Analyzing Films

For many years I led a monthly film group sponsored by our Church in the Bay Area. This was not just a fun –let’s get together for fellowship group. While there was fellowship and deepening relationships within the group members, the deeper agenda was to watch contemporary films and analyze them as cultural commentary.  I generally tried to pick films that were at least a bit controversial with reference to popular culture.  This is not the way most of us look at films.  We generally watch for entertainment without thinking critically about the messages being communicated below the surface of the story. I have also taught a seminary level class entitled Theology and Film.  While most of us watch film for entertainment, we need to be aware that there is a worldview and message that is communicated in the story.

One time I picked a particularly controversial film.  A few days later I got a phone call from one of the members of the group, his question: “Why did you choose that film for a group that exists for Christian fellowship? It was really offensive.”  My answer brought him up short.  “I chose that film because it is an accurate portrayal of the worldview and way of thinking of our children’s’ generation.  We look at their generation with disdain and often disgust.  But we generally don’t have a clue where these values come from.  Seeing the values portrayed in films gives us insight as to how our kids and their friends think.”  We don’t have to agree with the narratives—but they can give us a level of understanding of how to approach our kid’s worldviews and figure out a way to touch them where they are.

In serious film analysis, the critic always touches certain bases, even if only to later dismiss them. The following steps are provided to help you in your analyses of films. These steps need not be followed in a rigid, lock-step approach, but it is advisable for now not to skip steps lest you miss a tool that will unlock an otherwise hidden stream of meaning in the film under examination.

I.  THEME.  Does the film have an identifiable theme? Are there sub-themes? If so, do the sub-themes seem comfortably subordinated to the main theme, or is there confusion and an apparent competition of themes.

II.  FORM CRITICISM.  (Employ for all films).

• Was the plot believable; was it enjoyable or disappointing —and how did you arrive at your judgment? 
• Were the characters believable? Were the central characters well developed or two dimensional? 
• Were there special techniques that added to (or detracted from) the action (camera angles? cutting? setting? ambience or texture?  soundtrack?)  
• Did the action move forward at a pace appropriate to the storyline? 
• Was the focus more on the action, or on the development of a character?

III. MAJOR CRITICAL APPROACHES.   

Is there a particular critical approach that seems to be demanded by the film?  If so, what is it, and does it seem to be complemented by other approaches?  Consider the following

•  psychological criticism	•  historical criticism
•  archetypal/myth criticism	•  philosophical criticism
•  sociological criticism	•  ethical criticism
•  political criticism	•  eclectic criticism

(See Glossary Handout for definitions of various types of criticism.)

IV.  STATEMENT.   Did the film simply tell a story, or did it also raise questions and provoke thinking and analysis? Did the film seem to be making a statement, and if so, what would the statement(s) be?

VI.  THEOLOGICAL CRITICISM.  Can you “connect the dots” from its theme and/or statement to an area of theology?  

V. PERSONAL RESPONSE.  What was your personal response to this film? Could you relate it to any past experience, to strongly held beliefs, etc.? Would you see it again?