World Films Top 10 List
4 videos • 147 views • by ThisVsThat The term World cinema is not the sum-total of all films made around the world. Rather, it is analogous to the use of the term "World literature". Johann Wolfgang von Goethe used the concept Weltliteratur in the early 19th century, to describe the international circulation and reception of literary works across Europe. His definition also included works of non-European authorship. Similarly, an interest in "world cinema" suggests an awareness of cinematic production, apart from the Hollywood Studio System which dominates international viewership. The term is oft used to refer the film and film industries of both English-Speaking and the Non-English-Speaking world. Therefore, equating a dominant form of cinema with its dominant language (E.g. Labeling Hollywood Film Production as English Cinema), is inaccurate and misleading. Furthermore, English films are produced across a varied geography, representing a diverse range of countries and cultures, across all continents; E.g. Canada in North America, England in Europe, South Africa in Africa, India in Asia and Australia. Yet, due to their marginal status in terms of access or viewership, they are included under the umbrella of "world cinema". Arguably, the understanding of "world cinema" as a complement of Hollywood cinema maybe a Eurocentric interpretation. Alternatively, the term foreign film is used as a synonym. "Foreign" is also a relative term, suggestive of a Western viewpoint. One person's national cinema can be another's foreign film. In fact, American independent cinema may be considered part of "world cinema" as it does not have the global, dominate or even adequate access, available to the American Hollywood cinema. Technically, foreign film does not mean the same as foreign language film, but the implication is that a foreign film is not only foreign in terms of the country of production, but also in terms of the language used. Thus, the use of the term foreign film for films produced in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or other English-speaking countries would be uncommon within other English-speaking countries