Nitya Lal

1543260

Thinking Through Film

345-101-MQ

Group 00017
September 2nd, 2015

AmericaThroughFilm:Part1:Chapter1
IntroductiontotheStudyofFilmFormandRepresentation
InthefirstchapterofAmericaonFilm,byHarryM.BenshoffandSean
Griffin,filmformandtherepresentationofrace,class,gender,andsexualityinfilmwere
explained.Itisimportanttounderstandandgaininsightonhowdifferentgroupsof
Americansareportrayedinfilm,sincemoviesactivelycontributetowhatpeople
understandintherealworld.

Filmformiswhatseparatesafilmfromashortstory.Itisacombinationof
content,whattheworkisabout,andform,themannerinwhichitisexpressed.
Understandingtheartisticchoicesofafilmisjustasimportantasunderstandingtheplot,
sinceitaffectsthewaythestoryisunderstood.Thefivebasicelementsinfilmformare
literarydesign,visualdesign,cinematography,editing,andsounddesign.Theseaxes
havethepowertoalterthewayanindividualwillviewacharacter.Anegativeportrayal
couldbegiventoacharacterjustbyutilizingthesefivebasicelements.Hollywoodhas
usedtheseaestheticqualitiestoaffecthowAmericansviewrace,class,gender,sexuality,
andabilityinreallife.

AlthoughequalityisthebasicideologyandfundamentalrightinAmerica,
discriminationwasstillprominentduringthe1700s.Filmreinforcesovergeneralized
conceptsaboutgroupsofpeople,creatingstereotypes.Becauseofstereotypes,certain
groupsofpeopleareviewedassuperiorthanothers.Minoritygroups,typesofpeople
withlesspowerthanothers,arealienatedfromAmericansocietyandgivenlessrightsas

Nitya Lal
1543260

Thinking Through Film

345-101-MQ

Group 00017
September 2nd, 2015

opposedtodominantgroups.Ideologiesthatarebasedonstereotypesaboutminority
groupsarepresentinsocietyandtheyblindindividualsfromthefactthattheycomefrom
opinionsinsteadoffacts.

Intodaysday,manytheoristsbelievethatthemediahassomuchpowerthatit
hasbecomemoreinfluentialinculturalideasthanreligions,familyandschoolsdo
combined.Becauseofthis,culturesthatareportrayedasgoodinfilmhavebecome
preferred.Subculturesalsohavesomepowerandeffectsonthedominatingcultures,
bringingcommodifiedandincorporatedaspectsintothedominatingculture.

Inthepastcoupleofdecades,peoplehavetriedtounderstandthedifferent
culturesoftheworld,researchingconceptsinideologyandculture.Whenideasfrom
differentpartsoftheworldareshowninAmericanmedia,theyareoftenreconstructed
versionsofthetruth.Somestudyhowthemediainterpretscultureandshowsit,using
representationalsystems.Therearetwostagesofcomprehendingmeaningthroughtext,
calledencodinganddecoding.Encodingiswhenfilmmakersplacemeaningintotextand
decodingunderstandsthemeaningofatext.Itiseasierforproducersandreadersto
understandtextwhentheyareofthesamecultureaseachother.Textscanbeinterpreted
indifferentways.Decodingtextsexactlythewaytheywereencodediscalleddominant
readings,oppositionalreadingsiswhenideologicalassumptionsarequestioned,and
negotiatedreadingsiswhenaspectsthatareencodedareresisted.

Nitya Lal
1543260

Thinking Through Film

345-101-MQ

Group 00017
September 2nd, 2015

Mostofthetime,Hollywoodfilmmakersdontwantviewerstoquestionthe
waytheymadetheirfilms.However,onecantevernullifyideologicalaspectsinfilm.
Theycanonlydisregardthem.