Theorizing the Moving Image

Description

A selection of essays written by one of the leading critics of film over the last two decades, this volume examines theoretical aspects of film and television through penetrating analyses of such genres as soap opera, documentary, comedy, and such topics as 'sight gags', film metaphor, point-of-view editing, and movie music. Throughout, individual films are considered in depth. Carroll's essays, moreover, represent the cognitivist turn in film studies, containing in-depth criticism of existing approaches to film theory, and heralding a new approach.

"Professor Carroll has, in one densely packed collection of thought-provoking essays, forever changed the past, present and future of film theory. His rationale reintroduces creativity to a genre burdened with well-intentioned, but ultimately binding and counter-productive rules imposed by an emerging pool of critics. Professor Carroll answers his own critics with clarity and objectivity, and gives logical arguments in favor of a new approach. This volume will, no doubt, perplex and provoke students of film theory for years to come." Midwest Book Review "For its breadth of scholarship, its fecundity of ideas, and its rigor in argument, Theorizing the Moving Image deserves a place on the shelves of anyone interested in the study of film." Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism