College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of Southern California
• New York University
• California Institute of the Arts
• Columbia University
• Emerson College

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of California—Los Angeles
• University of Texas—Austin
• University of North Carolina School of the Arts
• Florida State University

Classes in the Major

Film Theory. When you watch a movie, you don't just take in the scenes and performances. You also participate in what Lacan calls "the gaze." In your film theory class, you'll learn all about that (aka your role in the movie as the viewer) along with a bunch of other theories. Formalist, Marxist, Structuralist, Apparatus, Auteur, you name it. There are lots of theories pertaining to the ways viewers engage with film. By the end of a film theory class, you'll be able to talk about the ideological nature of films like nobody's business. (That's apparatus theory, by the way).

American Film. There's a reason Hollywood is a hot spot for film types—that's where the majority of avant-garde or cutting-edge films are made. An American film course will teach you how film has changed over the past hundred years from silent movies to full-blown war epics. You'll also study the effect American cinema has had on other cultures. Chances are, you'll watch also the classics and analyze them to death. Hey, we love us some Casablanca.

Cinematic Art. TV and film might be recent additions to the performing arts world, but they sure have made their impact. You'll be asked to study different cinematic techniques that big shots like Spielberg and Scorsese use to tell their story or evoke an emotion. These courses will also give you insight into gender and race as it's portrayed in films, like what Blaxploitation was and why it was so controversial. Plus, you'll get the chance to create your own films for practice.

Digital Media and Culture. Imagine a world without technology. Go ahead. We'll wait. Without technology, you couldn't read Shmoop (gasp), check your iPhone, or post a Tweet about how much you love technology. Like a lot of other professionals, filmmakers need technology to earn a living. A digital media and culture course discusses the impact that technology has had (and will have) on today's society. Our general sense of humor has vastly changed, for example. Why we laugh at a toddler repeatedly insisting that he smells of beef is beyond Shmoop's scope of knowledge.

Visual Communication. Did you know that villains are lit from below to make them seem more evil? Or that when things move from right to left, it seems like a difficult journey? In your visual communication courses, you'll go over these tidbits and much more. A lot of the way we communicate with one another through images relies on perceptions and perspectives—our own, our culture's, our history's, you name it. These courses will teach you all about Lester's six major perspectives as well as the ideas behind graphicacy and gestalt.