Showing papers in "Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television in 2011"
TL;DR: The use of the mass media in the rise of the Labour Party has been investigated in this article. But the authors focus on the role of the media in supporting the success of the party.
Abstract: Understanding the rise of the Labour Party, from its foundation in 1900 as the humble Labour Representation Committee to its landslide general election victory in 1945, is one of the most significant, and most taxing, challenges for historians of 20th-century Britain. A variety of different explanations have been offered in what has become a very extensive literature on the subject: the emergence of class politics, the spectacular decline and fall of the Liberal party, the impact of the world wars, the local activism of the Labour movement. In this stimulating and very readable book, Laura Beers offers a fruitful new line of enquiry: the party’s use of the mass media. Labour would not have been able to build an election-winning coalition of voters, Beers argues, without shrewdly employing the technologies of mass communication – above all, national newspapers, BBC radio, and cinema newsreels – to construct an appealing image of the party. ‘The party’s ability to compete successfully in the new arena of mass media politics’ she concludes, ‘played a crucial role’ in sustaining it after the catastrophic split in 1931 and enabling it to win power after Hitler was defeated (p. 202).
25 citations
TL;DR: The last part of the sentence refers to Stendhal's De L'Amour (1822), and implies that technological invention happens as spontaneously, as uncontrollably, as love as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Stendhal)’ (p. 153). The last part of the sentence refers to Stendhal’s De L’Amour (1822), and implies that technological invention happens as spontaneously, as uncontrollably, as love. However, the German original for ‘assemblages’ is ‘Basteleien und Montagen’ (Optische Medien, Berlin: Merve, 2002, p. 208), meaning ‘bricolages’, so caution is advisable here. The key is that Kittler is not ‘ahistorical’, nor is he a crude technological determinist (see his insistence on the tension between economics and science, p. 220, or between the developments of math and linear perspective, p. 52). As he states early on, his lectures ‘attempt to derive the structures of film and cinema from the history of their development’ (p. 23). Nor are the accomplishments of science seen as anthropologically foreordained. ‘What Edison and the Lumières accomplished [. . .] therefore fulfilled neither timeless need nor some primal dream of mankind [. . .]; rather it was a technical and thereby definitive answer to wishes that had been historically produced’ (p. 101). Attentive readers (or listeners) will not have overheard the crucial phrase: ‘technical and thereby definitive’. If technology, for Kittler, is not necessarily an efficient or material cause in Aristotle’s terms, it may be something of a final cause. Ultimately, optical media, for Kittler, cannot but vanish in a Hegelian ‘fury of disappearance’, namely into the computer and the digital (‘visible optics must disappear into a black hole of circuits’, p. 225). This holds true for film as well, which television has rendered superfluous (p. 219). Given that media ‘overcome’ art (p. 224), ‘so-called video art’ (sic, p. 221) becomes a contradiction in terms. Introducing film censorship and inventing the auteur film ‘amounts to the same thing’ (p. 178). Many film scholars will not find Kittler’s message a cheerful one. But he needs to be taken seriously. Although he relies heavily on some sources (such as Friedrich von Zglinicki’s 1979 Der Weg des Films), his work, like Foucault’s, makes philosophical and not only historical claims. His perspective on media history, derived from Claude Shannon’s 1948 information theory, is consistently if idiosyncratically applied. One only hopes that scientists and mathematicians might one day offer us commentaries on his more densely technical passages. Anthony Enn’s translation is readable and accurate. A few references in the text are not given in the bibliography (pp. 33, 37, 48, 154, 177). Kittler’s book is recommended not only to film and media historians, but also literary scholars and philosophers of science.
21 citations
TL;DR: Iordonova and Raghavan RHYNE as discussed by the authors published the yearbook of the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival (FIFL) and discussed the festival circuit and its role in film.
Abstract: Film Festival Yearbook 1: the festival circuit DINA IORDONOVA and RAGAN RHYNE (Eds) St Andrews, St Andrews Film Studies, 2009 vi+225 pp., £16.99 (paper) Film Festival Yearbook 2: film festivals and...
