MA Film Studies / Course details

This course examines the uses and the social lives of cinema by considering the ways in which cinema has been circulated, exhibited, and received by different groups of people all over the world, from the mid-twentieth century onwards. The first part of the module explores the discourses around film exhibition, distribution and reception. Then, building on these ideas, the second part of the module surveys the ways in which cinema has been used to build and reify different kinds of communities, from empires and colonies to subcultures and movements of resistance. Distribution, exhibition and reception practices that will be explored include dementia-friendly screenings, midnight movies, and film festivals. Films that we will study include Crazy Rich Asians, The Rocky Picture Horror Show, and Atlantiques.

• To explore the different modes of film spectatorship and reception in the context of their particular social, political and economic histories
• To develop an understanding of the social and civic uses of cinema by different institutions, filmmakers and audiences
• To encourage students to think about cinema beyond the film text by critically examining different distribution, exhibition and reception approaches

• Distinguish key theories of film spectatorship and reception
• Demonstrate and apply a working knowledge of issues around processes of film distribution, exhibition and reception from across a world of cinemas
• Apply a range of significant theories and approaches to the independent analyses of cinema and film

• Use appropriate theory and methodology to analyse cinema beyond the filmic text
• Identify the social, political or ethical issues raised by different distribution, exhibition and reception strategies and practices
• Effectively use primary and secondary sources, including in contexts where data is incomplete and where careful interpretive work is required

• Research academic and non-academic materials, and evaluate sources
• Plan, undertake and evaluate independent critical projects
• Communicate research material and ideas clearly both verbally and in writing

• Ability to analyse concepts, techniques, methods, study materials (et cetera) independently and with others
• Communicate effectively through discussion, presentation and in writing, including when discussing complex and controversial subject matter
• A willingness to ascertain the ethical implications of proposed courses of actions or situations and to take the necessary steps to ensure that result from this analysis

Indicative bibliography

Stacey, Jackie, 1994. Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship, London: Routledge.

Marks, Laura, 2000. The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Klinger, Barbara, 1997. ‘Film History Terminable and Interminable: Recovering the Past in Reception Studies’, in Screen 38: 2, pp. 107 – 128.

Willemen, Paul, 2006. ‘For a Comparative Film Studies’, in Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 6: 1, pp. 98 – 112.

Taylor-Jones, Kate, 2017. Divine Work, Japanese Colonial Cinema and Its Legacy, London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Dovey, Lindiwe, 2014. Curating Africa in the Age of Film Festivals, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Dudrah, Rajinder, 2012. Bollywood Travels: Culture, Diaspora and Border Crossings in Popular Hindi Cinema, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Vélez-Serna, Maria, 2020. Ephemeral Cinema Spaces: Stories of Reinvention, Resistance and Community, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

Indicative filmography

A Separation (2011, Asghar Farhadi)

Desperately Seeking Susan (1984, Susan Seidelman)

The Farewell (2019, Lulu Wang)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018, Jon M. Chu)

Momotaro’s Sea Eagles (1942, Mitsuyo Seo)

Atlantiques (2019, Mati Diop)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Jim Sharman)