The text book focuses on the history of film; film as an art form; the evolution of film technology; film as an indicator of the attitudes, prejudices, stereotypes, desires, hates, fears of the specific time and place in which the film was made; the historical, social and cultural context of films and how that influences what we see on the screen, as myth; as storytelling; and as narrative. Part of this is understanding the development of film as an art form, as a form of creative expression, which means watching a lot of older films. 

          We’ve grown up with movies. We’ve watched them all our lives. And whether we are aware of it or not, we know a tremendous amount about film. When we watch a movie and think to ourselves, “well, I just don’t get that,” that’s not because we didn’t understand something in the film. It’s more than likely that that part or element of the film was done badly.  We’re picking up something that jars us out of the world of the film, and that means it wasn’t done very well. We know what to expect from the various genres. We wouldn’t go to see a romantic comedy (familiarly know as “romcom”) if we wanted to see lots of action, lots of guns, lots of explosions. We wouldn’t watch a documentary if we wanted to see a fantasy or a fairy tale.Therefore, this text focuses on the films, not merely on their technological or theoretical aspects.

            Each chapter covers a specific film. The only exception to this is the first chapter, which focuses on three Early Short Films, treated as a group. Each chapter will include a synopsis of the film; historical, cultural and social context; analysis (specifically through the lens of what the film indicates about the stereotypes, prejudices and assumption made about gender, race and class); a theoretical analysis of the film (based on a specific Film Theory); interesting facts about the film and its production, its reception, its place in history, its importance as a film, as a work of art, and as a story.