Cinema from History to Heritage: Steps towards Safeguarding the Cinematic Heritage

Document Type : Original Article

Author

PhD program in University of Helwan- Heritage and Museum studies Department

Abstract

The seventh art is the most popular form of media that helped
shaping the world's consciousness during the Twentieth Century.
At the same time, cinema is of great significance as it can
safeguard the intangible and tangible heritage of different
societies, in addition to their history, values, and philosophy.
Since the art of cinema has been conceived as a national and
global heritage, different countries have begun to identify films
as records of their past, which help to build their future. This
paper argues that cinema has passed through many phases, from
being merely a commercial commodity to being considered a
creative art. In addition, the research highlight on how cinema
has been transformed as recorded history to be a heritage that
must be safeguarded, by cultural entities as the UNESCO, and
film specialists‟ individuals as well.

Keywords