This paper is divided into three parts, the first discussing the necessary conditions for an adequate response to Godard and Gorin's film "Vent d'Est." It is suggested that the film demands both cinematic and political sophistication on the part of the viewer and that the audience must accept the flatness, the "deconstruction" of the cinematic image, and be guided by the sound track. Part 2, "A Paradigm: 'The Ecology of Film,'" presents a global paradigm which takes into consideration the whole film process from inception to reception, regardless of the historical period the film is received in. The film as a system is divided into six distinct aspects or subsystems of the film process, and the relationships between these subsystems is elaborated on. The third part, "Categories of Audience Response in Film Viewing," offers a second paradigm in which film response is broken down into the following types: simple, compound, complex self-reflective, and complex self-critical. Each of these types of responses is further subdivided into emotional, intellectual, and a combination of both. It is asserted that there is no such thing as a "pure aesthetic" response. (LL)