Film, Television, and Popular Culture Studies

This guide will help you find and research films, media, pop culture, and television.

Reference Books

Why Use Reference Sources?

Yes, of course, you can always "Google" a film term. But specialized dictionaries like the ones listed here are written with film studies scholars in mind. Use these sources to dig deeper into the context of film terminology. 

Use these collections to gather background information like actor/actress biographies, film overviews, film terms and definitions, film reviews, film credits, and more.

Featured titles:

Background information through Holman Library

Background Information

Gale Ebooks is a great place to check for overview articles. Use the link below and try a search using simple keywords.

Using OneSearch

  • You can also search for reference articles in OneSearch, the main search box on the library's homepage. There you can use the tools on the left to limit to Reference, under Resource Types

Searching Historical Context

Additional Reference Sources

Reference sources online

Media Studies Reference on the Open Web

Selected Encyclopedias

History of American Cinema

Check the library's Reference collection to explore the following History of American Cinema series, a decade by decade look at film in history.