What Monaco means by the term ‘The Spectrum of the Arts’ is the simplified form of observable arts in today’s society, which are, in Monaco’s words from his book ‘How to read a film’, page 27: the performance arts, which happen in real time, the representational arts, which depend on the established codes and conventions of language (both pictorial and literary) to convey information about the subject to the observer and the recording arts, which provide a more direct path between subject and observer: media not without their own codes but qualitatively more direct than the media of the representational arts. An example of a type of performance art would be a play, as it is something that you experience in real time from a fixed position. However, the way one person experiences a play may be completely different from the way another experiences a play, whereas in film, which is a type of recording art, the director will use certain techniques and shots to curate the way the viewer experiences the film. Basically, the director will try to get the consumer to consume it in a way they desire. Finally, representational arts, such as landscapes, seascapes, portraits, figures and still life’s, are this type of art as they all depict a recognized and actual thing. However, the fact that they are still means they are very open to interpretation, as the artist is not there to change the art or tell someone what their intentions were with this art and how they should consume it.

Battleship Potemkin (1925):  Silent Epic, Historical film, was made to commemorate the Russian Revolution of 1905.

A Bugs Life (1998):  Animation, Mainstream film, made by Disney, was Pixar’s follow up to Toy Story.

The Shape Of Water (2017):  Romantic Fantasy, Mainstream film, directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who’s made quite a few blockbuster films, such as Pacific Rim: Uprising.

The Seven Samurai (1954):  Samurai Action, Art/Historically Significant Film, could be considered art as Japanese action films are quite niche, but this film influenced many westerns, such as The Magnificent Seven.

The Breakfast Club (1985):  Indie Teen Comedy Drama, Mainstream film, most of the cast became quite famous after its release and they were later labelled ‘The Brat Pack’.

The Wizard of Oz (1939):  American Musical Fantasy, Mainstream/Historically Significant Film, was and is extremely popular and influenced many musicals that followed it.

The Magnificent Seven (1960,2016): American Western, Mainstream Film, Is John Sturges’ mainstream interpretation of Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’.

Love Simon (2018):  Romantic Comedy, Mainstream film, talks about closeted gay men in society.

Fitzcarraldo (1982): West German epic adventure-drama, Art Film, the film had a troubled production, as the film’s original star got sick and the replacement was threatened with death by a tribe whose land they were filming on.

Alphaville (1965): Science Fiction Neo-Noir, Art Film, was part of the French new wave movement and doesn’t use any futuristic props or sets as it was all shot in real life Paris.

Most of the films that I have categorised as art films are due to them being in a niche genre or appealing to a niche audience, such as ‘Seven Samurai’. Furthermore, they may contain unconventional or highly symbolic content, which is a key characteristic of art films. For example, the character ‘Alpha 60’ in ‘Alphaville’ shows the deterioration of logical thinking in society due to technology, which is actually quite relevant into today’s soceity.