ABSTRACT
Most students of film find that they can follow the arguments supporting the various theoretical approaches to the subject. Many encounter difficulty, however, when they are asked to apply these theories to a specific film which they watch and then have to talk or write about. This is due partly to an exaggerated respect for theory: many assume that if the process takes so much theorizing it must be hard. The process of reading a film is complex, but the complexity lies in our attempts to understand the process, rather than to employ it. Everyone ‘reads’ films; film studies tries to understand how this is done. An important first step to applying the theoretical approaches developed in this book is to maintain some confidence in one’s own point of view on a film. This chapter, however, may assist in taking the next steps.
