ABSTRACT
The title of this chapter may require explanation. Film is not, of course, a language but it does generate its meanings through systems (cinematography, sound editing, and so on) which work like languages. To understand how this idea might help in our analysis of films, and to understand the limits of this idea, we need to go back to some very basic principles. The first step is to see film as communication. The second step is to place film communication within a wider system for generating meaning – that of the culture itself.
