Film - History and Movements

When viewed as a Humanity, the Film course is a tremendous look at history and culturally relevant pieces of history, encapsulated and petrified for eternity. Using that premise, the first portion of the Film course is to see how history and culture in context affects the creation of media (mainly, film and movies). Film as a medium becomes something new with each new change in function and form. For Silent Film, we see that Film is Visual. For German Expressionism, we see that Film is Artistic. For Russian Formalism, we see that Film is Propaganda. For Film Noir, we see that Film is Rebellious. For Italian Neorealism, we see that Film is Social. For the French New Wave, we see that Film is Philosophic. For Film Appreciation, we see that Film is Entertaining.

The Film movements that we will study are the most readily available to us in America (as they are mainly based in European culture), but the movements selected are by no means comprehensive nor is it implied that European culture is solely impactful on world culture. Film students are always encouraged to research and approach any other films or cultures that interest them as they move through the 20th century of film history.

Many films that are used as anchor films for each individual Movement of Film unit are free for viewing in the Online Films tab.