the voice of the sea. O water, crying for rest, is it I, is it I? All night long the water is crying to me. Unresting water, there shall never be rest Till the last moon drop and the last tide fall, And the fire of the end begin to burn in the west; And the heart shall be weary and wonder and cry like the sea, All life long crying without avail As the water all nigh long is crying to me.
-Arthur Symons

Between me and the other world there is an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. They approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, How does it feel to be a problem? they say, I know an excellent colored man in my town; or I fought at Mechanicsville; or Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil? At these I smile, or am interested, or reduce the boiling to a simmer, as the occasion may require. To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.

And yet, being a problem is a strange experience-peculiar even for one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in Europe. It is in the early days of rollicking boyhood that the revelation first bursts upon one, all in a day, as it were. I remember well when the shadow swept across me. I was a little thing, away up in the hills of New England, where the dark Housatonic winds between Hoosac and Taghkanic to the sea. In a wee wooden schoolhouse, something put it into the boys' and girls' heads to buy gorgeous visiting-cards-ten cents a package-and exchange. The exchange was merry, till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused my card-refused it peremptorily, with a glance. Then it dawned upon me with a certain sadness that I was different from the others; or, like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world as by a vast veil. I had thereafter no desire to tear down that veil, to creep through; I held all beyond it in common contempt, and lived above it in a region of blue sky and great wandering shadows. That sky was bluest when I could beat my mates at examination time, or beat them at a footrace, or even beat their stringy heads. Alas, with the hears all this fine contempt began to fade; for the worlds I long for, and all their dazzling opportunities, were theirs, not mine. But they should not keep these prizes, I said; some, all, I would wrest from them. Just how I would do it I could never decide: by reading law, by healing the sick, by telling the wonderful tales that swam in my head-some way. With other black boys the strife was not so fiercely sunny: their youth shrunk into tasteless sycophancy, or into silent hatred of the pale world about them and mocking distrust of everything white, or wasted itself in a bitter cry, Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house? The shades of the prison-house closed round about us all: walls strait and stubborn to the whitest, but relentlessly narrow, tall, and unscalable to sons of night who must plod darkly on in resignation, or beat unavailing palms against the stone, or steadily, half hopelessly, watch the streak of blue above.

After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his tw0-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strengths alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.

This, then, is the end of his striving: To be a coworker in the kingdom of culture, to escape both death and isolation, to husband and use his best powers and his latent genius. These powers of body and mind have in the past been strangely wasted, dispersed, or forgotten. The shadow of a might Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the Shadowy and of Egypt the Sphinx. Throughout history, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness. Here in America, in the few days since Emancipation, the black man's turning hither and thither in hesitant and doubtful striving has often made his very strength to loos effectiveness, to seem like absence of power, like weakness. And yet it is not weakness-it is the contradiction of double aims. The double-aimed struggle of the black artisan-on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde-could only result in making him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart either cause. By the poverty and ignorance of his people, the Negro minister or doctor was tempted toward quackery and demagogy; and by the criticism of the other world, toward ideals that made him ashamed of his lowly tasks. The would-be black savant was confronted by the paradox that the knowledge his people needed was a twice-told tale to his white neighbors, while the knowledge which would teach the white world was Greek to his own flesh and blood. The innate love of harmony and beauty that set the ruder souls of his people a-dancing and a-singing raised but confusion and doubt in the soul of the black artist; for the beauty revealed to him was the soul-beauty of a race which his larger audience despised, and he could not articulate the message of another people. This waste of double aims, this seeking to satisfy two unreconciled ideals, has wrought sad havoc with the courage and faith and deeds of ten thousand thousand people-has sent them often wooing false gods and invoking false means of salvation, and at times has even seemed about to make them ashamed of themselves.

Away back in the days of bondage they thought to see in one divine event the end of all doubt and disappointment; few men ever worshipped Freedom with half such unquestioning faither as did the American Negro for two centuries. To him, so far as he thought and dreamed, slavery was indeed the sum of all villainies, the cause of all sorrow, the root of all prejudice; Emancipation was the key to a promised land of sweeter beauty than ever stretched before the eyes of wearied Israelites. In song and exhortation swelled one refrain-Liberty; in his tears and curses the God he implored had Freedom in his right hand. At last it came-suddenly, fearfully, like a dream. With one wild carnival of blood and passion came the message in his own plaintive cadences:-
"Shout, O children! Shout, you're free! For God has bought your liberty!"
Years have passed away since then-ten, twenty, forty; forty years of national life, forty years of renewal and development, and yet the swarthy scepter sits in its accustomed seat at the Nation's feast. In vain do we cry to this our vastest social problem:-
"Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble!"
The Nation has not yet found peace from its since; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land. Whatever of good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people-a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people.

The first decade was merely a prolongation of the vain search for freedom, the boon that seemed ever barely to elude their grasp-like a tantalizing will-o-the-wisp, maddening and misleading the headless host. The holocaust of war, the terrors of the Ku Klux Klan, the lies of carpetbaggers, the disorganization of industry, and the contradictory advice of friends and foes, left the bewildered serf with no new watchword beyond the old cry for freedom. As the time flew, however, he began to grasp a new idea. The ideal of liberty demanded for its attainment powerful means, and these the Fifteenth Amendment gave him. The ballot, which before he had looked upon as a visible sign of freedom, he now regarded as the chief means of gaining and perfecting the liberty with which war had partially endowed him. And why not? Had not votes made war and emancipated millions? Had not votes enfranchised the freedmen? Was anything impossible to a power that had done all this? A million black men started with renewed zeal to vote themselves into the kingdom. So the decade flew away, the revolution of 1876 came, and left the half-free serf weary, wondering, but still inspired. Slowly but steadily, in the following years, a new vision began gradually to replace the dream of political power-a powerful movement, the rise of another ideal to guide the unguided, another pillar of fire by night after a clouded day. It was the ideal of "book-learning": the curiosity, born of compulsory ignorance, to know and test the power of the cabalistic letters of the white man, the longing to know. Here at last seemed to have been discovered the mountain path to Canaan; longer than the highway to Emancipation and law, steep and rugged, but straight, leading to heights high enough to overlook life.

Up the new path the advance guard toiled, slowly, heavily, doggedly; only those who have watched and guided the faltering feet, the misty minds, the dull understandings, of the dark pupils of these schools know how faithfully, how piteously, this people strove to learn. It was weary work. The cold statistician wrote down the inches of progress here and there, noted also where here and there a foot had slipped or someone fallen. To the tired climbers, the horizon was ever dark, the mists were often cold, the Canaan was always dim and far away. If, however, the vistas disclosed as yet no goal, no resting place, little but flattery and criticism, the journey at least gave leisure for reflection and self-examination; it changed the child of Emancipation to the youth with dawning self-consciousness, self-realization, self-respect. In those somber forests of his striving his own soul rose before him, and he saw himself-darkly as through a veil; and yet he saw in himself some faint revelation of his power, of his mission. He began to have a dim feeling that, to attain his place in the world, he must be himself, and not another. For the first time he sought to analyze the burden he bore upon his back, that deadweight of social degradation partially masked behind a half-named Negro problem. He felt his poverty; without a cent, without a home, without land, tools, or savings, he had entered into competition with rich, landed, skilled neighbors. To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships. He felt the weight of his ignorance,-not simply of letters, but of life, of business, of the humanities; the accumulated sloth and shirking and awkwardness of decades and centuries shackled his hands and feet. Nor was his burden all poverty and ignorance. The red stain of bastardy, which two centuries of systematic legal defilement of Negro women had stamped upon his race, meant not only the loss of ancient African chastity, but also the hereditary weight of a mass of corruption from white adulterers, threatening almost the obliteration of the Negro home.

