As someone who has written and taught film studies for ten years, Warren Buckland believes that that any discussion or analysis of a film should be grounded in solid theoretical principles. Otherwise we end up making unqualified judgments about a film. However, he also believes in making film theory accessible, by drawing attention to its matter-of-fact meanings and practical value.

Buckland argues that “good theory taught well can transform students’ perception of a film,” he says, “and enable them to critically understand its aesthetic value and social function.”

With a Ph.D. in Film Studies from the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England, and author of both “high” film theory texts (The Cognitive Semiotics of Film, 2000; co-author of Studying Contemporary American Film, 2002) and a best-selling introduction (Teach Yourself Film Studies, second edition, 2003), Buckland has addressed both the novice reader and expert scholar. In his next book, he plans a serious examination of Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster movies.