Abstract
This chapter aims to introduce readers to the semiological film theory of Christian Metz. First, it presents the premises of film semiology and gives a broad outline of its three phases, in which Metz confronts cinema with concepts from linguistics, psychoanalysis, and the notion of enunciation. The accent is then put on Metz’s initial meta-theoretical gesture and on the methodical self-reflection that characterizes his writing throughout. The final section considers the edges of his ‘model’ and shows how its underlying conditions function as prerequisites for the ‘cinematic institu- tion’ that Metz is interested in.
Tröhler, Margrit