Specificity theory is an argument that seeks to differentiate the cinema from other media to rigorously determine what it formally does best. Panofsky(“Style and Medium in the Motion Pictures,”),
Specificity theory is an argument that seeks to differentiate the cinema
from other media to rigorously determine what it formally does best.
Panofsky(“Style and Medium in the Motion Pictures,”), Arnheim(“Film and
Reality” and “The Making of a Film,”), Bazin( “Theater and Cinema,”),
and Munsterberg(The Film: A Psychological Study) tried to articulate the
unique qualities of film by separating the medium from theater and
other formats. Although Sergei Eisenstein’s writings were intended to do
the same, the delivery seems to complicate (or perhaps compromise)
specificity. In this paper, discuss Eisenstein(“Beyond the Shot,” 13-24;
“The Dramaturgy of Film Form,” 24-40) and Panofsky’s attempts to
theorize medium specificity, while noting the moments of adulteration in
their argument. Do their views comport with the tenets of specificity?
Be sure to clearly define the stakes of specificity theory via Arnheim
and Carroll (possibly Clement Greenberg) in your paper.
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