Understanding Film Theory

by

Christine Etherington-Wright & Ruth Doughty

I purchased this book initially to assist with Assignment 3 – thechapter “Swashbuckling and the Musical”  attracted me for the original research into traditional pirate movies.

However, the book 15 chapters, various film theory which has allowed to dip in and out as I have progressed through the course and also when reflecting on re-works previous assignment

The book advertises itself as “an accessible and comprehensive introduction to film theory. It is the ideal entry point for any student studying film, using clear definitions and explaining complex ideas succinctly”, and In my experience with the book, I have found this to be the case it is comprehensive enough to give good understanding to launch further wider reading and absolutely invaluable as you will see with bibliography of all my assignments.

Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratisation of Desire

by

Brian McNair

Summary

From advertising to health education campaigns, sex and sexual imagery now permeate every aspect of culture. Striptease Culture explores the ‘sexualization’ of contemporary life, relating it to wider changes in post-war society.

Striptease Culture is divided into three sections:

* Part one – traces the development of pornography, following its movement from elite to mass culture and the contemporary fascination with ‘porno-chic’
* Part two – considers popular cultural forms of sexual representation in the media, moving from backlash elements in straight male culture and changing images of women, to the representation of gays in contemporary film and television
* Part three – looks at the use of sexuality in contemporary art, examining the artistic ‘striptease’ of Jeff Koons, and others who have used their naked bodies in their work.

Also considering how feminist and gay artists have employed sexuality in the critique and transformation of patriarchy, the high profile of sexuality as a key contributor to public health education in the era of HIV and AIDS, and the implications of the rise of striptease culture for the future of sexual politics, Brian McNair has produced an excellent book in the study of gender, sexuality and contemporary culture. (Amazon)

Review

This book was side note recommendation from my tutor with regards to the content of assignment 2. however; I found it most useful as it was an education read on how to structure and shape academic writing, along with the book being a fascinating insight into the sexualisation of society.

The book focus’s quite a lot of the changes in the 80’s and 90’s, which I grew up through, with so it made the author’s theories and observations more tangible,

How to Watch a Movie

by David Thomson

I have to admit I bought this book at random; I was browsing the Kindle store when I should have been doing some reading for this course. I guess buying another book by David Thomson made me feel like I had done some work – if only life was so easy.

However, I’m glad I did I have been in the UK for an extended period due to the death of my mum and while I have tried to use the time I wasn’t working to focus on the course, however, other events and overshadowed my plans. So on a quiet day, I picked up this book on what was my mums Kindle Paperwhite, and I read it from cover to cover in every spare moment I had (I’m not the fastest reader).

The films covered by Thomson take on every aspect of cinema and uses – what I would call real world films to explain his point and guide the reader to appreciate the art and manipulation of a film. I particularly enjoyed how he explained how the choice of Janet Leigh as Marion Crane makes the film much more believable, and if they had chosen the other star of the days such as Kim Novak or Audry Hepburn. Not something I would say often but I want to read this book again.

“Have You Seen . . . ?”: A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films

By David Thomson

I bought this book as a reference guide as it is written by one of the most respected critics out there today. The book contains a 1000 short essays on a variety of film and as it subtitle alludes to they are not all “critic’s films” or thing that you need to study for a film course, there is a cross section of real world films too.

I have not read the book cover to cover as yet but I have dipped in and out and it has been a invalable insight to a the mind of a critic to see who they view the films they watch – even the guilty pleasures.