Film theory

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Main articles:Film theoryandPhilosophy of language film analysis

"Film theory" seeks to develop concise and systematic concepts that apply to the study of film asart. The concept of film as an art-form began withRicciotto Canudo'sThe Birth of the Sixth Art.Formalist film theory, led byRudolf Arnheim,Bla Balzs, andSiegfried Kracauer, emphasized how film differed from reality, and thus could be considered a valid fine art.Andr Bazinreacted against this theory by arguing that film's artistic essence lay in its ability to mechanically reproduce reality not in its differences from reality, and this gave rise to realist theory. More recent analysis spurred byJacques Lacan's psychoanalysis andFerdinand de Saussure'ssemioticsamong other things has given rise topsychoanalytical film theory,structuralist film theory,feminist film theoryand others. On the other hand, critics from theanalytical philosophytradition, influenced byWittgenstein, try to clarify misconceptions used in theoretical studies and produce analysis of a film's vocabulary and its link to aform of life.