A people thus handicapped ought not to be asked to race with the world, but rather allowed to give all its time and thought to its own social problems. But alas! while sociologists gleefully count his bastards and prostitutes, the very soul of the toiling, sweating black man is darkened by the shadow of a vast despair. Men call the shadow prejudice, and learnedly explain it as the natural defense of culture against barbarism, learning against ignorance, purity against crime, the "higher" against the lower races. To which the Negro cries Amen! and swears that to such much of this strange prejudice as is founded on just homage to civilization, culture, righteousness, and progress, he humbly bows and meekly does obeisance. But before that nameless prejudice that leaps beyond all this he stands helpless, dismayed, and well-nigh speechless; before that personal disrespect and mockery, the ridicule and systematic humiliation, the distortion of fact and wanton license of fancy, the cynical ignoring of the better and the boisterous welcoming of the worse, the all-pervading desire to inculcate disdain for everything b lack, from Toussaint to the devil-before this there rises a sickening despair that would disarm and discourage any nation save the black host to whom "discouragement" is an unwritten word.

But the facing of so vast a prejudice could not but bring the inevitable self-questioning, self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an atmosphere of contempt and hate. Whisperings and portents came borne upon the four winds: Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what we need of education, since we must always cook and serve? And the Nation echoed and enforced this self-criticism, saying: Be content to be servants, and nothing more; what need of higher culture for half-men? Away with the black man's ballot, by force or fraud-and behold the suicide or a race! Nevertheless, out of the evil came something of good-the more careful adjustment of education to real life, the clearer perception of the Negroes' social responsibilities, and the sobering realization of the meaning of progress.

So dawned the time of Sturm und Drang: storm and stress today rocks out little boat on the mad waters of the world-sea; there is within and without the sound of conflict, the burning of body and rending of soul; inspiration strives without doubt, and faith with vain questionings. The bright ideals of the past-physical freedom, political power, the training of brains and the training of hands-all these in turn have waxed and waned, until even the last grows dim and overcast. Are they all wrong-all false? No, not that, but each alone was oversimple and incomplete-the dreams of a credulous race-childhood, or the fond imaginings of the other world which does not know and does not want to know our power. To be really true, all these ideals must be melted and welded into one. The training of the schools we need today more than ever-the training of deft hands, quick eyes and ears, and above all the broader, deeper, higher culture of gifted minds and pure hearts. The power of the ballot we need in sheer self-defense-else what shall save us from a second slavery? Freedom, too, the long-sought, we still seek-the freedom of life and limb, the freedom to work and think, the freedom to love and aspire. Work, culture, liberty-all these we need, not singly but together, not successively but together, each growing and aiding each, and all striving toward that vaster ideal that swims before the Negro people, the ideal of human brotherhood, gamed through the unifying ideal of Race; the idea of fostering and developing the traits and talents of the Negro, not in opposition to or contempt for other race, but rather in large conformity to the greater ideals of the American Republic, in order that someday on American soil two world races may give each to each those characteristics both so sadly lack. We the darker ones come even now not altogether empty-handed: there are today no truer exponents of the pure human spirit of the Declaration of Independence than the American Negroes; there is not true American music but the wild sweet melodies of the Negro slave; the American fairy tales and folklore are Indian and African; and, all in all, we black men seem the sole oasis of simple faith and reverence in a dusty desert of dollars and smartness. Will American be poorer if she replace her brutal dyspeptic blundering with light-hearted but determined Negro humility? of her coarse and cruel wit with loving jovial good-humor? or her vulgar music with the soul of the Sorrow Songs?

Merely a concrete test of the underlying principles of the great republic is the Negro Problem, and the spiritual striving of the freedmen's sons is the travail of souls whose burden is almost beyond the measure of their strength, but who bear it in the name of an historic race, in the name of this the land of their fathers' fathers, and in the name of human opportunity.

And now what I have briefly sketched in large outline let me on coming pages tell again in many ways, with loving emphasis and deeper detail, that men may listen to the striving in the souls of black folk.

Using a Theoretical Lens to Write Persuasively

Applying a theoretical lens to poetry, fiction, plays, or essays is a standard academic move, but theories are also frequently applied to real-world cases, hypothetical cases, and other non-fiction texts in disciplines such as Philosophy, Sociology, Education, Anthropology, History, or Political Science. Sometimes, the theoretical lens analysis is called a reading, as in a "Kantian reading of an ethical dilemma," or a "Marxist reading of an historical episode." At other times, the application of a theory is known as an approach, as in a "Platonic approach to the question of beauty."

The basic writerly moves to using a theoretical lens include:

name and cite the theoretical text and accurately summarize this text's argument. Usually this short summary appears in one or two paragraphs at the beginning of the essay. You will want to be sure your summary includes the key concepts you use in your paper to analyze the primary literary text.

use the surface/depth strategy to show how deeper meanings in the primary text can be explained by concepts from the theoretical text. You might think about this as creating a "match argument" between the primary and theoretical text (or case under consideration). Take important points made in the theoretical argument and match them to particular events or descriptions in the primary text. For instance, you could argue Langston Hughes's line So will my page be colored as I write? (27) matches Du Bois's argument that the veil prevents Whites from seeing Black's individuality. Such a match argument can form an organizing structure for the essay as you develop whole paragraphs to support different points of connection between the theoretical and primary texts. You may be able to devote an entire paragraph to the claim that Du Bois's concept of "the veil" can help us understand Hughes's description of the challenges his speaker faces in asking his instructor to see him on his own terms.

support your surface/depth claims linking the primary and theoretical texts with textual evidence from the primary text. If you claim that a particular passage exemplifies a particular theory, you need to provide evidence in the form of quotations or paraphrases to support this interpretation. This evidence will most certainly need to be provided from the primary text you are analyzing but perhaps also occasionally from the theoretical text, too, especially if you connect the primary text to a small detail in the theoretical text or if the wording of the theoreticl text helps you explain something in the primary text. Use the patterns strategy to provide multiple examples from the primary text supporting your claims that it matches elements of the theoretical text.

reveal something complex and unexpected about the primary text. The goal of the theoretical lens strategy-like all strategies of literary analysis-should be to show that the text you are analyzing is complex and can be understood on multiple levels.

challenge, extend, or reevaluate the theoretical text (for more sophisticated analyses). The most sophisticated uses of the theoretical lens strategy not only help you better understand the primary text but also help you better understand-and reveal complexities in-the theoretical text. When you first start applying this strategy, it may be sufficient to argue how the theoretical text helps you understand the primary text, but as you advance, you should attempt the second part of this strategy and use the primary text to extend or challenge the theoretical argument. Such arguments may serve as starting points for you to contribute to literary (or philosophical, or sociological, or historical) theory as a theorist yourself. These arguments are often made in the concluding paragraphs of analyses using the theoretical lens strategy.

Common Words and Phrases Associated with Theoretical Lens

A Sample Student Essay

Title: Double-consciousness in "Theme for English B"

Paragraph 1

The post-slavery history of African-Americans in the United States has been one of struggle for recognition. This struggle continued through the civil rights movement in the 1970s and '80s. W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the most influential African-American leaders of the early twentieth century, described the complicated effects racism had on African-American selfhood. In his treatise The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois introduces the term "double-consciousness" to describe African-Americans's struggle for self-recognition. Double-consciousness is the sense of "always looking at one's self through the eyes of others" (8). It means that an African-American "[e]ver feels his two-ness-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body" (8). According to Du Bois, double-consciousness means that African-Americas are always judging themselves through a veil of racism, experiencing how others judge and define them rather than how they might define and express themselves.

Paragraph 2

Langston Hughes's poem "Theme for English B," written nearly fifty years after Du Bois's essay, depicts one African-American's continued struggle with double-consciousness. However, where Du Bois sees double-consciousness as a painful condition he hopes will one day disappear, Hughes seems to have a more positive view, suggesting that mainstream Americans should also have an opportunity to experience this condition. Instead of eradicating double-consciousness, Hughes seeks to universalize it. His poem suggests that true equality will be possible when all cultures are able to experience and appreciate double-consciousness.

