David Bordwell American film theorist and historian Date of Birth: 23.07.1947 Country: USA

1. David Bordwell's Significant Contributions to Film Studies
2. Pioneering Research in Film Theory
3. Neoformalism: A Methodological Approach
4. Criticisms and Influence

David Bordwell's Significant Contributions to Film Studies

David Bordwell is an American film theorist and historian who has played a pivotal role in shaping the discipline of film studies.

Pioneering Research in Film Theory

Drawing inspiration from predecessors such as Noël Burch and art historian Ernst Gombrich, Bordwell's work spans a diverse range of topics, including classical film theory, the history of feature filmmaking, Hollywood and contemporary cinema, and Asian film style. He has made significant contributions to cognitive film theory (e.g., "Narration in the Fiction Film"), historical poetics in film ("Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema"), and critiques of contemporary film theory ("Making Meaning" and "Post-Theory").

Neoformalism: A Methodological Approach

Bordwell's research is often associated with the methodological approach known as "neoformalism," which was more explicitly developed by his wife, Kristin Thompson. Neoformalism is informed by Russian Formalists' distinction between film's perceptual and semiotic properties. The "neo" prefix signifies the significant presence of a cognitivist perspective, with Bordwell's work focusing on the cognitive processes of film spectators. Specifically, he explores how films guide viewers' attention to narratively significant information and deploy defamiliarization.

Neoformalists reject methodologies prevalent in other schools of film studies, such as hermeneutic (interpretive) approaches exemplified by Lacanian psychoanalysis and certain strands of post-structuralism. In "Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies," Bordwell and co-editor Noël Carroll argue against these approaches, claiming that they function as "grand theories" that use films to test pre-established theoretical frameworks rather than illuminating how films themselves work. For theories drawing on the ideas of Saussure, Lacan, Althusser, and/or Barthes, Bordwell and Carroll coined the term "S.L.A.B. theory."

Criticisms and Influence

While neoformalism has had its critics, including Slavoj Žižek (whom Bordwell himself has critiqued), its validity is largely unchallenged. Critics such as Žižek contend that neoformalism underplays the role of culture and ideology in shaping film texts and that analysis should uncover the problematic values of the societies that produce them.

Despite these critiques, Bordwell's immense influence on film theory and history is undeniable. Many of his concepts have reportedly "become part of the theoretical canon in film criticism and scholarship."