0% found this document useful (0 votes)
120 views3 pages

America Through Film CH1 Summary

This document summarizes key points from the first chapter of the book "America on Film" about film form and representation. It discusses how film form, including literary design, visual design, cinematography, editing, and sound design can influence viewers' perceptions of characters and groups. Stereotypes in film can reinforce overgeneralized concepts and influence how minority groups are viewed in real life. While the US promotes equality, discrimination was still prominent when many films were made. The chapter also covers how media influences culture more than other institutions, and how meanings in films can be encoded by filmmakers and decoded in various ways by audiences.

Uploaded by

klal24
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
120 views3 pages

America Through Film CH1 Summary

This document summarizes key points from the first chapter of the book "America on Film" about film form and representation. It discusses how film form, including literary design, visual design, cinematography, editing, and sound design can influence viewers' perceptions of characters and groups. Stereotypes in film can reinforce overgeneralized concepts and influence how minority groups are viewed in real life. While the US promotes equality, discrimination was still prominent when many films were made. The chapter also covers how media influences culture more than other institutions, and how meanings in films can be encoded by filmmakers and decoded in various ways by audiences.

Uploaded by

klal24
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Nitya Lal

1543260

Thinking Through Film


345-101-MQ

Group 00017
September 2nd, 2015

AmericaThroughFilm:Part1:Chapter1
IntroductiontotheStudyofFilmFormandRepresentation
InthefirstchapterofAmericaonFilm,byHarryM.BenshoffandSean
Griffin,filmformandtherepresentationofrace,class,gender,andsexualityinfilmwere
explained.Itisimportanttounderstandandgaininsightonhowdifferentgroupsof
Americansareportrayedinfilm,sincemoviesactivelycontributetowhatpeople
understandintherealworld.

Filmformiswhatseparatesafilmfromashortstory.Itisacombinationof
content,whattheworkisabout,andform,themannerinwhichitisexpressed.
Understandingtheartisticchoicesofafilmisjustasimportantasunderstandingtheplot,
sinceitaffectsthewaythestoryisunderstood.Thefivebasicelementsinfilmformare
literarydesign,visualdesign,cinematography,editing,andsounddesign.Theseaxes
havethepowertoalterthewayanindividualwillviewacharacter.Anegativeportrayal
couldbegiventoacharacterjustbyutilizingthesefivebasicelements.Hollywoodhas
usedtheseaestheticqualitiestoaffecthowAmericansviewrace,class,gender,sexuality,
andabilityinreallife.

AlthoughequalityisthebasicideologyandfundamentalrightinAmerica,
discriminationwasstillprominentduringthe1700s.Filmreinforcesovergeneralized
conceptsaboutgroupsofpeople,creatingstereotypes.Becauseofstereotypes,certain
groupsofpeopleareviewedassuperiorthanothers.Minoritygroups,typesofpeople
withlesspowerthanothers,arealienatedfromAmericansocietyandgivenlessrightsas

Nitya Lal
1543260

Thinking Through Film


345-101-MQ

Group 00017
September 2nd, 2015

opposedtodominantgroups.Ideologiesthatarebasedonstereotypesaboutminority
groupsarepresentinsocietyandtheyblindindividualsfromthefactthattheycomefrom
opinionsinsteadoffacts.

Intodaysday,manytheoristsbelievethatthemediahassomuchpowerthatit
hasbecomemoreinfluentialinculturalideasthanreligions,familyandschoolsdo
combined.Becauseofthis,culturesthatareportrayedasgoodinfilmhavebecome
preferred.Subculturesalsohavesomepowerandeffectsonthedominatingcultures,
bringingcommodifiedandincorporatedaspectsintothedominatingculture.

Inthepastcoupleofdecades,peoplehavetriedtounderstandthedifferent
culturesoftheworld,researchingconceptsinideologyandculture.Whenideasfrom
differentpartsoftheworldareshowninAmericanmedia,theyareoftenreconstructed
versionsofthetruth.Somestudyhowthemediainterpretscultureandshowsit,using
representationalsystems.Therearetwostagesofcomprehendingmeaningthroughtext,
calledencodinganddecoding.Encodingiswhenfilmmakersplacemeaningintotextand
decodingunderstandsthemeaningofatext.Itiseasierforproducersandreadersto
understandtextwhentheyareofthesamecultureaseachother.Textscanbeinterpreted
indifferentways.Decodingtextsexactlythewaytheywereencodediscalleddominant
readings,oppositionalreadingsiswhenideologicalassumptionsarequestioned,and
negotiatedreadingsiswhenaspectsthatareencodedareresisted.

Nitya Lal
1543260

Thinking Through Film


345-101-MQ

Group 00017
September 2nd, 2015

Mostofthetime,Hollywoodfilmmakersdontwantviewerstoquestionthe
waytheymadetheirfilms.However,onecantevernullifyideologicalaspectsinfilm.
Theycanonlydisregardthem.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy