Thompson: Neoformalist Film Analysis

Upon first read, I found this section of Thompson's book rather difficult to follow and comprehend.  However, once I scanned a second time, I believe I was better able to understand her main message.  Thompson's main point is to stress the broadness and flexibility of the neoformalist approach.  On the last page of the section, on page 35, Thompson writes, "Neoformalism assumes that artists are rational agents, making choices they judge appropriate to an end they have in view."  It's important to note that there is a different end goal for every film, other than to be successful.  For example, the creators of Finding Nemo have a different goal in terms of how their viewers should leave the theater compared to the creators of Zero Dark Thirty. Thus, not all films should be judged and criticized by the exact same, cookie cutter method, which is where neoformalism comes in.