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the protagonist’s agitation. How do you begin to make sense of, or place , this film? What kind of film is it? Rather than defining it minutely, you might choose to assign it to one of three broader categories proposed by Alan Williams in an influential article, ‘Is a Radical Genre Criticism Possible?’ ( 1984 : 121–5). Having to select from Williams’s classes of narrative film, experimental or avant-garde film, and documentary, you might cautiously judge the sequence playing out on screen to belong to the first of these. There is no evidence in this scene
Beginning film studies offers a critical introduction to this academic discipline for undergraduate (and other) readers coming to it for the first time. Written accessibly, it ranges across key topics, theories and approaches in film studies. For this new volume, the author has thoroughly updated the first edition, writing fresh case studies, tracking and evaluating recent developments in the study of film, and providing up-to-the-minute suggestions for further reading.
The book begins by considering film’s formal features (mise-en-scène, editing and sound) before moving outwards to discuss narrative, genre, authorship, the star, and film’s ideological engagement (its staging of class, gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity). Later chapters on film industries and on film consumption – where and how we watch movies (not least in the digital age) – reflect and assess the discipline’s recent geographical ‘turn’.
The book takes a global perspective, illustrating its arguments by reference to film cultures ranging from Hollywood to Bollywood, and from the French ‘New Wave’ to contemporary Hong Kong. Each chapter concludes with a case study, exploring such topics as sound in The Great Gatsby, narrative in Inception and ideology in Blue Is the Warmest Colour. The superhero movie is studied as a genre, and Jennifer Lawrence as a star. Beginning film studies is also interactive, with readers enabled throughout to reflect critically upon the field.
Terms used to describe artistic practices have different meanings from their common usage, but 'realism' as an aesthetic idea cannot be too far removed from the way we would talk about something 'real'. This book explores the artistry and aesthetics of realist literature, along with the assumptions of realist literature. It examines the different ways in which theorists, critics and philosophers conceptualise 'realism'. The book argues that a 'realist' sensibility is the ground on which other modes of literature often exist. It considers verisimilitude that is associated with the complexity of realism, describing the use of realism in two ways: capital 'R' and small 'r'. A set of realist novels is used to explore preliminary definition of realism. The STOP and THINK section lists some points to consider when thinking about realist works. The book looks at the characteristics of the Realist novel. It deals with the objections raised in discussions of Realism, from the Realist period and twentieth- and twenty-first century criticisms. The book provides information on the novel genre, language that characterises Realism, and selection of novel material. It looks at crucial elements such as stage design, and a technical feature often overlooked, the aside, something which seems non-realistic, and which might offer another view on Realism. The book talks about some writers who straddled both periods from the 1880s and 1890s onwards, until the 1920s/1930s, gradually moved away from Realism to modernism. Literary realism, and Aristotle's and Plato's works in relation to realism are also discussed.
of this discussion for a range of debates are significant; you only need to think about controversial topics such as abortion or humanitarian intervention to realise that. Zombies have long been a prevalent genre in film and graphic novels, and throughout popular culture. But The Walking Dead has brought them into our living rooms on a weekly basis, over a prolonged storyline. Through the popular trope of the zombie apocalypse, The Walking Dead has slowly desensitised its audience to grotesque and spectacular violence, in much the same manner as its central
group of characteristic elements in works of literature. This chapter deals with a number of the objections that are raised in discussions of Realism, both from the Realist period and from twentieth- and twenty-first century criticisms. Although the chapter has sub-headings suggestive of quite discrete issues, there is a great deal of interdependency and overlap, which I would ask you to bear in mind throughout this chapter. Objections to the more diffuse term ‘realism’ are dealt with in Chapter 10 on philosophy. The novel genre The argument thus far has been
, to blow a hair’s-breadth off The dust of the actual. (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh , II, 476–83) The previous chapters have focused on the novel from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards as being at the forefront of literary Realism. Indeed, many critics and theorists regard discussion of literary realism as one related solely to the novel genre. However, Realism was such a dominant force in the nineteenth century that poetry and drama were obliged to respond to it. That this was the order of influence is repeatedly borne out by
This part provides solutions to common problems of essay writing that are easy to put into practice. Tips for deciding which essay question to choose include reminding students to think about displaying their own skills and understanding to best advantage. Dealing with difficulties in deciding what to read includes advice on thinking about the overall timetable as well as reasons for distinguishing between genres (e.g. journalism, textbooks, academic journal articles). The problem of writers’ block is cut down to size with simple, tried and tested tricks for side-stepping it. Advice on whether or not to use rhetorical questions (on the whole, not) and practical suggestions for writing to the required length (including cutting an essay to the required length) end the 5 succinct chapters in this part.
This part provides solutions to common problems of essay writing that are easy to put into practice. Tips for deciding which essay question to choose include reminding students to think about displaying their own skills and understanding to best advantage. Dealing with difficulties in deciding what to read includes advice on thinking about the overall timetable as well as reasons for distinguishing between genres (e.g. journalism, textbooks, academic journal articles). The problem of writers’ block is cut down to size with simple, tried and tested tricks for side-stepping it. Advice on whether or not to use rhetorical questions (on the whole, not) and practical suggestions for writing to the required length (including cutting an essay to the required length) end the 5 succinct chapters in this part.
This part provides solutions to common problems of essay writing that are easy to put into practice. Tips for deciding which essay question to choose include reminding students to think about displaying their own skills and understanding to best advantage. Dealing with difficulties in deciding what to read includes advice on thinking about the overall timetable as well as reasons for distinguishing between genres (e.g. journalism, textbooks, academic journal articles). The problem of writers’ block is cut down to size with simple, tried and tested tricks for side-stepping it. Advice on whether or not to use rhetorical questions (on the whole, not) and practical suggestions for writing to the required length (including cutting an essay to the required length) end the 5 succinct chapters in this part.
This part provides solutions to common problems of essay writing that are easy to put into practice. Tips for deciding which essay question to choose include reminding students to think about displaying their own skills and understanding to best advantage. Dealing with difficulties in deciding what to read includes advice on thinking about the overall timetable as well as reasons for distinguishing between genres (e.g. journalism, textbooks, academic journal articles). The problem of writers’ block is cut down to size with simple, tried and tested tricks for side-stepping it. Advice on whether or not to use rhetorical questions (on the whole, not) and practical suggestions for writing to the required length (including cutting an essay to the required length) end the 5 succinct chapters in this part.