Cinema wars Kellner, Douglas M
2010., 2010/01/01, 2009, 2011, 2009-12-15
eBook
Cinema Wars explores the intersection of film, politics, and US culture and society through a bold critical analysis of the films, TV shows, and documentaries produced in the early 2000s Offers a ...thought-provoking depiction of Hollywood film as a contested terrain between conservative and liberal forcesFilms and documentaries discussed include: Black Hawk Down, TheDark Knight, Star Wars, Syriana,WALL-E, Fahrenheit 9/11 and other Michael Moore documentaries, amongst othersExplores how some films in this era supported the Bush-Cheney regime, while others criticized the administration, openly or otherwiseInvestigates Hollywood's treatment of a range of hot topics, from terrorism and environmental crisis to the Iraq war and the culture wars of the 2000sShows how Hollywood film in the 2000s brought to life a vibrant array of social protest and helped create cultural conditions to elect Barack Obama.
In the digital age, we often encounter analog photographs as things that – after having been stored away, lost, or even thrown away – are (re)found. The fascination with such found photographs is ...reflected in a striking way in contemporary essay and documentary film. Found photo films are an essayistic documentary form that has emerged since the turn of the millennium: Films that work with left-behind, rescued, or found convolutions of photographic images, collecting, selecting, and placing them in a new context. They stand in a field of tension between popular aestheticization and re-auratization of analog media in the course of digitalization as well as a long tradition of cinematically reflecting the materiality and mediality of film by working with photography and found footage. Charlotte Praetorius explores such appropriations of analog photographs through a corpus of international films: How do filmmakers relate to photographic found footage? How do the narratives and the narrativity of photography and history intertwine? How is the photographic material arranged and staged? And how can the relationships between different media and materials be grasped? In doing so, Praetorius is also concerned with taking the forms of documentary and essayistic film seriously as a medium for reflecting on (media) history and at the same time also critically questioning them.
Screen documentary has experienced a marked rise in visibility and popularity in recent years. What are the reasons for the so-called 'boom' in documentaries at the cinema? How has television ...documentary met the challenge of new formats? And how do audiences engage with documentaries on screen? Watching the world extends the reach of documentary studies by investigating recent instances of screen documentary and the uses made of them by audiences. The book focuses on the interfaces between textual mechanisms, promotional tactics, and audiences' viewing strategies. Key topics of inquiry are: film and televisual form, truth claims and issues of trust, the pleasures, politics and the ethics of documentary. Case studies include Capturing the Friedmans, Être et Avoir, Paradise Lost, Touching the Void, and wildlife documentaries on television. This compelling and accessible book will be of interest to both students and fans of documentary.
Analyses how independent documentaries are forging a new public sphere in today’s China. There has been an explosion in Chinese independent documentary making since the turn of the twenty-first ...century. How are we to understand this vibrant burst of activity? This timely study is based on detailed interviews with Chinese documentary makers rarely available in English, and insights gained by the author while working as a journalist in Beijing. Through detailed analyses of key contemporary documentary titles, it reveals the ways in which independent films probe, question and challenge the dominant ideas and narratives circulating in China’s state-sanctioned media.Key features: A detailed account of one of the world’s most active, vibrant and challenging contemporary documentary sectors * Draws extensively on first-hand interviews with filmmakers * Offers in-depth, critical analyses of China’s most challenging contemporary independent documentaries * Discusses China’s state-sanctioned film and television sectors to cast new light on how the official public sphere is shaped and guided by the state
Based on detailed onsite observation of documentary production, circulation practices and the analysis of film texts, this book identifies independence as a 'tactical practice', contesting the ...normative definitions and functions assigned to culture, cultural production and producers in a neoliberal economic system.
Now more than ever, activists are using media to document injustice and promote social and political change. Yet with so many media platforms available, activists sometimes fail to have a coherent ...media and communication strategy. Drawing from his experiences as a documentary filmmaker with Black Lives Matter 5280 and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 105 in Denver, Colorado, Gino Canella argues that activist media create opportunities for activists to navigate conflict and embrace their political and ideological differences. Canella details how activist media practices-interviewing organizers, script writing, video editing, posting on social media, and hosting community screenings-foster solidarity among grassroots organizers. Informed by media theory, this book explores how activists are using media to mobilize supporters, communicate their values, and reject anti-union rhetoric. Furthermore, it demonstrates how collaborative media projects can help activists build broad-based coalitions and amplify their vision for a more equitable and just society.
