Mikel J. Koven states: >Film studies may be a much stronger discipline if theoretical concepts >were applied to actual filmgoing experiences. I agree completely. There seems to be a large gap in film scholarship between the filmmaker's intentions and the audience's reading. The viewer as active participant is too often ignored. Right now I'm doing a study of how children engage the film texts offered to them. I'm receiving some very interesting feedback. For instance, many adults believe most Disney animated features to be very reactionary in that the conflicts are always resolved with the re-establishment of the patriarchal, heterosexual order. But I recently asked two 8-year-old girls what they thought of "Beauty and the Beast," and they both said they were very dissapointed that the beast changed into a man at the end because he was "boring" now. This Disney text led them to conclude that the traditional heterosexual couple (at least in this specific instance) is unsatisfying! Now I'm not claiming "Beauty and the Beast" is a subversive film, but these two girls gave something of a subversive reading to it. In all the criticism I have read on the film, such a possibility has never been considered. Check out the film criticism of Robin Wood for a smart scholar who takes into consideration the active interpretation of the audience. Jerry ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]