Film Theory and Contemporary Hollywood Movies

In this volume, contributors explore recent popular movies through the lens of film theory, beginning with industrial-economic analysis before moving into a predominately aesthetic and interpretive framework. The Hollywood films discussed cover a wide range from 300 to Fifty First Dates, from Brokeback Mountain to Lord of the Rings, from Spider-Man 3 to Fahrenheit 9/11, from Saw to Raiders of the Lost Ark, and much more. Individual essays consider such topics as the rules that govern new blockbuster franchises, the 'posthumanist realism' of digital cinema, video game adaptations, increasingly restricted stylistic norms, the spatial stories of social networks like YouTube, the mainstreaming of queer culture, and the cognitive paradox behind enjoyable viewing of traumatic events onscreen.

Author: Warren Buckland
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 05/01/2009
Pages: 358
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780415962629

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2009

About the Author

Warren Buckland is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University. His authored and edited books include Puzzle Films, Directed by Steven Spielberg, Studying Contemporary American Film (with Thomas Elsaesser), and The Cognitive Semiotics of Film. He also edits the New Review of Film and Television Studies.