Paragraph 3

We see the poem's speaker struggling with double-consciousness when he expresses difficulty articulating what is "true" for himself. Hughes writes:

It's not easy to know what is true for you and me

at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what

I feel and see and hear. Harlem, I hear you:

hear you, hear me-we two-you, me, talk on this page.

(I hear New York, too.) Me-who? (16-20)

In this passage, which concludes with a question about who he is, the speaker expresses a divided self. At first, he seems to identify with Harlem, an African-American neighborhood in New York, where he is currently sitting and writing. However, this identification becomes troubled by his acknowledgment that Harlem does not completely define him. When the speaker writes "hear you, hear me-we two" (19), he suggests that "you" (referring to Harlem) and "me" (referring to himself) are intimately related by not identical. They are two voices that, while both present in his poem, still "talk" (19) to one another. The fact that these voices converse, rather than speak as one, indicates they are not completely merged.

Paragraph 4

This sense of a divided self is further reinforced by the claim "(I hear New York, too.)" (20). This aside is interesting because it establishes Harlem as both separate from and connected to the larger city. This division reflects what Du Bois calls the "two-ness [of being] an Amercan [and] a Negro" (8). By placing New York in parentheses, the speaker may be suggesting that the American part of himself represented by New York plays a weaker role in his identity than the African-American self represented by Harlem. Like Du Bois, the speaker in "Theme for English B" experiences inner conflict when he tries to reconcile the different parts of himself.

Paragraph 5

We further see evidence of the speaker's conflict when he writes that he likes "Bessie, bop, or Bach" (24). "Bessie" refrs to the popular blues singer Bessie Smith, an African-American woman who sang a very African-American style of music. At the other end of the spectrum is "Bach," which refers to the classical European composer J.S. Bach and represents a traditionally White form of music. In the middle is "bop," which refers to "bebop," a form of jazz made popular in the 1940s that inspired a particular form of dance most practiced by White teenagers at the time. In saying that he likes all of these forms of music, the speaker indicates that he is a mix of both African and European identities-like Du Bois, he feels both traditional White and traditional African-American culture calling him.
Paragraph 6
The "page" that the poem's speak has been asked to write likewise reflects the two-ness of being African-American. An essay can be thought of as black ink on white paper, which in the context of the poem represents Black identity articulated against a White background. The speaker refers to this conflict of identities when he writes, "So will my page be colored that I write? / Being me, it will not be white" (27-28). These lines suggest that the speaker is worried that his instructor will only see him as a representative Black student. It shows how the speaker is caught in a double bind: when the teacher asks the class to write something "true" (5), he will expect this particular student (who in the first stanza tells us he is the only Black student in the class) to write in a way consistent with his obvious Black heritage. But the student is aware that his White teacher doesn't really know what it means to be Black. Thus, if he writes in a way that fulfills his instructor's expectations, he will write a page that seems to a White teacher to be an authentic depiction of what it means to be Black-in other words, a White representation of Blackness. This dilemma illuminates what Du Bois refers to as "always looking at one's self thorugh the eyes of others" (8). Because the speaker in the poem is so aware of what his instructor (and possibly the other students in the class) already thinks of him, he is having difficulty articulating just who he really is.

Paragraph 7

At the end of the poem, however, instead of calling for the eradication of double-consciousness as Du Bois does when he longs for the day that African-Americans will be able to "merge his double-self into a better and truer self" (9), Hughes seems to suggest that instead his instructor needs to feel the double-identity that he feels so strongly. Thus, he writes "You are white- / yet a part of me, as I am a part of you" (31-32) and "As I learn from you, / I guess you learn from me-" (36-37). These lines indicate that the White instructor needs to accept, African-American identity as part of his own culture, just as the speaker has needed to see both parts of his identity calling him. This ability to feel and be multiple perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds at once is labeled "American" in the second stanza. Hughes seems to be suggesting that even though the"two-ness" he feels is often difficult and painful, it needs to be seen as central to American-and not just African-American-identity. When he states at the end of the poem, "I guess you learn from me" (38), he is turning the tables on the teacher, and on Whites in general, by suggesting that they have as much to learn from exploring Black culture as Blacks have to learn by studying classic White culture.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Literary Analysis: Applying a Theoretical Lens

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A common technique for analyzing literature (by which we mean poetry, fiction, and essays) is to apply a theory developed by a scholar or other expert to the source text under scrutiny. The theory may or may not have been developed in the service literary scholarship.

# data[].attributes.body
When concluding a film criticism essay, one should summarise their main arguments, reinforcing how their analysis supports the thesis. Highlight the key points discussed, such as the film's unique stylistic choices, narrative techniques, or thematic depth. Reflect on the broader implications of the analysis, considering what the film contributes to its genre or to cinematic art as a whole. End with a thoughtful remark or question that encourages further reflection or analysis, ensuring the conclusion leaves a lasting impression on the reader. This reinforces the essay's central argument and underscores the significance of the film and the critique.

# data[].attributes.body
It is vital to pay homage and be respectful towards other scholars whose research you have responded to or integrated within your own essay; this is done via citations. This also allows other researchers or readers to clearly locate your sources. Here is a guide on the different citation styles that you will be required to use depending on your assignment and teacher.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This resource provides a summative overview of style guides. Students and instructors will find this resource particularly useful for understanding what a style guide is, why and how style guides are used, and suggestions for exploring style guides across the disciplines.

What is a style guide? Why & how do we use them?

Most people know style guides as rules for citation formatting. Common and popular style guides include MLA and APA, both of which the OWL maintains extensive resources on, but there are many more that the OWL does not cover in depth or at all.

Style guides, however, are not just for citation. They include a wide range of rules and guidelines for works in their respective fields, from grammar and language use to the font and size of headings in a work. Generally style manuals include everything a writer needs to know in order to make their work look and read just like every other work written in that style - the look of the page, the way other authors are referenced in the body of the work, and even the tone of the writing. In the corporate sphere, "style guide" is often synonymous with "branding guide," and in a way academic style guides can be thought of similarly. APA style brands papers with specific guidelines in the same way Apple's style guide brands their websites, advertisements, products, documentation, and even stores: you know an APA paper when you see one, just like you know an Apple device when you see one.

In other words, style guides are used as a way of making common elements consistent across documents written by many writers, in many places, and in many circumstances; as a result, readers from any university (or other audience groups) can read a paper written in APA style and know immediately how to navigate the headings of the paper, which details will be listed in the abstract, how quotes will be introduced and marked, where to look for important citation information, and what each citation element represents.

There are a great deal of style guides, both in academia and in industry; the OWL has resources on some of the more common ones, but not every style. Some general style guide examples include:
Your discipline may have its own style guide not represented here; if you're not sure, take a moment to look it up!
Now that I know what a style guide is - what's next?

Often writers (especially academic writers) need to adapt to new style conventions in specific situations (a journal's house style, a university's specific thesis & dissertation formatting requirements, etc.). If you find yourself needing to learn a new style guide, there are a few key strategies you can employ.
Find out what style you need to be using.

Sometimes this information may be unclear; sometimes journal submission guidelines lack clarity, for instance. Compare what you do know about the style with resources such as style manuals in your library or the OWL's style resources to find a match; or, you can ask a point of contact like an advisor or a journal editor what is expected for your specific context. This is often made easier by knowing which style guides are common in your discipline (because these are often the best place to start looking).

