You are here:

What Is Cinema?

Name: What Is Cinema?
Director: Chuck Workman
Released: 2013
Duration: 80 min

Representation Score

9.0/10

Excellent

2013

Not Rated

Director

Chuck Workman

Runtime

80 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Chuck Workman’s documentary functions as an intellectual survey that prioritizes the deconstruction of traditional norms. Rather than a standard biography, it explores the evolution of film theory through archival and contemporary interviews. The film's strength lies in its refusal to treat cinema as a neutral medium. By centering frameworks like Postmodernism and Post-colonialism, it challenges traditional hierarchies and promotes an multi-layered understanding of the moving image. However, the focus on academic discourse means the film lacks specific, agentic character portrayals. This theoretical approach limits the direct representation of lived experiences, particularly regarding disability.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does What Is Cinema? have LGBTQ+ representation?

Good

The film offers a sophisticated look at how cinematic language intersects with identity. It incorporates the evolution of Queer Theory to validate non-straight perspectives within film criticism.

How does What Is Cinema? portray gender?

Good

This documentary examines how cinema has historically constructed and maintained gender hierarchies. It moves beyond simple representation to provide a systemic analysis of gendered visual language.

How racially and ethnically diverse is What Is Cinema??

Good

The work documents the introduction of Post-colonialism and Critical Race Theory into cinematic discourse. This provides a platform to discuss how race and ethnicity are mediated through the camera.

How does What Is Cinema? represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film excels by deconstructing traditional Western institutions and exploring subjective morality. It frames cinema as a complex struggle involving shifting power dynamics and critiques of Western dominance.

Does What Is Cinema? include disability representation?

Fair

Specific depictions of disability are limited due to the film's theoretical focus. It lacks agentic character portrayals, focusing instead on how human experiences are interpreted through the gaze.

Present on Screen

Effectively utilizes academic frameworks like Post-colonialism to challenge film history's homogeneity.
Provides a sophisticated analysis of how cinematic language intersects with identity and Queer Theory.
Successfully deconstructs Western hegemony and traditional institutional power dynamics through film theory.

Limited or Absent

Lacks specific, agentic character portrayals, particularly regarding disability and physical ability.
Operates primarily within Western-leaning academic circles, which may limit broader racial perspectives.
Prioritizes theoretical deconstruction over direct, biographical representation of diverse individuals.

Official Synopsis

Using the words and ideas of great filmmakers, from archival interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Bresson to new interviews with Mike Leigh, David Lynch, and Jonas Mekas, Oscar-winning filmmaker Chuck Workman shows what these filmmakers and others do that can't be expressed in words - but only in cinema.

How are these scores produced? →