ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the theoretical coordinates of this study. Cognitive film theory is introduced and explained within the context of film theory in general. The flashback analysis developed in the book is placed within this cognitive, naturalistic trend in film studies, but it is of an interdisciplinary kind inasmuch as it draws from concepts and theories set forth by different disciplines, mostly by cognitive linguistics, narratology, and film studies. However, it relies primarily on a particular theory of cognition, blending theory or conceptual integration theory, which is concisely set out in the second part of the chapter. Finally, a number of reasons are presented regarding the suitability of the blending theory framework for the analysis of film flashbacks.