Some journals or other publishing venues use specific in-house styles. These are usually indicated with a set of rules on the journal's website or in a downloadable PDF - you can look for pages such as "Author Guidelines," "Instructions for Authors," "Submission Guidelines," etc. In some cases, in-house style will be just a few modifications on a more widely-used style guide, like requiring APA 7 th edition but asking authors to list full names for sources cited in-text rather than just the last name. These are usually indicated in the same way as in-house styles above.
Find a copy of the style guide in your library or online and read the manual.

The OWL has several resources, and many style guides are available in part or in full on the relevant association's website. You don't need to read manuals cover-to-cover since most of the material is for reference, but style guides usually have a great deal of information that will help you write your paper or manuscript. For instance:

The Chicago Manual of Style's entire first section, almost 200 pages, describes in detail the scholarly process undertaken by researchers using Chicago style, including expectations for navigating copyright law as an author and for what elements authors need to include in their manuscripts (and how those elements are written).

The MLA Handbook includes a substantial section on how to write a research paper or scholarly work in an MLA field, especially useful for beginning scholars or international scholars writing for an American academic context.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association includes sections like those mentioned above in addition to guidelines for writing about research with Indigenous populations, rules for nondiscriminatory language, and more.

At the very least, you'll want to familiarize yourself with the manual's table of contents, general structure, and any special systems that style guides uses (MLA 8's container style is specially designed for research with non-traditional and digital sources, for example).
Look at examples of texts in your discipline and in journals you would like to publish in.
Most fields use one or two style guides only, so another way to familiarize yourself with the style outside the context of a reference manual is to look at already-published papers and attend to common elements you notice in formatting, but also tone, vocabulary, and headings, among other elements. Following disciplinary conventions or, more specifically, an academic journal's conventions will help your writing fit into readers' expectations, and will usually also mean you're following style guidelines too.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This resource provides a summative overview of style guides. Students and instructors will find this resource particularly useful for understanding what a style guide is, why and how style guides are used, and suggestions for exploring style guides across the disciplines. Most people know style guides as rules for citation formatting.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
M otion pictures have enticed and inspired artists, audiences, and critics for more than a century. Today, we're going to explore the history of film by looking at the major movements that have defined cinema worldwide. We're also going to explore the technical craft of filmmaking from the persistence of vision to colorization to synchronous sound. By the end, you'll know all the broad strokes in the history of film.

Note: this article doesn't cover every piece of film history. Some minor movements and technical breakthroughs have been left out - check out the StudioBinder blog for more content.

When Were Movies Invented?

Pre-Film Techniques and Theory

Movies refer to moving pictures and moving pictures can be traced all the way back to prehistoric times. Have you ever made a shadow puppet show? If you have, then you've made a moving picture.

To create a moving picture with your hands is one thing, to utilize a device is another. The camera obscura (believed to have been circulated in the fifth century BCE) is perhaps the oldest photographic device in existence. The camera obscura is a device that's used to reproduce images by reflecting light through a small peephole.

Here's a picture of one from Gemma Frisius' 1545 book De Radio Astronomica et Geometrica:

When Did Movies Start? * Camera Obscura in 'De Radio Astronomica et Geometrica'

Through the camera obscura, we can trace the principles of filmmaking back thousands of years. But despite the technical achievement of the camera obscura, it took many of those years to develop the technology needed to capture moving images then later display them.

When Was Film Invented?

The First Motion Pictures

When were movies invented? The first motion pictures were incredibly simple - usually just a few frames of people or animals. Eadweard Muybridge's The Horse in Motion is perhaps the most famous of these early motion pictures. In 1878, Muybridge set up a racing track with 24 cameras to photograph whether horses gallop with all four hooves off the ground at any time

The result was sensational. Muybridge's pictures set the stage for all coming films; check out a short video on Muybridge and his work below.

When Did the First Movie Come Out? * Eadweard Muybridge's 'The Horse in Motion' by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Muybridge's job wasn't done after taking the photographs though; he still had to produce a projection machine to display them. So, Muybridge built a device called the zoopraxiscope, which was regarded as a breakthrough device for motion picture projecting.

Muybridge's films (and tech) inspired Thomas Edison to study motion picture theory and develop his own camera equipment.

Films as we know them today emerged globally around the turn of the century, circa 1900. Much of that development can be attributed to the works of the Lumière Brothers, who together pioneered the technical craft of moviemaking with their cinematograph projection machine. The Lumière Brothers' 1895 shorts are regarded as the first commercial films of all-time; though not technically true (remember Muybridge's work).

French actor and illusionist Georges Méliès attempted to buy a cinematograph from the Lumière Brothers in 1895, but was denied. So, Méliès ventured elsewhere; eventually finding a partner in Englishman Robert W. Paul.

Over the following years, Méliès learned just about everything there was to know about movies and projection machines. Here's a video on Méliès' master of film and the illusory arts from Crash Course Film History.

When Were Movies Invented? * Georges Méliès - Master of Illusion by Crash Course

Méliès' shorts The One Man Band (1900) and A Trip to the Moon (1902) are considered two of the most trailblazing films in all of film history. Over the course of his career, Méliès produced over 500 films. His contemporary mastery of visual effects, multiple exposure, and cinematography made him one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time.

Movie History

The First Film Movements

War and cinema go together like two peas in a pod. As we continue on through our analysis of the history of film, you'll start to notice that just about every major movement sprouted in the wake of war. First, the movements that sprouted in response to World War I:

DADAISM AND SURREALISM

History of Motion Pictures * Still From 'Un Chien Andalou' by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí

Major Dadaist filmmakers: Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, Germaine Dulac.

Major Dadaist films: Return to Reason (1923), The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928), U n Chien Andalou (1929).

Dadaism - an art movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland during World War I (1915) - rejected authority; effectively laying the groundwork for surrealist cinema.

Dadaism may have begun in Zurich circa 1915, but it didn't take off until years later in Paris, France. By 1920, the people of France had expressed a growing disillusionment with the country's government and economy. Sound familiar?

That's because they're the same points of conflict that incited the French Revolution. But this time around, the French people revolted in a different way: with art. And not just any art: bonkers, crazy, absurd, anti-this, anti-that art.

It's important to note that Paris wasn't the only place where dadaist art was being created. But it was the place where most of the dadaist, surrealist film was being created. We'll get to dadaist film in a short bit, but first, let's review a quick video on Dada art from Curious Muse.

Where Did Film Originate? * Dadaism in 8 Minutes by Curious Muse

Salvador Dalí, Germaine Dulac, and Luis Buñuel were some of the forefront faces of the surrealist film movement of the 1920s. French filmmakers, such as Jean Epstein and Jean Renoir experimented with surrealist films during this era as well.

Dalí and Buñuel's 1929 film Un Chien Andalou is undoubtedly one of the most influential surrealist/dadaist films. Let's check out a clip:

History of Movies * 'Un Chien Andalou' Clip

The influence of Un Chien Andalou on surrealist cinema can't be quantified; key similarities can be seen between the film and the works of Walt Disney, David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, and other surrealist directors.
Learn more about surrealism in film →
GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM

When Did Movies Become Popular? * The Silent Era by Crash Course

The Silent Era holds an important place in film history - but it was mostly ushered out in 1927 with The Jazz Singer. Al Jolson singing in The Jazz Singer is considered the first time sound ever synchronized with a feature film. Over the next few years, Hollywood cinema exploded in popularity. This short period from 1927-1934 is known as pre-Code Hollywood.

When Did Hollywood Start?

Pre-Code Hollywood

In our previous section, we touched on the rise of Hollywood, but not the Hollywood epic. The Hollywood epic, which we regard as longer in duration and wider in scope than the average movie, set the stage for blockbuster cinema. So, let's quickly touch on the history of Hollywood epics before jumping into pre-code Hollywood.

