|
Latest
Research
and publication projects:
----------------------
Recent:
2010
(newest first):
Conference
Presentation (Norwich,
UK); April 8th-11th, 2010
"Picture Palaces: The American movie theatre
and its love affair with old-world architecture"
at
the 55th British Association for American Studies (BAAS)
Conference, School of American Studies, University of East Anglia
(programme here)
Examining the influence on American
cinema architecture of the French palaces of Versailles and the Louvre,
the gothic majesty of European churches, the Moorish and modernist movements
of Spain, and beyond to Egyptian tombs, Chinese pagodas, Mayan temples
and more. As America exported itself to the world through Hollywood films,
the picture palaces brought this world to the American filmgoer through
architecture and design.
Also Chair of panel:
'American Paranoid Cinema'
Presenting:
~ Michael Ahmed, UEA - Kennedy, Conspiracies and Shadow Corporations:
Mediating National Trauma through an Alternative Cinematic Aesthetic
~ Wickham Clayton, Roehampton University - America’s Adventures
through the Looking Glass: the Aesthetics and Deviant Intertextuality
of JFK
~ Gareth James, University of Exeter - ‘Must Security and Safety
Come at the Price of Freedom?’: The Disappearance of Strip Search,
HBO and Post 9/11 Commentary
~ Matthew Alford - A Propaganda Model for Hollywood (unable to
attend)
Conference
Presentation (Albuquerque,
NM, USA); February 10th-13th, 2010: supported
by The University of Hull
"Does
My Idea Look Big In This? - image vs. idea in science fiction film"
at the Southwest/Texas
Popular & American Culture Associations,
31st Annual Meeting (programme here)
Exploring
the influence that developments in visual effects have had on the balance
between image and idea within science fiction film. It asks whether ideas-driven
films like 2001: A Space Odyssey can ever match the popularity
of Star Wars. It examines critical responses to image-driven films
like Avatar. And it wonders whether successful hybrids like Blade
Runner offer the best or the worst of both worlds. Is
'image vs. idea' in science fiction film really as simple as 'popular
vs. culture'? If so, has CGI tipped the balance too far?
Journal Paper
"Where
Have all the Ripleys Gone?"
in Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, ISSN:0306-4964258
(website here)
Vol.38, #105 ('Spring 2009' edition, published January 2010)
Robert Wise's 1951 science fiction film classic The Day the Earth Stood
Still introduced us to a genre rarity: a woman who saves the world.
In 2008, Scott Derrickson 'reimagined' the film, but just how far has
this iconic female character come in more than half a century?
This
paper looks at the how the professional, social and narrative roles of
the central female character, Helen Benson, changed in the 57 years between
the performances of Patricia Neal and Jennifer Connelly. It examines developments
in the plot itself, from its beginnings as Harry Bates' 1940 short story,
through various incarnations, to multi-million dollar remake. It asks
what future there may be for the strong, feisty, independent, female characters
personified by Sigourney Waever's iconic 1979 Alien character,
Ellen Ripley.
----------------------
Forthcoming:
The following projects have been accepted for publication and presentation
(latest confirmation first):
Review (expected 2010)
"Observations from a CATH conference"
Century of Cinema Exhibition: From Silent Screen to Digital Screen, July 2010.
For the Journal of British Film and Television, Edinburgh University Press.
Book
Chapter (expected 2011)
“So, what's your story?”: Morphing Myths and Feminising Archetypes, from The Terminator to Avatar'
in Blockbuster Auteur: Themes in the Films of James Cameron
Eds. Matthew Wilhelm Kapell & Stephen McVeigh, McFarland and Co., USA
Book (expected 2011)
"Future's
Female: Women in Science Fiction Film"
(working title)
An historical overview of the development of female roles
in the genre, for scholarly and wider markets.
Contract signed with Intellect Ltd., Bristol, UK. For details,
please contact May Yao: may@intellectbooks.com
Review (expected 2010)
"An
Englishman in New Mexico"
Observations
from the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association
31st Annual Meeting, 10th-13th February 2010.
For publication in
the Intellect house magazine, IQ.
Available initially on Intellect's
blog here.
Journal, Special
Double-Issue (as Guest Editor, expected 2011)
'From
Boardroom to Bijou': Exploring cinema distribution and exhibition'
Two special issues of the US peer-reviewed
journal Post Script (website here)
Book
Chapter (expected 2011)
'No
Sex Please, We're Star Fleet: Women in the Star Trek Movie Universe'
in Kinky Klingons and Asexual
Androids: Exploring Sexuality and Gender in Star Trek
Eds. Maryanne
Fisher, PhD and Anthony Cox, PhD
2011 (expected
publication date)
This chapter offers a critical examination
of female representation in the Star Trek feature films. It examines
developments in the female roles, with reference to the impact of selected
Star Trek television episodes and characters, the influence of
contemporary science fiction films, and the external restraints of cinema
censorship, certification, public expectation and marketing.
Conference
Presentation (Milwaukee,
WI, USA); November
11th-14th, 2010
"When Machines Call the Shots"
at the 2010 Film & History Conference: Representations of Love
in Film and Television (website here)
Taking
the 1980 BBC TV play 'Feelifax' as a springboard, this paper explores
the notion of 'artificial love and sexuality' in screen science fiction.
It journeys from the programmed responses of the robots in AI through
the neediness of the computer in 2010 to the predatory sexuality
of the super-computer in Demon Seed. It asks: 'What happens when
machines call the shots?
----------------------
Ongoing:
Further projects
await confirmation.
----------------------
|
