Module overview
In many DVD stores, we often find a shelf labelled ‘world cinema’ – a label on the lines of ‘world music’. This signals the universality of diversity and mobility, compared to categories such as ‘third cinema’ or ‘non- Western cinema’. This module will discuss the location and valorisation of cultural products in the global market place. Theoretical debates about the categorisation and circulation of films focus on selected case studies drawn from Middle Eastern, North African or Asian cinema. The examples will display a diverse range of film practices which are difficult to subsume under one label. By studying examples of transnational interaction, co-production and cross-cultural appropriation, the module aims to problematize the concept of ‘national cinema’. We shall analyse contemporary examples of ‘postcolonial hybrid films’ which challenge notions of ‘pure cultures’, ‘difference’ and ‘authenticity’ and explore prevalent tropes and genres in the representation of ‘third world’ and ‘diaspora’ populations in main-stream and non-mainstream cinema. The module will also familiarise you with the problems and the possibilities associated with attempts to exhibit and to promote critical discussion of ‘non-Western’ cinemas in ‘the West’.
Linked modules
FILM1001 or FILM1002 or FILM2006