It's impossible to talk about Hollywood epics without bringing up D.W. Griffith. Griffith was an American film director who created a lot of what we consider "the structure" of feature films. His 1915 epic The Birth of a Nation brought the technique of cinematic storytelling into the future, while consequently keeping its subject matter in the objectionable past.

For more on Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (and its complicated legacy), check out this poignant interview clip with Spike Lee.

History of Filmmaking * Spike Lee on 'The Birth of a Nation'

As Lee suggests, it's important to acknowledge the technical achievement of films like The Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind without condoning their horrid subject matter.

As another great director once said: "tomorrow's democracy discriminates against discrimination. Its charter won't include the freedom to end freedom." - Orson Welles.

Griffith made more than a few Hollywood epics in his time, but none were more famous than The Birth of a Nation.

Okay, now that we reviewed the foundations of the Hollywood epic, let's move on to pre-code Hollywood.

PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD

A History of Film * James Cagney in 'The Public Enemy'

Pre-Code Hollywood - a period in Hollywood history after the advent of sound but before the institution of the Hays Code - circa ~1927-1934.

Major Pre-Code stars: Ruth Chatterton, Warren William, James Cagney.

Pre-Code Hollywood was wild. Not just wild in an uninhibited sense, but in a thematic sense too. Films produced during the pre-Code era often focused on illicit subject matter, like bootlegging, prostitution, and murder - that wasn't the status quo for Hollywood - and it wouldn't be again until 1968.

We'll get to why that year is important for film history in a bit, but first let's review pre-Code Hollywood with a couple of selected scenes from Kevin Wentink on YouTube.

Movie Film History * Pre-Code Classic Clips

Pre-Code movies were jubilant in their creativity; largely because they were uncensored. But alas, their period was short-lived. In 1934, MPPDA Chairman William Hays instituted the Motion Picture Production Code banning explicit depictions of sex, violence, and other "sinful" deeds in movies.
Learn more about Pre-Code Hollywood →

Development of Movies

The Early Golden Age and Color in Film

The 1930s and early 1940s produced some of the greatest movies of all-time - but they also changed everything about the movie-making process. By the end of the Pre-Code era, the free independent spirit of filmmaking had all but evaporated; Hollywood studios had vertically integrated their business operations, which meant they conceptualized, produced, and distributed everything "in-house."

That doesn't mean movies made during these years were bad though. Quite the contrary - perhaps the two greatest American films ever made, Citizen Kane and Casablanca, were made between 1934 and 1944.

But despite their enormous influence, neither Citizen Kane nor Casablanca could hold a candle to the influence of another film from this decade: The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz wasn't the first film to use Technicolor, but it was credited with bringing color to the masses. For more on the industry-altering introduction of color, check out this video on The Wizard of Oz from Vox.

When Was Color Movies Invented? * How Technicolor Changed Movies

Technicolor was groundbreaking for cinema, but the dye-transfer process of its colorization was hard... and cost prohibitive for studios. So, camera manufacturers experimented with new processes to streamline color photography. Overtime, they were rewarded with new technologies and techniques.
Learn more about Technicolor →

Cinema Eras

Wartime and Propaganda Films

In 1937, Benito Mussolini founded Cinecittà, a massive studio that operated under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte," which translates to "the cinema is the strongest weapon." During this time, countries all around the world used cinema as a weapon to influence the minds and hearts of their citizens.

This was especially true in the United States - prolific directors like Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces to make movies to support the U.S. war cause.

Documentarian Laurent Bouzereau made a three-part series about the war films of Capra, Ford, Huston, Stevens, and Wyler. Check out the trailer for Five Came Back below.

A History of Film * Five Came Back Trailer

Wartime film is important to explore because it teaches us about how people interpret propaganda. For posterity's sake, let's define propaganda as biased information that's used to promote political points.

Propaganda films are often regarded with a negative connotation because they sh0w a one-sided perspective. Films of this era - such as those commissioned for the US Department of War's Why We Fight series - were one-sided because they were made to counter the enemy's rhetoric. It's important to note that "one-sided" doesn't mean "wrong" - in the case of the Why We Fight series, I think most people would agree that the one-sidedness was appropriate.

Over time, wartime film became more nuanced - a point proven by the 1966 masterwork The Battle of Algiers.

History of Movies

Post-War Film Movements

Global cinema underwent a renaissance after World War II; technically, creatively, and conceptually. We're going to cover a few of the most prominent post-war film movements, starting with Italian Neorealism.

ITALIAN NEOREALISM

How Has Film Changed Over Time? * Still from Akira Kurosawa's 'Stray Dog'

Italy, France, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and India weren't the only countries that underwent "New Waves" after World War II; Japan, Iran, Great Britain, and Russia had minor film revolutions as well.

In Japan, directors like Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu introduced new filmmaking techniques to the masses; their 1940s-1950s films were great, but some filmmakers, like Hiroshi Teshigahara and Nagisa Ōshima felt they were better suited to make films about "modern" Japan.

Here's a quick video on the Japanese New Wave from Film Studies for YouTube.

Cinema Eras * Japanese New Wave Video Essay by Film Studies for YouTube

Some cinema historians combine the Japanese New Wave with the post-war era. For simplicity's sake, we'll do the same: the major films of this era (1940s-1960s) include (1950), Tokyo Story (1953), and Seven Samurai (1954).

The Iranian New Wave began about fifteen years after the end of World War II, circa 1960-onwards. Iranian cinema is an important part of Iranian culture. Here's a quick video on Iranian cinema from BBC News.

Important Dates in Film History * Spotlight on Iran's Film Industry via BBC News

Cinema historians widely consider Dariush Mehrjui's The Cow (1969) to be a foundational film for the movement. Abbas Kiarostami is perhaps the most famous Iranian filmmaker of all-time. His film Close-Up (1990) is regarded as one of the greatest films ever produced in Iran.

The British New Wave was a minor film movement that was defined by kitchen-sink realism - or depictions of ordinary life. Many filmmakers of the British New Wave were critics before they were directors; and they wanted to depict the average life of Britain through a filmic eye.

Here's a lecture on the British New Wave from Professor Ian Christie at Gresham College.

History of Filmmaking * Street-Life and New Wave British Cinema by Gresham College

The British New Wave became synonymous with Cinéma vérité (cinema of truth) over the course of its brief existence. Some of the major pictures of the movement include: Look Back in Anger (1959) and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960).

Russian cinema is complex... probably just as complex as American cinema. We could spend 100 pages talking about Russian cinema - but that's not the focus of this article. We already talked about Soviet Montage Theory, so let's skip ahead to post World War II Soviet cinema.

When I think of post-war Soviet cinema, I think of one name: Andrei Tarkovsky. Tarkovsky directed internationally-renowned films like Andrei Rublev (1969), Solaris (1972), and Stalker (1979) in his brief career as the Soviet Union's pre-eminent maestro.

Here's a deep dive into the works of Tarkovsky by "Like Stories of Old."

Film Industry Timeline * Praying Through Cinema - Understanding Andrei Tarkovsky by Like Stories of Old

Tarkovsky wasn't the only great filmmaker in the post-war Soviet Union - but he was probably the best. I'd be remiss if I didn't use this section to focus on him.

History of Film Timeline

The Golden Age of Hollywood

The Hollywood Golden Age began with the fall of pre-Code Hollywood (1934) and lasted until the birth of New Hollywood (1968).

Major stars of the Hollywood Golden Age: Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Fonda, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Grace Kelly, James Dean, Marlon Brando.

Major filmmakers of the Hollywood Golden Age: Cecil B. DeMille, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Elia Kazan, David Lean, Joseph Manckiewicz.

Notice how many names we included? It's ridiculous - it would be wrong to omit any of them; and still, there are probably dozens of iconic figures missing. The Hollywood Golden Age was all about stars. Stars sold pictures and the studios knew it. "Hepburn" could sell a movie every time; it didn't matter which Hepburn - or what the movie was about.

