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Film & Media Studies Research Guide

Film-related LC (Library of Congress) Subject Headings

In the library catalog, books, videos and other materials are assigned Library of Congress (LC) subject headings based on their content. Here is a sample list of film-related subject headings, some of which pertain equally to books and videos (visual materials). When you view catalog records in Library Search, these subject headings display as active links pointing to other items with the same subject.

This is not an exhaustive list of subject headings pertinent to film studies, but it should give you a sense of commonly used vocabulary and how subject headings are structured.

Sample Subject Headings

African American women in motion pictures (for works discussing how African American women are portrayed in films)

African Americans in motion pictures

African Americans in the motion picture industry (for works discussing African-American involvement in films)

Cinematography

Cinematography--History

Documentary films (Link searches for books only.)

Documentary films--History and criticism

Documentary films--Production and direction

Feminism and motion pictures

Hitchcock, Alfred,1899-1980--Criticism and interpretation

Hitchcock, Alfred 1899-1980--Interviews

Melodrama in motion pictures

Motion picture acting

Motion picture--Actors and actresses (Link searches for books only.)

Use as a subject instead of Stardom. Related subject headings include Fame--Social aspects and Celebrities in mass media.

Motion picture industry--California--Los Angeles

Motion picture industry--California--Los Angeles--History

Motion picture industry--United States

Motion picture producers and directors (Link searches books only.)

Motion pictures and literature

Motion pictures--Censorship

Motion Pictures--China (Link searches for books only.)

Motion Pictures--India (Link searches for books only.)

Motion pictures--Moral and ethical aspects

Motion pictures--Periodicals (For journals and magazines about film.)

Motion pictures--Production and direction (Link searches for books only.)

Motion pictures--Reviews

Motion pictures--United States (Link searches for books only; retrieves a large number of results.)

Motion Pictures--History (General works about the film history. Link searches for books only.)

Motion pictures--United States--History (Link searches for books only; retrieves a large number of results.)

Motion pictures, French. Compare results to Motion pictures--France.

Motion pictures--Philosophy

Motion pictures--Psychological aspects

Psychoanalysis and motion pictures

Stardom - see: Motion picture actors and actresses; Television actors and actresses; Fame; Fame--social aspects; Celebrities; Celebrities in mass media; Internet personalities

Violence in motion pictures

War films--United States--History and criticism

World War, 1939-1945--Motion pictures and the war (Includes studies about films depicting World War II.)