Neal’s Film School Blog

I have been reading Sandy McKendrick’s book “On Filmmaking” and I have found his approach uniquely candid, unassuming, and eloquent. However, he makes an interesting contradiction in the prologue, when he claims that cinema is simply another language. Indeed, children are exposed to this language even earlier than the spoken and written word (if they can be considered distinct from cinema). McKendrick argues that it is incumbent upon people in today’s society, especially those interested in film, to be fluent in this language. However, he goes on to say that cinema cannot be taught any more than any other art form. My question is this: if cinema is simply another language, and surely language can be taught, then how can it be impossible to teach cinema? Or is it impossible to teach language (the converse)? Seems doubtful, given how many language classes students are forced to take in school…