Here's a breakdown of the Hollywood Golden Age from Crash Course.

History of Movies * The Golden Age of Hollywood by Crash Course

There are a few sub-eras within the Hollywood Golden Age era; let's break them down in detail.

CENSORSHIP

History of Cinema * Still from Kevin Smith's 'Clerks'

Indie film - or late 80s, early 90s cinema produced outside of the major motion picture system - was about experimenting with new cinematic forms, pushing the Generation Next agenda, and making art by any means necessary.

Major indie filmmakers: Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson, Steven Soderbergh, Jim Jarmusch.

The American indie movement launched the careers of a myriad of great directors. It also marked the beginning of a major decline for film. The advent of digital cameras and DVDs meant film was becoming a luxury. Conversely, it meant procuring the necessary equipment needed to make movies was easier than ever.

Indie-films introduced the idea that anybody could make movies. For better or worse, the point proved to be true. The '90s and early 2000s were littered with independently produced, scarcely funded movies. It was unrestrained, but it was also liberating.

Check out this video on no-budget filmmaking from The Royal Ocean Film Society to learn more about the indie movement.

Evolution of Cinema * Lessons for the No-Budget Feature by The Royal Ocean Film Society

The indie movement (as it was known then) ended when the major studios (like Disney and Turner) bought the independent studios (like Miramax and New Line). Today, we often refer to minimalist, low-budget movies as independent, but the truth is just about every production studio is owned by a conglomerate.

How Has the Film Industry Changed?

New Distribution Methods

The current state of cinema is in flux due to a wide array of issues, including (but not limited to) the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the wide-adoption of new streaming services from first-party producers, i.e. Netflix, Disney, Paramount, etc., and the growth of new media forms.

Over the last few years, big-budget epics like Marvel's The Avengers and Star Wars have performed well at the U.S. and Chinese box-office, but their success has often come at the expense of medium-budget movies; the result being a deeper lining of the pockets of exorbitantly wealthy corporations.

Still, there's a lot of money to be made - a point perhaps best proven by the rise of the Chinese film industry. In 2020, China overtook North America as the world's biggest box-office market, per THR. Check out a video on Hengdian, China's largest film studio from South China Morning Report.

Movie History * Inside China's Largest Film Studio by South China Morning Report

Movies seem to get bigger and bigger every year but the development of computer-generated-imagery and compositing techniques has given filmmakers the technology to create vast worlds in limited spaces.

So: what's next for film? Who's to say for certain? The future of the industry looks cloudy - but there's definite promise on the horizon. More people have cinema-capable cameras in their pocket today than ever before. Perhaps the next great movement will take off soon.

Up Next

100 Years of Cinematography

The history of film includes a lot more than what we went over here. In 2019, the American Society of Cinematographers celebrated 100 years of great cinematography with a list of legendary works. In our next article, we break down some of the ASC's choices with video examples. Follow along as we look at the work of Conrad Hall, Vittorio Storaro, and more.

Tags: Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, American Graffiti, Andrei Tarkovsky, Annie Hall, Back to the Future, Bonnie and Clyde, Bottle Rocket, Brian De Palma, Carol Reed, Casablanca, Chinatown, Citizen Kane, David Lean, Double Indemnity, Easy Rider, Elia Kazan, Festen, Francis Ford Coppola, Francois Truffaut, Frank Capra, George Lucas, Gone with the Wind, High Noon, History of Film, Ingmar Bergman, James Cameron, Jaws, Jean-Luc Godard, Jim Jarmusch, John Ford, John Huston, Jurassic Park, La Strada, Lars von Trier, Martin Scorsese, Metropolis, Midnight Cowboy, Network, Nosferatu, Orson Welles, Rashomon, Richard Linklater, Satyajit Ray, Sergei Eisenstein, Seven Samurai, Slacker, Spartacus, Stagecoach, Stanley Kubrick, Star Wars, Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg, Sunset Boulevard, Taxi Driver, The Avengers, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Godfather, The Graduate, The Idiots, The Maltese Falcon, The Public Enemy, The Searchers, The Third Man, The Wizard of Oz, Thomas Vinterberg, Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, Yasujiro Ozu

Chris Heckmann graduated from Emmanuel College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Writing, Editing, and Publishing. He now lives in Los Angeles where he writes about sports, film, and television.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
History of Film Timeline - All Eras of Film History Explained

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
M otion pictures have enticed and inspired artists, audiences, and critics for more than a century. Today, we're going to explore the history of film by looking at the major movements that have defined cinema worldwide. We're also going to explore the technical craft of filmmaking from the persistence of vision to colorization to synchronous sound.

# data[].attributes.body
German Expressionism is a cinematic movement that emerged in the 1920s, characterised by its stark, stylised visuals and themes of psychological horror, madness, and existential angst. This artistic movement sought to convey emotional experiences rather than depict physical reality, employing techniques like distorted sets, sharp contrasts of light and shadow, and exaggerated performances. It arose during the turbulent Weimar Republic era, marked by economic instability and political unrest following World War I. German Expressionist films produced during this period not only reflect the profound sociopolitical upheavals of their time but also rework modern themes of existential dread, distorted reality, and psychological introspection. Directors such as Fritz Lang, F.W. Murnau, and Robert Wiene were pioneers in this movement, creating influential films like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920), "Nosferatu" (1922), and "Metropolis" (1927). The movement's unique visual style, characterised by its surreal, dreamlike quality and atmospheric emphasis, served as a poignant reflection of the era's anxieties and disillusionment. Its impact continues to resonate across genres such as film noir and horror, leaving an enduring legacy in the history of cinema.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Beginner's Guide To German Expressionism In Film - | CinemaWaves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Influential film movement, German Expressionism revolutionized filmmaking. Characterized by its distinctive visual style, psychological depth, and exploration of dark and often unsettling themes. Elements of German Expressionism in film are the use of distorted sets, dramatic lighting and surreal narratives.

# data[].attributes.body
The French New Wave, emerging in the late 1950s and early 1960s, revolutionised cinema with its innovative approaches to storytelling, aesthetics, and filmmaking techniques. Characterised by a rejection of traditional studio practices and a focus on personal expression, the movement was driven by a group of young, passionate filmmakers who challenged cinematic conventions. Directors such as François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Rivette were central figures. They introduced a fresh, spontaneous style marked by jump cuts, handheld cameras, location shooting, and natural lighting, often blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Seminal films include Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" (1959), Godard's "Breathless" (1960), and Chabrol's "Les Cousins" (1959), which explored themes of youth alienation, existentialism, and social critique. The French New Wave's influence extended beyond France, shaping international cinema and inspiring future generations of filmmakers with its emphasis on creative freedom, stylistic experimentation, and auteur-driven narratives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An Introductory Guide - French New Wave | CinemaWaves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Emerging in the late 1950s, The French New Wave or La Nouvelle Vague, is one of the most iconic and influential film movements, featuring films from Francois Truffaut, Jean Luc Godard and Agnes Varda. The French New Wave introduced innovative cinematography techniques like hand-held cameras, jump cuts and unconventional framing.

