Film Studies
Reading film the way literature reads a text.
What counts as evidence: Close analysis of specific scenes and technique, supported by production context and scholarship.
- Anchor every claim to specific timestamps, shots, or edits, not general impressions.
- Learn basic technical vocabulary (mise-en-scène, editing, sound design) before analyzing with it.
- Read reviews and scholarship from when the film was released, not just recent takes.
- A comparison between two films needs a reason — what does pairing them reveal?