Is there an honorable objection to the serious, humanistic study of film? The idea of humanities is, grammatically and institutionally, fixed in the plural. Thoreau is the only writer I know who uses the singular of ''humanities" to refer to a kind of knowledge. His speaking of a humanity is a part of his characteristic exaggeration, implying not merely that the humanities are one with one another, as the sciences are parts of science, but furthermore that they are not even one branching of knowledge separate from the branching of the sciences, and indeed not even separate from divinity (or from what at any rate deserves to be called divinity). For normal people, however, who bitterly accede to the plurality of humanities, what position is there from which we should credit the suggestion that film is not one of their proper objects, or subjects? Was it not promised us that one day we might each become accomplished in any branch of labor we wished; to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, raise cattle in the evening, and criticize after dinner? A university is perhaps not the best place for all these activities, but then these were surely only meant parabolically. Isn't a university the place in our culture that enables us now to teach one thing today and learn another tomorrow, to hunt for time to write in the morning, fish for a free projector in the afternoon, try to raise money for projects in the evening, and after a seminar read criticism? To some this will not seem a Utopian set of activities, but in the meantime, and for those with a taste for this particular disunity, why not have it