RTF Fall Colloquium: Charles Ramirez-Berg Book Launch

Celebrate the release of Dr. Ramírez-Berg's newest book, "Essential Film History: The Evolution of Movie Storytelling." A light reception is to follow in the DMC 5th floor lobby. 

RSVP here

"Essential Film History: The Evolution of Movie Storytelling" - by Charles Ramírez Berg and John Bruns

A guide to the fundamentals of understanding film history, filmmaking, and film appreciation.

Film is not just a medium; it is also a language—and a global one at that. "Essential Film History" describes how this language emerged and how it has matured over the course of more than 125 years. Beginning with the experiments of the late nineteenth century, and tracking the development of cinematic storytelling, commercial distribution, and audience reception into the era of digital recording, Charles Ramírez Berg and John Bruns offer a comprehensive course in both the history and artistry of film.

"Essential Film History" breaks cinematic language into three core components: image, sound, and narrative. Between the 1890s and 1940s, this audiovisual language both consolidated and spread, becoming comprehensible worldwide. Since then, filmmakers have adapted and extended the language of cinema to suit an ever-growing range of aesthetic and narrative projects, from documentaries and full-length animation to avant-garde and made-for-TV movies. Covering major figures, studios, and events as well as key technological and sociopolitical developments, Essential Film History is an indispensable guide to the evolution of cinematic style.

Visit the Media Studies Colloquium page to learn more.