7.1–Introduction

No good film is too long and no bad film is short enough.^[1]
—Roger Ebert, “Reviews: Joe’s Apartment”

Film, or as we commonly call it—the movies—or as grandma and grandpa call it—the picture show—is a visual medium for storytelling. When we use terms like “movie” and “picture show” they indicate the fact that a film is a series of pictures put to motion and made visible for a viewing audience. In the way that we turn pages in a book, swipe one way or another on a Kindle, or fast-forward on Audible, film—as a visual text—is its own mode and form of narrative, one that tells a story and makes a persuasive argument through its form and content without a leading or major focus on the written word. Watching movies can be a cathartic engagement a viewer tackles alone, or it can be a social activity, as so many of us get together in darkened theatres (post-pandemic) to experience a story play out on the big screen. We access movies through streaming platforms, gaming consoles, and theatre houses, and we watch them on televisions, tech-comm devices, and big screens. A critical study of cinema might point out that a term such as “film” refers to the material creators use to capture images. However, most contemporary movies are shot digitally and our discussion does not focus on techniques of filmmaking. In this chapter, words to describe this form of literature (film, movie, production, text) will be used interchangeably, and terms in bold should be considered specific to the study of cinema.