20 citations
TL;DR: The Age of the Dream Palace: cinema and society in 1930s Britain JEFFREY RICHARDS London, I.B. Tauris, 2009 rev. xvi+374 pp., illus., bibliography, index, £16.99 (paper) Jeffrey Richards as discussed by the authors
Abstract: The Age of the Dream Palace: cinema and society in 1930s Britain JEFFREY RICHARDS London, I.B. Tauris, 2009 rev. xvi+374 pp., illus., bibliography, index, £16.99 (paper) Jeffrey Richards’ ground-br...
16 citations
TL;DR: The European Media Governance: national and regional dimension GEORGIOS TERZIS (ed.) Bristol, Intellect Books, 2007 462 pp., £24.95.
Abstract: European Media Governance: national and regional dimension GEORGIOS TERZIS (ed.) Bristol, Intellect Books, 2007 462 pp., £24.95 (paper) To celebrate its 15th anniversary, the European Journalism Ce...
15 citations
TL;DR: Herzog as mentioned in this paper argues that the power of Carmen lies in its function as a refrain, a series of articulations that are always shifting, moving, and incomplete, forging rhythms between texts and between different sites of articulation.
Abstract: highlights the advantage of thinking through the films and illustrates the rigor of Herzog’s critique. In terms of the jukebox film, Herzog looks at the material conditions of the production of these musical shorts, the context in which they were displayed, and the target audiences. By examining these factors, Herzog reveals the reason for the clichéd images Soundies and Scopitones consistently present, but she also shows how their rushed quality results in a disembodiment, which is often a literal disconnect between sound and image. Herzog argues: ‘The failures of these performances, and our fragmented involvement with them, exposes a rift in our system of representation’ (p. 72). Herzog’s chapter on Carmen addresses the way that the original story and opera of Carmen has been remediated repeatedly, taking on new meanings as the musical numbers create associations with diverse contexts. Though quite a number of iterations of Carmen are mentioned, Herzog focuses on Jean-Luc Godard’s Prénom Carmen (1983) and Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones (1954). Using these films, she argues that ‘the power of Carmen lies in its function precisely as a refrain, a series of articulations that are always shifting, moving, and incomplete, forging rhythms between texts and between different sites of articulation’ (p. 114). Although each of these chapters is distinct in what it discusses, each also contributes to the overall project of examining alternative histories. ‘When art is guided by an incisive, creative perceptiveness, when it grasps the details of existence outside the obscuring generalizations of a repressive History,’ Herzog argues, ‘art can generate the productive illusions that oppose reality, identity, and truth’ (p. 201). Herzog moves adeptly between analysis of individual films and philosophical concepts in a way that clearly grounds these concepts in aesthetic practice and history. Her illustrations of Deleuzian concepts are lucid and accessible even without prior knowledge of Deleuze, whose relevance for the disciplines of Film and Media Studies is made clear. Regardless of whether one is ‘Deleuzian’ or not, Dreams of Difference is a poignant study of musical films in diverse contexts, which offers useful examples of how one might look at the aural, nonrepresentational elements of cinema.
15 citations
TL;DR: For example, by the end of the 1950s, only a minority of the advertisers controlled the programming of American commercial broadcasting as discussed by the authors, while the majority were controlled by the advertisers.
Abstract: Sponsorship, or advertiser control of programming, was the predominant form of program financing in American commercial broadcasting in the 1930s; by the end of the 1950s, only a minority of progra
13 citations
TL;DR: On December 5, 2009, an Italian jury convicted American student Amanda Knox of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, during what prosecutors theorized was a sex game turned violent.
Abstract: On December 5, 2009, an Italian jury convicted American student Amanda Knox of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, during what prosecutors theorized was a sex game turned violent. Wit...
11 citations
TL;DR: The agent of Chancellor Hitler is it who has suggested that we should all cower in darkness and terror "for the duration" as mentioned in this paper, demanded George Bernard Shaw in a letter to the Times.
Abstract: ‘What agent of Chancellor Hitler is it who has suggested that we should all cower in darkness and terror “for the duration”?’, demanded George Bernard Shaw in a letter to the Times. Published on 5 ...
11 citations
TL;DR: A study of the evidence we have about the audiences for the American film serial is presented in this article.However, their concern is not with the "serial queen" melodramas of the 1910s whose female audiences h...
Abstract: This article is a study of the evidence we have about the audiences for the American film serial. However, my concern is not with the ‘serial queen’ melodramas of the 1910s whose female audiences h...
