13.1 Foundations of cognitive film theory

Cognitive film theory explores how our brains make sense of movies. It looks at how we use mental processes like memory and problem-solving to understand what's happening on screen. This approach sees viewers as active participants, not just passive watchers.

Unlike other film theories, cognitive theory uses scientific methods and draws from psychology and neuroscience. It focuses on universal mental processes rather than cultural factors or specific films. The goal is to uncover general principles of how we comprehend movies.

Foundations of Cognitive Film Theory

Key principles of cognitive film theory

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• Mental processes shape film comprehension through perception, memory, and problem-solving mechanisms
• Viewers actively construct meaning from films engaging in cognitive processing to interpret content rather than passively receiving information
• Film comprehension relies on schemas (pre-existing knowledge structures) and mental models (dynamic representations of film narrative)
• Cognitive film theory emphasizes universal mental processes focusing on shared cognitive mechanisms across viewers (less emphasis on individual or cultural differences)
• Rational agent model of the viewer assumes viewers make logical inferences and predictions based on film cues
• Film techniques guide viewer attention and cognition through editing, camera movements, and sound influencing cognitive processes (shot-reverse-shot, zooms)

Cognitive vs other film theories

• Emphasizes empirical research and scientific methods contrasting with speculative approaches (psychoanalytic film theory)
• Focuses on mental processes rather than ideological or cultural factors differing from cultural studies approaches
• Positions viewer as active participant in meaning-making contrasting with theories viewing audiences as passive (mass culture theory)
• Takes interdisciplinary approach incorporating insights from psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science
• Less concerned with authorial intent or film as text differing from auteur theory or structuralist approaches
• Aims for generalizable principles of film comprehension contrasting with theories focused on specific films or genres (genre studies)

Mental processes in film viewing

• Perception and attention selectively focus on visual and auditory cues through bottom-up and top-down processing (noticing sudden movements, following main character)
• Memory processes utilize working memory for immediate comprehension and long-term memory for narrative coherence and character development
• Inference and prediction fill gaps in narrative information and anticipate future events based on film cues (predicting plot twists)
• Emotional responses involve cognitive appraisal of film events and empathy/identification with characters
• Schema activation and updating use prior knowledge to interpret film content and modify schemas based on new information (genre expectations)
• Mental simulation imagines alternative scenarios or outcomes and engages in perspective-taking and theory of mind (imagining character motivations)

Cognitive theory's interdisciplinary connections

• Cognitive psychology applies theories of attention, memory, and problem-solving to film and adapts experimental methods for film studies
• Neuroscience conducts brain imaging studies of film viewing and explores neural correlates of film comprehension and emotional responses (fMRI studies)
• Cognitive narratology applies narrative comprehension theories to film and explores how films construct storyworlds
• Embodied cognition examines role of sensorimotor processes in film experience and investigates mirror neuron system and empathy in film viewing
• Cognitive linguistics applies conceptual metaphor theory to film analysis and explores image schemas in visual storytelling (UP IS GOOD)
• Evolutionary psychology considers adaptive functions of narrative and visual processing and investigates universal patterns in film preferences and responses