ABSTRACT

Film Studies: A Global Introduction reroutes film studies from its Euro-American focus and canon in order to introduce students to a medium that has always been global but has become differently and insistently so in the digital age.

Glyn Davis, Kay Dickinson, Lisa Patti and Amy Villarejo’s approach encourages readers to think about film holistically by looking beyond the textual analysis of key films. In contrast, it engages with other vital areas, such as financing, labour, marketing, distribution, exhibition, preservation, and politics, reflecting contemporary aspects of cinema production and consumption worldwide.

Key features of the book include:

  • clear definitions of the key terms at the foundation of film studies
  • coverage of the work of key thinkers, explained in their social and historical context
  • a broad range of relevant case studies that reflect the book’s approach to global cinema, from Italian "white telephone" films to Mexican wrestling films
  • innovative and flexible exercises to help readers enhance their understanding of the histories, theories, and examples introduced in each chapter
  • an extensive Interlude introducing readers to formal analysis through the careful explication and application of key terms
  • a detailed discussion of strategies for writing about cinema

Films Studies: A Global Introduction will appeal to students studying film today and aspiring to work in the industry, as well as those eager to understand the world of images and screens in which we all live.

part Section 1|150 pages

Why Are Movies Made?

chapter Chapter One|24 pages

Cinema as Entertainment

chapter Chapter Two|30 pages

Cinema as Self-Expression

chapter Chapter Three|36 pages

Cinema as Informative

chapter Chapter Four|25 pages

Film and Politics

chapter Chapter Five|31 pages

Film as a Commodity

part Section II|84 pages

How Do Movies Get Made?

chapter Chapter Six|29 pages

Starting Points

chapter Chapter Seven|27 pages

Film Production Practices

chapter Chapter Eight|26 pages

Film Labor

part |28 pages

Interlude on Film Form

part Section III|138 pages

Where Do Movies Go?

chapter Chapter Nine|30 pages

Marketing

chapter Chapter Ten|29 pages

Distribution

chapter Chapter Eleven|24 pages

Exhibition

chapter Chapter Twelve|24 pages

Evaluative Contexts

chapter Chapter Thirteen|27 pages

The Longevity of Films

part Section IV|86 pages

How Are Movies Experienced?

chapter Chapter Fourteen|28 pages

Pleasure and Desire

chapter Chapter Fifteen|26 pages

Identification and Identity

chapter Chapter Sixteen|28 pages

Transformation

part |22 pages

Writing About Cinema