Symptomatic interpretation is a widely-used critical strategy in film and media studies that may be improved upon by further dialogue with medicine. This dissertation attempts just such a dialogue---via an interdisciplinary examination of medical diagnosis, narrative medicine, entertainment-education, and past and present modes of film and media symptomatic interpretation.

Based upon this analysis, a model of "diagnostic interpretation" is proposed. In keeping with the medical distinction between symptoms (the aches and pains that the patient subjectively reports to the doctor) and signs (what the doctor observes directly on or in the patient's body), a similar distinction is carved out with a model for diagnostic interpretation: Symptoms are articulated as residing within the "minds" of the spectators, whereas signs (which are often the cause of symptoms) are understood as residing in the "bodies" of the films. Similar to medical practice, a diagnosis is constructed by (1) asking spectators to recount their symptoms, and (2) then (and only then) examining the body of the film for its signs as thrown into relief by the reported symptoms. This experience is then written as a narrative of its own discovery, and crucially includes the subjectivity of the diagnostician. As with a medical diagnosis---in which objective validity is arguably less important than how helpful said diagnosis is to the patient---this critical mode tables the question of validity-in-interpretation and focuses instead on constructing actionable and compelling narratives that fit a specific context and given situational need.