Post Theory, 1996-Present

 

    For this week's blog post, I wanted to talk about how film theory has impacted the present times. After reading chapter 4 of McDonald’s book, I have noticed that even today film theory plays a significant role today. The thing about film theory is, it is constantly changing based on what is going on in the current state of the world. According to McDonald, by the end of the 20th century, film theory was a distinct scholarly discourse. I know this to be true, mostly because they have film theory courses in college now which I am currently taking. McDonald goes on to discuss how film theory gained recognition and was integrated into the Anglo-American university system, often as part of humanity departments like literature. It is also interesting that we have so much more material now to work on in the film theory world. Films have been around for much longer, so there is more history, knowledge, information, and problems. McDonald claims that despite its overall success film theory is at a turning point. The current state of film theory that we are in is called Post theory, and it does come with a lot of shifts.  

  

    When I look at some of the older films we have watched in class, I would think that movies today would get a lot more praise, and approval, because they are a lot more complex in terms of equipment, material, budget, and even popularity. I have learned over our film theory discussions that is simply not the case. Well, we may have more resources to put into movies today, nothing will ever compare to a lot of the classics that were constructed to be a masterpiece. According to McDonald, the innovative approach promised, unrenewed focus on the general principles of sound scholarship: a pragmatic emphasis on problem solving and developing evidence supported. McDonald then goes on to say the only real benefits of these shifts is their ability to introduce unfamiliar terms and figures, expanding the overall range of intellectual resources at the disposable film studies. 

  

    It is incredibly interesting to think that just with some time, film would have such a major shift with culture. While reading about the shift and culture, I discovered through McDonald that the change is not good or bad, it is simply different. Eventually, films will take another shift to where they will become much different once again. What I have discovered during the semester of school in film theory class is that whether you were watching an old, black-and-white movie, or a new box office hit, they all have something to offer. They all have something that other movies do not, they all have different perspectives, and mostly they all have different histories. I will continue reading as film theory develops more throughout the years, and I look forward to what will come next.