| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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General Questions to Always Ask Yourself After Seeing a Film
1. Was the film entertaining?
Films that do not hold our attention are not likely to elicit further thought and study. I highly value the entertainment potential of films, and dread the thought that my film class or film book might rob anyone of the potential pleasure in seeing a film. As bell hooks so aptly says:
“…again and again I find myself stressing to students…that thinking critically about a film does not mean that I have not had pleasure in watching the film.” (hooks, 1996:4)
2. What did I learn from the movie?
Bell hooks also attests to the great role of film as a teaching medium. She says:
“Most of us go to movies to enter a world that is different from the one we know and are most comfortable with. And even though most folks will say that they go to movies to be entertained, if the truth be told, lots of us, myself included, go to movies to learn stuff. Often what we learn is life-transforming in some way. I have never heard anyone say that they chose to go to a movie hoping it would change them utterly – that they would leave the theatre and their lives would never be the same – and yet there are individuals who testify that after seeing a particular film they were not the same. Much of what Jeanette Winterson attributes to the power of the literary texts…is equally true of cinematic narratives. She contends: ‘Strong texts work along the borders of our minds and alter what already exists. They could not do this if they merely reflected what already exists.’” (hooks, 1996:2)