Film: A Very Short Introduction

Description

Very Short Introductions have proven to be extremely popular with general readers, as well as undergraduates and their lecturers.

Film is considered by some to be the most dominant art form of the twentieth century. It is many things, but it has become above all a means of telling stories through images and sounds. The stories are often offered to us as quite false, frankly and beautifully fantastic, and they are sometimes insistently said to be true. But they are stories in both cases, and there are very few films, even in avant-garde art, that don’t imply or quietly slip into narrative.

This story element is important, and is closely connected with the simplest fact about moving pictures: they do move.

Even the older meanings of the word ‘film’ – a membrane, a covering, a veil, an emanation – now seem to have something to do with moving pictures. Many people believe films are an instrument of illusion, an emphatic way of seeing what is not there; and this capacity has been both celebrated and condemned. ‘Like a movie’ mostly means like some sort of fairy-tale. But what about the reverse proposition: that more than any other invention film brings us close to the world as it actually is?

‘Photography is truth‘, a character says in a film by Jean-Luc Godard. ‘And cinema is the truth twenty-four times per second‘. The same claim is made every day, albeit less epigrammatically, by newsreels and surveillance cameras.

In this Very Short Introduction Michael Wood provides a brief history and examination of the nature of the medium of film, considering its role and impact on society as well as its future in the digital age.

Key Features

• Considers the paradoxical nature of film, such as its representation as a mass medium and fine art; as technology and fantasy; as documentary and fiction; and as amateur photography and film industry
• Explores the history of film from its beginnings to today’s digital age
• Draws on a wide range of examples from around the world to explore its role and impact internationally
• Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series – over three million copies sold worldwide

Table of Contents

1. Frame after Frame
2. Life in the Dark
3. Story Time
4. Digital Dreams

About the Series

Oxford’s Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects – from Public Health to Buddhist Ethics, Soft Matter to Classics, and Art History to Globalization. Each volume provides an authoritative and engaging assessment of a concept, field, or body of work, drawing out the central ideas, themes, and approaches. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, new insights, and enthusiasm to make often challenging topics highly readable to develop your core knowledge. With over 700 titles and many more in development, as well as regularly updated new editions, the series is constantly evolving to reflect a contemporary readership. Whatever your area of study, whatever the topic that fascinates you, the series is an indispensable and accessible guide that will enrich your understanding.

Reviews

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“I love the Very Short Introduction Series as should everyone who is interested in the history of ideas. They manage to straddle that difficult line between making the complex accessible without ever compromising on quality. The sheer range of subjects covered make the series an invaluable asset for anyone trying to understand the development of human thought. They are a must-go-to gateway for those of us keen to know more but needing a steer as to where to start.” – Claire Fox, Director, Institute of Ideas

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Author Biography

Michael Wood, Charles Barnwell Start Professor of English and Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University