Doing Film Studies

Aimed at students in their final year of secondary education or beginning their degrees, Doing Film Studiesintroduces readers to what it really means to study film. Central to the method of the book is encouraging students to question why the dominant theories have evolved as well as understanding these key approaches examining why as well as how we study film. This is developed through two main areas; an overview of the construction of the subject - including its history and how such a relatively young subject has evolved and staked out its academic territory - and an application of approaches to texts how film is studied. Doing Film Studiesaims to immerse the student into what the subject involves, equipping them with the tools needed in approaching the study of film. This includes a consideration of the nature of contemporary courses, including the growth of creative opportunities. Above all it seeks to foster an approach to the subject that is informed yet independent, encouraging the interrogation of the film text within the context of a range of different approaches and theories. The book explores Film Studies as a subject in constant flux; from its early insistence on a canon to the more recent developments which have placed the discipline in the forefront of debates about gender and identity.