Opening Comments and Welcome!

Firstly, I'd like to welcome anyone who happened to stumble across this blog. If you're here, than you must love movies as much as I do. As Jim Emerson and many others have pointed out, the blogging ream is a great place for serious, relevant discussion about all things related to the movies. Where mainstream journalism fails, blogs fill the void for those interested in film criticism and discussion. Of course, there are thousands of books out there, but in terms of immediacy and the journalistic world of communication we now find ourselves in, the internet has become a haven for people who love the craft of the cinema and film criticism.

So, why me? My own contributions to the discussion of film aren't by any means more valid than any other person's. I am here because I have a passion for the cinema and a passion for writing, which is the holy ground where film criticism is formed. Having been inspired by several noteworthy blogs in the last couple of years, I have finally decided to make my contribution to the stimulating discussion that has been circulating in the blogosphere about cinema. My contributions will be limited at best, as there are certainly more knowledgeable minds out there than me.

But I am student of the cinema with a background in communication studies, an area of study oddly positioned by existing schools of thought in psychology, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy. Film, like all media, adds to the dynamic nature of communication studies and is a central experience to our public and individual consciousness. Studying film in relation to all of these areas of study has enriched my own understanding and knowledge of communication and will hopefully contribute something relevatory to study of these many things. I will have much to say about filmic images, theories of representation, socialization and culture, genre study, and the aesthetic tropes that determine how we view films and shape our own experiences in light of them and vice versa. Interpretation and perception are crucial to this mix and how we as social animals are positioned to react to moving images.

I will deal with all of these concepts individually and in relation to each other, and I hope to spark vibrant discussion amongst readers. I look forward to engaging your perspectives and others as I make my first venture into the Cinema's blogging realm.