This interdisciplinary field covers the impact that film has on culture and the impact culture has on film. While many people watch movies for enjoyment, academics ask questions about whether movies are forms of art. In the online film journal Senses of Cinema, professor Ove Christensen of Denmark's Aalborg University said when film technology was first developed it was originally seen as a mechanical transmission of visual images. Therefore it wasn't clear whether it was identifiable as art. Art was once built around the idea of an artist as the center of the artwork. But the traditional idea of an artist was someone who created something new with her hands, instead of recording something in the environment.
In his book "Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man," Marshall McLuhan declared "medium is the message." This meant that film is not just a way to transmit information, but creates changes in culture itself. The content contained in the film might have a cultural message, but the act of going to a movie theater to is a cultural phenomenon on its own. For example, date night in American culture often includes "dinner and a movie." The relationship between the film and culture can be analyzed not only through the film itself but also through how the film is promoted, distributed and received by the culture.
Our interest in film comes from our interest in our own environment, said Avila University film professor Henry Bacon in The Journal of Moving Image Studies. The structures of the world influence the structures of cinema, just as the structures of the world influence people. For example, if someone is interested in love, an aspect of the environment, that person might also be interested in romance films such as "Sleepless in Seattle."
Social reality is constructed by society, with people determining all of the signs and symbols that society uses. For example, in the United States, green is a symbol of the environment. In China, green is a symbol of infidelity. These types of symbols are used in films to create responses in the viewers that are conditioned by cultural expectations. Bacon points out that people socially construct knowledge, such as cultural symbols. For example, horror movies such as "The Ring" have more grays in them because grays are associated with decay in western cultures.
Gestures and facial expressions are a major part of cultural expression and they play a major role in film, with actors and actresses often winning awards based on how they can express emotion. These aspects of film are a part of the idea of objectification. Objectification helps the viewer connect to his fellow human beings, said Bacon in The Journal of Moving Image Studies. By connecting with those in the film through objectification, the viewer can internalize the ideas expressed in the film. For example, in war movies such as "Saving Private Ryan," the protagonists often have tangible personalities so that the viewers can connect with them, while the enemies tend to be generic.
Films convey to viewers the motivations and consequences of actions taken by humanity. This is based on how the filmmaker views the culture. The filmmaker constructs her understanding of culture and the culture is also influenced by the filmmaker. For example, the film "American Beauty" showed the filmmaker's perspective on American suburban culture.
Film theory was sometimes influenced by feminist viewpoints. Feminist film theoretician Claire Johnston argued in the British film journal "Screen" that films allowed men to turn women into the object of their erotic gaze, and that the representation of women in film showed objectification and repression of female sexuality. The influence of the male gaze can be seen in any films that have the camera linger on a female character, such as in "Psycho."