11 citations
TL;DR: The World at War is an undoubted landmark in television documentary as discussed by the authors, and a significant feature of the praise lavished upon the series is that it was produced by Jeremy Isaacs for Thames Television and first broadcast in 1970.
Abstract: The World at War is an undoubted landmark in television documentary. A significant feature of the praise lavished upon the series—produced by Jeremy Isaacs for Thames Television and first broadcast...
TL;DR: The authors argue that film criticism occupies a liminal space in film history, and as a practice and body of work it is secondary to the film itself; an ancillary form that is entirely dependent on the continued release of the film.
Abstract: Film criticism occupies a liminal space in film history. As a practice and body of work, it is secondary to the film itself; an ancillary form that is entirely dependent on the continued release of...
TL;DR: In London, many city magistrates are known as "slither, flashy, nimble-witted tough, talking sharp slang from the corner of his mouth".
Abstract: Londoners and other city dwellers will recognize him, so will many city magistrates—the slick, flashy, nimble-witted tough, talking sharp slang from the corner of his mouth. He is a sinister by-pro...
TL;DR: Counter-Archive: film, the everyday, and Albert Kahn's Archives de la Planete PAULA AMAD New York, NY, Columbia University Press, 2010 vii+408 pp., illus., bibliography and index, $34.50 (paper), $...
Abstract: Counter-Archive: film, the everyday, and Albert Kahn's Archives de la Planete PAULA AMAD New York, NY, Columbia University Press, 2010 vii+408 pp., illus., bibliography and index, $34.50 (paper), $...
TL;DR: In this paper, Thacker makes frequent use of phrases such as 'Much has been made of...' without fully explaining the various historiographical positions of Goebbels.
Abstract: engagement with the wider political, social and cultural contexts in which the subject was involved, seeking to fully understand and explore the varied and layered milieux in which the subject was operating. Thacker’s account touches on this, but, given the considerable research on the Third Reich, its power structures and its operation, his contribution is not especially illuminating in this respect. The same might be said of his engagement with other scholars throughout the main body of the text. Thacker makes frequent use of phrases such as ‘much has been made of . . .’ without fully explaining the various historiographical positions. Bizarrely, he raises them in the epilogue, alongside many of the most interesting questions surrounding Goebbels, all of which should have been addressed much earlier. While Thacker sets himself the task of challenging existing perceptions surrounding the life and work of Goebbels, the biography does not go far enough in confronting them or in explaining the ways in which such myths are constructed and perpetuated. Such questions would be particularly pertinent when considering Goebbels’ construction of his own self-image, a factor any scholar of Hitler’s propaganda minister must confront when handling the materials he left behind. Again, this is given insufficient attention in Thacker’s account. Overall, while there may well be a place for a new biography of Goebbels, one taking account of the new literature and sources available to scholars, sadly Thacker’s does not substantially alter our understanding of Goebbels or indeed his place within the Third Reich.
TL;DR: Going to the movies: Hollywood and the social experience of cinema RICHARD MALTBY, MELVYN STOKES and ROBERT C. ALLEN (eds) Exeter, University of Exeter Press, 2007 xv+480 pp., illus., index, £50.00...
Abstract: Going to the Movies: Hollywood and the social experience of cinema RICHARD MALTBY, MELVYN STOKES and ROBERT C. ALLEN (eds) Exeter, University of Exeter Press, 2007 xv+480 pp., illus., index, £50.00...
TL;DR: Stiasny as discussed by the authors found the genesis of our current science fiction movies and their genre-typical clichés of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ guys.
Abstract: science fiction literature of that period. The focus in this popular genre was on new weapon technology, such as new light and beam technology and poison gas. Stiasny’s discussion of pacifist movies sets this chapter apart from the beginning of the book, with its focus on popular movies such as Welt ohne Krieg (1920) and Giftgas (1929). In this fascinating chapter, we find the genesis of our current science fiction movies and their genre-typical clichés of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ guys. The fourth chapter delves into Weimar’s almost forgotten genre, its obsession with Prussian history. Its resurrection became appealing to the conservative and rightwing spectrum where historic sources were used as possible models for reorganizing Weimar’s constitution. These movies idolizing Frederick the Great helped Weimar’s conservatives in finding a model for healing of and closure to the despised defeat and leftist revolution that had turned their beloved country over to the enemy, as they perceived it. More than any other section in Das Kino und der Krieg, this element in Weimar film-making demonstrated the strong link of movies to the social and political battles of their time. Stiasny shows how these reactionary movies served as propaganda tools in sustaining the political battle against the Versailles treaty. The merit of this well-researched book lies in opening up unknown sources to recapture the emotional experience of Weimar movies. The book is highly recommended as a source book for students and teachers of German film history from 1914 to 1929.
