Film studies

This page links to film studies resources, and is primarily targeting film studies students. Film studies is a separate subject to media studies. But these articles will provide excellent contextual information for media students

Resources

Past paper questions

Evaluation

Critical Approaches to Film Analysis

Documentary

Stories We Tell: Initial discussion 2024 and 'documentary truth'

Stories We Tell: Initial Discussion 2023

Exploring the notion of documentary truth 

How 'real' is Stories We Tell (2012)? (initial discussion)

Emotional manipulation and diegesis in Stories We Tell

Postmodern theory and documentary form

Stories We Tell - final discussion

Stories We Tell - how can you actually talk about this film in the exam?

Stories We Tell - approaches to analysis MEGAPOST

Surrealism 

Introduction to surrealism: what is surrealism?

Un Chien Andalou - initial discussion and narrative elements

Exploring the surrealist aesthetic: a textual analysis of Un Chien Andalou

L’Age d’Or - discussion and themes

L'Age d'Or and the construction of dream logic

Surrealism as transgression: l'Age d'Or

Building case studies for L'Age d'Or

Exam practice and structure

Examples of surrealist films

French New Wave

Applying auteur theory to French new wave cinema

Ideology

The Battle of Algiers - encoding conflict

Ideology, conflict and District 9

Whiplash - an analysis of the 'not my tempo' scene

Whiplash discussion: Is Terrance Fletcher justified?

Gender, identity and conflict in Whiplash, Battle of Algiers and District 9