An invaluable introduction to popular film and the way in which it is studied this book brings together the critical approaches and issues that have sought to define popular film from the 1950s to the present day. It includes discussion of mass culture theory and political economy; auteur theory; genre theory; star studies; historical poetics; screen theory; feminism and cultural studies. Written by specialists, Approaches to popular film is an ideal textbook for students coming to film theory for the first time.