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Media Arts & Culture

Film Reviews / Film Criticism

Film reviews are written by journalists, with the intention of communicating the review to the general public, describing the plot, characters, cast, and director. The goal of a film review is to help the reader assess whether or not they want to watch the movie. Film reviews are published around the weeks and months when the film is released.  A film review is a primary source that tells you what thoughts were around the time that the film was released. 

Scholarly criticism of a film analyzes the plot, characters, and cinematic techniques. Criticism compares the film with other films in the genre, or might apply a specific theory to the film. Criticism often considers the historical and cultural significance of the film with the goal of advancing scholarly communication. While reviews are published around the time of release, scholarly criticism could be published years or decades after the release of the film. 

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