Why is Film Studies not respected?

It was more of an observation rather an opinion. I didn't pass comment on the actual subject and the content taught. I also didn't say it was a subject for less intelligent people. I simply said that the people who I know who took Film Studies were not overly intelligent and if I'm perfectly honest, took it because they saw it as a 'doss' subject.

I will hopefully be doing English with Film studies at KCL next year.

The reason why I decided to take the minor in film was because I love the endless interpretations that one can find through watching one film, and how each time you watch the same film you notice new and different things.

I studied Media studies as well as Lit/Lang, and I can honestly say some aspects of the subject have been as challenging for me as English. When interpreting a visual text, you have to be really on the ball in terms of noticing camera angles, use of lighting, the way characters are positioned. I personally found it at times harder than interpreting a written text, especially because it will be gone in a instant.

A lot of people will say that film is not important in society, but when you see Chinese directors risking their lives to portray their art despite the political turmoil in their country, and the risk it imposed on themselves, you can't say for sure that film has no place in helping society develop. I believe some of the bravest people in the world are those who dare to write books that go against the politics in their country or make films.

Sure, it might not save lives in the sense medical advancement does, but their is the opportunity to reach people and give them different opinions and ideas that would have been unavailable to them otherwise.

Are you thinking about studying at university by any chance?

I am yes, I was going to do Criminology and Film Studies then realised that I needed to be realistic so I am hoping to do Social Work next year.

It's always good to do something helpful, but also something you love.

There's people out there who don't do the subject, as they assume they already know everything about it and as a film student at university, that really ****** me off! I'm sure people who do subjects such as Sports studies or Art feel the exact same way. Basically in short people who moan about it are uninformed, undereducated, ignorant, disrespectful, obnoxious ... the list goes on. If you want a career as a dentist because you enjoy it, that's fine, but don't belittle anybody's career choice as they are different to yours which you know absolutely NOTHING about.

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest

*RANT OVER*

Vocational subjects are easier,

That's a massive generalisation. Medicine and law could be considered vocational. My course could be considered vocational. It doesn't make them easy

Honestly, I think it's the people who take Film Studies that give it its bad rep. Thinking back to the people I knew who took Film Studies, they weren't the brightest.

I agree, i'm doing Film Studies now and although some of us work hard at it, including me, so many people slack off and you can tell they're just there to watch films- which we actually rarely do. They hardly ever show up, don't do the homework or further research.

I suppose the main difference between English Literature and Film Studies is that, generally speaking, (there are of course exceptions), literature is able to explore more concepts in more depth than film is able to and therefore requires a deeper level of critical analysis to reach an understanding. In reality (and particularly at A-level) there probably isn't an awful lot of difference in the level of difficulty, but that's just how people seem to view it unfortunately.

You probably don't watch many films right?

I agree in some respects. There were 3 people in my Film Studies class including me & not to sound big headed but I was the only one who did the work and did extra research, most times I was the only one in the class because the other two were 'fed up of not watching films' or 'couldn't be bothered to do the work'. In my opinion the minority of people that do take Film Studies because they enjoy it do actually put in the work. The majority take it expecting to watch films constantly. I think it should be a little more respected, regardless of the content of the subject.

Totally agree with you. I've overheard people in my lesson say before "ugh tell me when we're watching a film beforehand and then i'll come in, if not i won't bother" and then they wonder why they did "crap" on the exam. Hm...