# data[].attributes.body
Parallel cinema in India emerged in the 1950s and gained prominence throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a counterpoint to mainstream Bollywood cinema. It aimed to offer more realistic and socially relevant narratives, addressing issues such as rural poverty, urbanization, caste dynamics, and political unrest. Filmmakers associated with parallel cinema sought to break away from the formulaic song-and-dance routines and melodrama typical of commercial Indian cinema, focusing instead on artistic integrity and meaningful storytelling. Seminal directors such as Satyajit Ray, known for his "Apu Trilogy" (1955-1959), depicted rural Bengal with sensitivity and realism, while Ritwik Ghatak explored themes of displacement and identity in films like "Meghe Dhaka Tara" (1960). Other notable filmmakers include Shyam Benegal, whose film "Ankur" (1974) addressed social hierarchies, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, known for his introspective narratives like "Elippathayam" (1981). Parallel cinema's stylistic approach often featured naturalistic acting, minimalist aesthetics, and a focus on character-driven storytelling, aiming to provoke thought and reflection rather than entertain. Its impact on Indian cinema was profound, influencing subsequent generations of filmmakers and contributing to a broader appreciation of cinema as a powerful medium for social commentary and artistic expression.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Parallel Cinema - What Is It? | CinemaWaves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Parallel Cinema movement emerged in India as a response to the dominance of mainstream Bollywood cinema and its rooted in realism, social commentary and experimental storytelling. The term "parallel cinema" is used because it represents a parallel or alternative path to mainstream cinema.

# data[].attributes.body
Soviet Montage, a revolutionary film movement that emerged in Soviet Russia during the 1920s, pioneered a radical approach to cinematic storytelling and editing. Led by filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, and Vsevolod Pudovkin, Soviet Montage sought to create meaning through the juxtaposition of shots rather than through linear narrative alone. This approach aimed to evoke intellectual and emotional responses from audiences, promoting social and political messages while experimenting with film form. Directors employed techniques such as rapid cutting, dynamic contrasts in image size, and metaphorical associations between shots to convey complex ideas and emotions. Examples of seminal films include Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin" (1925), renowned for its powerful use of montage to depict a mutiny and subsequent massacre, and Vertov's "Man with a Movie Camera" (1929), which explored urban life and technology through innovative editing and camera techniques. Soviet Montage's emphasis on the dialectical relationship between images and ideas, its commitment to social realism, and its use of editing as a form of intellectual inquiry have had a profound and lasting impact on global cinema, influencing filmmakers and theorists worldwide and shaping the evolution of film editing as an art form.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Soviet Montage Theory - What Is It? | CinemaWaves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The idea of Soviet Montage Theory was first brought up by director Lev Kuleshov, that an idea or an emotion might not be adequately expressed in a single frame. Soviet montage theory is an approach to understanding and creating cinema that relies heavily upon editing.

# data[].attributes.body
Japanese New Wave cinema, emerging in the 1950s and flourishing through the 1960s and 1970s, marked a significant departure from traditional Japanese filmmaking conventions. It was significantly influenced by the French New Wave, particularly through its exposure to films and ideas propagated by the influential French film journal "Cahiers du Cinéma" and its advocates, who championed auteur theory and celebrated directors who imbued their films with personal vision and style, challenging the prevailing commercial cinema norms. It was characterised by a bold experimentation with narrative structure, visual style, and thematic content, often challenging societal norms and reflecting the cultural upheavals of post-war Japan. Directors associated with this movement, such as Nagisa Oshima, Shohei Imamura, and Yasuzo Masumura, brought a fresh perspective to cinema by exploring taboo subjects such as sexuality, violence, and political dissent. Films like Oshima's "In the Realm of the Senses" (1976), which provocatively explores erotic obsession, and Imamura's "The Pornographers" (1966), which critiques societal hypocrisy, exemplify the bold and confrontational nature of Japanese New Wave cinema. Stylistically, these films often employed handheld cameras, non-linear narratives, and documentary-like realism to capture the rawness and immediacy of human experiences. The movement's willingness to confront controversial topics and its innovative cinematic techniques challenged both traditional Japanese filmmaking practices and societal norms.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Japanese New Wave - What Is It? | CinemaWaves

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Japanese New Wave was a revolutionary film movement that emerged in the 1950s and reached its zenith in the 1960s. This film movement, also knows as Nuberu Bagu, challenged the conventions of traditional Japanese cinema and pushed the boundaries of film.

# data[].attributes.body
Auteur theory, first appearing in François Truffaut's essay “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français” (transl. A Certain Tendency of The French Cinema) and being rooted in French film criticism in the 1950s, posits that the director is the primary creative force behind a film, akin to an author of a book. It asserts that a director's distinctive style and thematic concerns can be discerned across their body of work, regardless of genre or subject matter. Films that exemplify auteur theory often showcase consistent visual motifs, narrative techniques, and thematic preoccupations associated with their directors.

Examples include directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Akira Kurosawa, Wong Kar-Wai.

# data[].attributes.body
Psychoanalytic theory, originating from the work of Sigmund Freud in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, explores the unconscious mind, human behaviour, and the dynamics of the psyche. It posits that unconscious desires, conflicts, and childhood experiences shape personality and influence behaviour. In the context of film, psychoanalytic theory examines how cinematic narratives, characters, and symbols reflect and explore unconscious themes, desires, and anxieties. These are not limited to Freudian theories, but also Jungian or Lacanian, etc.

Films influenced by psychoanalytic theory often delve into themes of identity, repression, trauma, and the unconscious mind. For example, Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" (1958) explores obsession, identity crisis, and psychological manipulation through its protagonist's unraveling psyche. David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" (2001) employs dream logic and surreal imagery to explore themes of fractured identity and repressed desires. Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (1980) uses psychological horror and symbolism to depict a descent into madness and the impact of repressed trauma.

# data[].attributes.body
Marxist theory, rooted in the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, provides a critical framework for understanding society through the dynamics of class struggle and economic relationships. In cinema, Marxist analysis examines how films portray and critique these societal tensions, focusing on themes such as economic inequality, exploitation, and resistance. Films influenced by Marxist perspectives often spotlight the struggles of working-class individuals against oppressive capitalist systems or depict the broader implications of class conflict on societal structures. For example, Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" (1936) satirically critiques industrialisation and dehumanising labour practices, while John Ford's "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) explores the hardships faced by Depression-era farmers amidst economic exploitation. Similarly, Gillo Pontecorvo's "Battle of Algiers" (1966) examines colonial oppression and the struggle for independence through a Marxist lens, highlighting themes of nationalism and revolutionary resistance. These films not only reflect Marxist theory's focus on economic determinism and social justice but also provoke critical reflection on class dynamics and the broader socio-political context of their narratives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Marxism & Cinema: Daniel Fairfax - Historical Materialism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This piece was originally published in French at http://revueperiode.net/guide-de-lecture-marxisme-et-cinema/. “Of all the arts,” Vladimir Lenin reportedly claimed, “the most important for us is the cinema.” An invention of the modern bourgeoisie, cinema is the only art form whose genesis is contemporaneous with that of capitalism, and over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries,

# data[].attributes.headline
7.2 Additional Readings on Films, Media and Criticism 

# data[].attributes.subject
7.2 Additional Readings on Films, Media and Criticism 

# data[].attributes.body
1. Film Language: The Semiotics of the Cinema by Christian Metz (1974)

2. Hitchcock/Truffaut by François Truffaut about Alfred Hitchcock (1966)

3. Signs and Meaning in the Cinema by Peter Wollen (1969)

4. Cahiers du cinéma: The 1950s edited By Jim Hillier (1986)

5. Film as a Subversive Art by Amos Vogel (1974)

6. What is Cinema? by André Bazin (1967)

7. The Medium is the Message by Marshall McLuhan (1964)

8. Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema by Andrei Tarkovsky (1986)

Here is an article where premier film critics list their recommendations: https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/polls-surveys/film-book-poll/complete

# data[].attributes.body
There are many citation generators online that help organise your bibliography and form your citations for you.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Journals and Databases, including:

1. JSTOR - https://www.jstor.org/

2. ARTSTOR - https://www.artstor.org/

3. Project MUSE - https://muse.jhu.edu/

2. Library Resources

1. National Library Board Singapore eResources - https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/Main/

3. Film Archives and Institutions

1. Asian Film Archive - https://asianfilmarchive.org/

2. National Archives - https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/

3. Other international film institutes such as British Film Institute, American Film Institute, etc.

4. Documentaries and Film Commentaries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.

# data[].attributes.headline
In this segment, you will understand more about how to compare literary and cinematic works.