TL;DR: Projecting Empire: imperialism and popular cinema as discussed by the authors, by James Chapman and NICHOLAS J. CULL London, I.B. Tauris, 2009 xii+244 pp., illus., bibliography, filmography, index, £15.99
Abstract: Projecting Empire: imperialism and popular cinema JAMES CHAPMAN and NICHOLAS J. CULL London, I.B. Tauris, 2009 xii+244 pp., illus., bibliography, filmography, index, £15.99 (paper) James Chapman an...
TL;DR: One of the most controversial programmes aired by the BBC in the 1960s was the adaptation of Alice in Wonderland written and directed by Jonathan Miller as mentioned in this paper, and for a month before it was shown, the popula...
Abstract: One of the most controversial programmes aired by the BBC in the 1960s was the adaptation of Alice in Wonderland written and directed by Jonathan Miller. For a month before it was shown, the popula...
TL;DR: Public interest in historical film footage in natural colors has been growing continuously over the past decade since the appearance of the first television documentaries based exclusively on compi... as mentioned in this paper, and this trend has continued over the last decade.
Abstract: Public interest in historical film footage in natural colors has been growing continuously over the past decade since the appearance of the first television documentaries based exclusively on compi...
TL;DR: Grimmshaw and Ravetz as discussed by the authors discuss the relationship between anthropology, film, and the exploration of social life in the context of observational cinema, and present a collection of essays.
Abstract: Observational Cinema: anthropology, film, and the exploration of social life ANNA GRIMSHAW and AMANDA RAVETZ Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 2009 198 pp., illus., bibliograp...
TL;DR: In this article, a single chapter on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) ambitiously attempts to evaluate the imperial dimensions of all four Indiana Jones movies, as well as the episodes of the television series Young Indiana Jones.
Abstract: expedience turned the imperial politics of the film on its head. Such rich details demonstrate the contingencies that informed the production of many of these films. If the book has a limitation, it is its brevity, which prevents it from exploring some of the issues surrounding these films as thoroughly as one might desire. Thus a single chapter on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) ambitiously attempts to evaluate the imperial dimensions of all four Indiana Jones movies, as well as the episodes of the television series Young Indiana Jones. While insightful, the discussion only scratches the surface of these films (which were released over a span of nearly three decades). For example, it fails to mention one of the most remarkable images of the four films, the arrival of a British officer and a company of Sepoys to save Indiana Jones at the end of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). But such omissions are probably unavoidable in a work that aspires to illuminate an entire film genre in barely 200 pages. This is film history at its best, produced by scholars with a mastery of these movies, the relevant historical literature, and their sources. The engaging writing makes it accessible to students, while its stimulating analysis makes it relevant to scholars. Its case study approach allows the authors to delve deeply into each film, rather than stringing together a series of superficial observations about all relevant titles in the genre. Its readings of the films, though at times brief, are invariably informed, insightful, and ultimately persuasive.
TL;DR: Betty Grable's key position in American popular culture of the Second World War is indisputable as mentioned in this paper, and she was the prime star throughout the 1940s, and moreover one of the top box-off...
Abstract: Betty Grable's key position in American popular culture of the Second World War is indisputable.1 Twentieth Century-Fox's prime star throughout the 1940s, Grable was moreover one of the top box-off...
TL;DR: Inherent vice: bootleg histories of videotape and copyright LUCAS HILDERBRAND Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2009 xxiii+320 pp., illus., bibliography and index, $24.95 (paper), $89.95(cloth) W...
Abstract: Inherent Vice: bootleg histories of videotape and copyright LUCAS HILDERBRAND Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2009 xxiii+320 pp., illus., bibliography and index, $24.95 (paper), $89.95 (cloth) W...
TL;DR: In the spring of 1947, William L. Shirer, who at the time was a well-known radio news commentator, had lost his job at CBS in New York.
Abstract: By the spring of 1947, William L. Shirer, who at the time was a well-known radio news commentator, had lost his job at CBS in New York. The network provided no concrete reason for his firing yet Sh...