您的专属阅读伙伴，提供好书推荐、精彩笔记、精美书单，帮你3分钟快速了解一本书
您的专属阅读伙伴，提供好书推荐、精彩笔记、精美书单，帮你3分钟快速了解一本书
David Bordwell / Harvard University Press / 1991年10月01日
"Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema" by David Bordwell is a comprehensive exploration of film criticism and interpretation. In this book, Bordwell delves into the history of film criticism while simultaneously analyzing the inferential and rhetorical processes involved in understanding and evaluating films. He examines how viewers draw meanings from cinematic works, discussing the role of context, cultural knowledge, and critical reasoning in shaping our understanding of films. By blending historical perspective with contemporary theory, Bordwell offers a unique and insightful approach to the study of cinema, making this book an essential read for film scholars, critics, and enthusiasts alike.
可滚动、双指缩放查看
Book Summary
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: What Is Film Interpretation?
**Cinema as Articulation**: Film is both a medium of expression and a mode of communication.
**Viewer Engagement**: Viewers bring their own experiences and perspectives to the interpretation of films.
**Theoretical Frameworks**: Discusses different theoretical models used for film interpretation.
Chapter 1: Constructionist Theory and the Practice of Interpretation
**Subjectivity of Meaning**: Meanings are not inherent in films but constructed by the viewer.
**Inference**: Viewers use prior knowledge and experience to fill in gaps in visual information.
**Rhetorical Devices**: Filmmakers use various rhetorical strategies to guide audience interpretation.
Chapter 2: Narrative as a Cognitive Structure
**Story Comprehension**: How viewers understand and remember narrative elements.
**Cognition and Storytelling**: The brain processes spatial, temporal, and causal relationships in narratives.
**Narrative Structure**: Examines linear and non-linear storytelling structures.
Chapter 3: Cinematic Expression and Visual Rhetoric
**Visual Style**: Analyzes how style communicates content and affects interpretation.
**Film Technique**: Discusses how camera movement, editing, and color palette convey meaning.
**Iconography**: The study of recurring visual motifs and their meanings through history.
Chapter 4: Sound, Music, and Voice in Film Semiotics
**Auditory Symbolism**: How sound effects and musical scores contribute to filmic signification.
**Voice-Over**: The use of voice-over narrative as a means of character interiority or commentary.
**Sound Design**: The complex interplay of dialogue, ambient sound, and沉默to create aural environments.
Conclusion: The Contingent Nature of Film Meaning
**Audience Variability**: Different viewers may construct different meanings.
**Cultural Context**: Cultural frameworks shape film interpretation.
**Hermeneutic Circle**: The ongoing process of interpreting, reconsidering, and revising our understanding of films.
Expanded Key Points from Each Section
Introduction: What Is Film Interpretation?
**Cinema as Articulation**:
Filmmaking combines images, sounds, storytelling, and performance articulate ideas.
The interpretation of film involves active engagement with cinematic texts.
**Viewer Engagement**:
Viewers' psychological states, cultural affiliations, and personal histories influence their reading of films.
Active viewers make hypotheses, inferences, and arguments as they watch movies.
**Theoretical Frameworks**:
Offers perspectives from semiotics, structuralism, post-structuralism, and cognitivism to decode cinematic messages.
Chapter 1: Constructionist Theory and the Practice of Interpretation
**Subjectivity of Meaning**:
There is no single "correct" interpretation of a film; meanings arise from viewer interaction.
Meanings are not fixed by filmmakers but are open to multiple readings.
**Inference**:
Viewers infer characters' thoughts, emotions, and actions based on non-verbal cues and narrative progression.
Inferential work creates cohesive narratives from fragments of visual and auditory information.
**Rhetorical Devices**:
Filmmakers use parallel editing, metaphorical visual scenes, and persuasive dialogue to shape meanings.
Rhetorical analysis reveals how films seek to persuade or affect audiences.
