The chapter explores the various ways in which scholars have defined and approached writing about film industry history through discussing how it has been defined and delimited (the object of study); their use of sources and different methodological approaches (what counts as evidence); and its purposes, what scholars seek to explain.
It does so by analyzing a range of seminal and illustrative studies beginning with foundational studies from the mid-1980s that focused on Hollywood through to more recent studies which have broadened attention to include other national and transnational cinemas and which recognize that film has become part of an interconnected group of media industries.
It demonstrates that the nature of “film” itself has been debated as well as what constitutes the “industry” and considers the differences between economic histories that focus on the industry’s commercial characteristics and those that encompass its broader social, cultural, and political impact. A concluding section considers what are emergent preoccupations and argues for the continued relevance of focusing on film both as an industrial practice and as a historical object.