# data[].attributes.subject
In this segment, you will understand more about how to compare literary and cinematic works.

# data[].attributes.body
A comparative essay involves comparing and contrasting two or more subjects, such as texts, ideas, theories, or films, to explore similarities and differences. It begins with an introduction that introduces the subjects and states the purpose of comparison. Body paragraphs analyse specific points of comparison, focusing on themes, characters, techniques, or other relevant aspects. Clear evidence and examples support comparisons, ensuring a balanced analysis. The conclusion summarises findings and may offer insights into broader implications. Overall, a comparative essay encourages critical thinking, analysis, and the ability to articulate connections and distinctions between subjects.

Comparative essays also present how certain themes or ideas are not exclusive to one medium (like film, prose, poetry, or art, for example) but can be universal and transcendental; therefore allowing for richer comparison beyond the boundaries of medium.

# data[].attributes.headline
4.2 The structure of a comparative essay

# data[].attributes.subject
4.2 The structure of a comparative essay

# data[].attributes.body
The structure of a comparative essay is similar in that it requires an introduction, thesis, main points and a conclusion; except now there are additional main points and a thesis that addresses both texts. Therefore, it is more complex.

1. Ensure your thesis addresses the similarities and differences in the chosen scope you are exploring within your two texts.

1. Sample: "In comparing George Orwell's novel '1984' with Michael Radford's film adaptation, this study explores how each medium portrays dystopian society and resistance against totalitarian control. The novel delves deeply into Winston Smith's psychological rebellion, while the film uses visual symbolism to depict oppressive surveillance and societal control. This analysis examines how narrative and visual techniques in each medium shape the portrayal of themes such as oppression and individual agency."

2. Decide the structure of your essay; either alternating or block method.

1. Alternating Method (Point-by-Point Pattern): In the alternating method, you find related points common to both subjects A and B, and alternate between discussing A and B based on these points (ABABAB…). For example, a comparative essay on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings" and Peter Jackson's film adaptation might examine how both portray themes of friendship, heroism, and the quest for power. You would compare how these themes are developed and presented in the novel versus the film, discussing similarities and differences in narrative techniques and character portrayal.

2. Subject-by-Subject Pattern (Block Method - AB): In the block method, you discuss all aspects of subject A first, then all aspects of subject B. For instance, a comparative essay using this method to analyse "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen and its 2005 film adaptation directed by Joe Wright would dedicate one part to discussing Austen's characterization, social commentary, and narrative style. The second part would analyse how these elements are translated and interpreted in Wright's film, addressing changes in setting, visual storytelling, and character portrayal. This method ensures a thorough examination of each subject while allowing for clear comparisons between the literary work and its cinematic adaptation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is a comparative essay?

A comparative essay asks that you compare at least two (possibly more) items. These items will differ depending on the assignment. You might be asked to compare

positions on an issue (e.g., responses to midwifery in Canada and the United States)

theories (e.g., capitalism and communism)

figures (e.g., GDP in the United States and Britain)

texts (e.g., Shakespeare's Hamletand Macbeth)

events (e.g., the Great Depression and the global financial crisis of 2008-9)

Although the assignment may say "compare," the assumption is that you will consider both the similarities and differences; in other words, you will compare and contrast.

Make sure you know the basis for comparison

The assignment sheet may say exactly what you need to compare, or it may ask you to come up with a basis for comparison yourself.

Provided by the essay question: The essay question may ask that you consider the figure of the gentleman in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The basis for comparison will be the figure of the gentleman.

Developed by you: The question may simply ask that you compare the two novels. If so, you will need to develop a basis for comparison, that is, a theme, concern, or device common to both works from which you can draw similarities and differences.

Develop a list of similarities and differences

Once you know your basis for comparison, think critically about the similarities and differences between the items you are comparing, and compile a list of them.

For example, you might decide that in Great Expectations, being a true gentleman is not a matter of manners or position but morality, whereas in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, being a true gentleman is not about luxury and self-indulgence but hard work and productivity.

The list you have generated is not yet your outline for the essay, but it should provide you with enough similarities and differences to construct an initial plan.

Develop a thesis based on the relative weight of similarities and differences

Once you have listed similarities and differences, decide whether the similarities on the whole outweigh the differences or vice versa. Create a thesis statement that reflects their relative weights. A more complex thesis will usually include both similarities and differences. Here are examples of the two main cases:

1. Differences outweigh similarities:

While Callaghan's "All the Years of Her Life" and Mistry's "Of White Hairs and Cricket" both follow the conventions of the coming-of-age narrative, Callaghan's story adheres more closely to these conventions by allowing its central protagonist to mature. In Mistry's story, by contrast, no real growth occurs.

2. Similarities outweigh differences:

Although Darwin and Lamarck came to different conclusions about whether acquired traits can be inherited, they shared the key distinction of recognizing that species evolve over time.

Come up with a structure for your essay

1. Alternating method: Point-by-point patternIn the alternating method, you find related points common to your central subjects A and B, and alternate between A and B on the basis of these points (ABABAB ...). For instance, a comparative essay on the French and Russian revolutions might examine how both revolutions either encouraged or thwarted innovation in terms of new technology, military strategy, and the administrative system.

Note that the French and Russian revolutions (A and B) may be dissimilar rather than similar in the way they affected innovation in any of the three areas of technology, military strategy, and administration. To use the alternating method, you just need to have something noteworthy to say about both A and B in each area. Finally, you may certainly include more than three pairs of alternating points: allow the subject matter to determine the number of points you choose to develop in the body of your essay.

When do I use the alternating method? Professors often like the alternating system because it generally does a better job of highlighting similarities and differences by juxtaposing your points about A and B. It also tends to produce a more tightly integrated and analytical paper. Consider the alternating method if you are able to identify clearly related points between A and B. Otherwise, if you attempt to impose the alternating method, you will probably find it counterproductive.

2. Block method: Subject-by-subject patternIn the block method (AB), you discuss all of A, then all of B. For example, a comparative essay using the block method on the French and Russian revolutions would address the French Revolution in the first half of the essay and the Russian Revolution in the second half. If you choose the block method, however, do not simply append two disconnected essays to an introductory thesis. The B block, or second half of your essay, should refer to the A block, or first half, and make clear points of comparison whenever comparisons are relevant. ("Unlike A, B . . ." or "Like A, B . . .") This technique will allow for a higher level of critical engagement, continuity, and cohesion.

When do I use the block method? The block method is particularly useful in the following cases:

You are unable to find points about A and B that are closely related to each other.

Your ideas about B build upon or extend your ideas about A.

You are comparing three or more subjects as opposed to the traditional two.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A comparative essay asks that you compare at least two (possibly more) items. These items will differ depending on the assignment.

# data[].attributes.body
Literary analysis and film analysis differ in their approach and focus despite both disciplines involving the interpretation of narratives and visual storytelling. Literary analysis primarily examines written texts such as novels, poems, or plays, emphasising literary devices like symbolism, character development, and narrative structure. It often explores themes, language use, and historical or cultural contexts within the text, aiming to uncover deeper meanings and implications conveyed through written language.

On the other hand, film analysis delves into the visual and auditory elements of films, including cinematography, editing, sound design, and mise-en-scène (the arrangement of visual elements within the frame). It interprets how these cinematic techniques contribute to storytelling, characterisation, and thematic exploration on screen. Unlike literary analysis, film analysis considers the director's visual choices, camera angles, lighting effects, and use of colour to convey mood, atmosphere, and meaning.

Both approaches share a commitment to critical interpretation but differ in their tools and methodologies due to the distinct ways in which literature and film communicate their stories and themes to audiences.