Reddit reviews Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings

Okay, The Power of Film is a very well known book on film in general, its history and importance.

Film Art: An Introduction is another very popular book on film in general, focusing on techniques, criticism, and a little bit of history.

The Oxford Guide to Film Studies seems to be a good introduction to film analysis and study.

Movies and Methods seems to be a frequently recommended book on film criticism. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings seems to be more complex(with an apparently deceptive title), but very popular as well.

The Oxford History of World Cinema is a really great basic book on film history.

I have not read all these books, but I have pdf copies of several and am planning on buying some of these so, please, someone comment if you think one of my recommendations was bad or if you have a better suggestion with a similar subject.

*I added titles.

Absolutely do not get an MA in film studies unless it is fully funded. You will be throwing your money away - and almost surely putting yourself into debt - for a degree with practically zero practical value, that in most cases will be treated by its university as a slightly embarrassing cash-cow needed to fund the programs they actually care about.

The exception, again, is if you find a program that's fully funded (or more likely, get a full scholarship to a program that's otherwise not). They do exist, but you'll have to get pretty lucky to get one of the slots. In which case you will still be wasting your time (in a rational economic sense), but at least you won't be further in the hole.

Do you even like film studies? This isn't an idle question. Here's what I suggest. Find a copy of this book , or one like it, and read a half-dozen essays, whichever catch your eye. Are they in the least bit interesting to you? Or do they make your eyes hurt and your head swim? If the latter, you should not be doing film studies.