Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.
Tillie Quattrone: My article investigates overlapping manifestations of power and masculinity in one of the pioneering Blaxploitation films, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (Melvin Van Peebles, 1971).
FM: What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article?
TQ: As it is largely concerned with the examination of filmic content and form, this article adopts a methodology of textual studies. While centering close scene analysis, my approach to textual studies also espouses Paul Willemen’s (2005, 2013) assertion that textual analysis leads to particularly contextualized, compelling research if inclusive of the economic, technological, and ideological structures that inform the film text. This accounts for my brief exploration of the film’s marketing and distribution.
FM: Describe the original context for/when writing this article while an undergraduate student.
TQ: Before redrafting, this article took primary form as an assignment for a unit called Black on Screen. This class examines on-screen representations of Blackness in the USA and UK since the 1920s, and accordingly discusses television and film products from a racially diverse body of filmmakers.
FM: What does your writing process look like?
TQ: For an essay, I always begin with the text in question. If it’s a film, I watch and listen closely and take notes. Then I spend a few days exploring academic engagement with the text (and adjacent topics) before situating my ideas in relation to others’. This forms a rudimentary outline for the piece, which I then begin filling in from the middle outward. As my arguments often shift and solidify as I write, I complete the introduction and conclusion last. If I have the luxury of time, I usually try to distract myself (often with Murder She Wrote re-runs!) for a day or two before coming back to the piece for a final read-through.
FM: How have your personal experiences shaped and influenced your writing?
TQ: My mother is a social worker whose projects strive to legitimize children’s experiences within households experiencing domestic violence. As such, she has encouraged consistent attention to and respect for those who often get overlooked or silenced. I try to bring such an awareness of marginalization into my writing by considering those who have been historically dismissed (both in academia and beyond). On a more lighthearted note, I also spent a lot of my young adult years reading fantasy novels, so my writing is also often informed by a fantasy text-inspired tendency to wander off on side quests if I do not stay focused!
FM: What are your methods for finding diverse and relevant sources?
TQ: I seek sources primarily through my university’s online library search engine, through which I can access hundreds of databases. I also mine my lecturers’ thorough knowledge of recent publications within their respective fields, a corpus of sources that has become particularly diversified alongside the department’s renewed commitment to decolonizing the curriculum.
FM: Why is including marginalized voices in research important to you?
TQ: The field of film studies not only repeatedly engages with history but has traditionally centered its own on a succession of relatively wealthy British, American, and French white men. As such, I view our contemporary academic inclusion of and engagement with marginalized voices and bodies a long overdue reconciliation with decades of cinematic and academic erasure.
FM: What aspects of the writing process were most challenging? Why?
TQ: This article is my first for publication, and it was devised from a piece I originally wrote for a university assignment. As such, it was a very steep learning curve to realize how extensively I needed to refine an academic essay to prepare it for publication (e.g., adding a section situating my research within the field).
FM: What’s a resistance point you hit in your writing, and how did you move past it?
TQ: My piece focuses on the ambiguity that can be found within the film’s form and content. When I first began to discern these seemingly contradictory interpretations, I struggled to make sense of them as my initial plan was to fit all my analysis under one interpretation. After I realized that the ambiguity was a strength, and indeed could be the focus of the article rather than something to be ignored, the writing (perhaps somewhat paradoxically) became a lot more straightforward.
FM: What do you enjoy most about your article?
TQ: My favorite element of my article is its attention to childhood trauma. Children are often overlooked in Western society and sometimes in film studies academia, so I welcome opportunities to increase attention toward children’s experiences (filmic and beyond). I feel it is the least I can do as someone who has always been frustrated and disillusioned with some adults’ disregard for children’s selfhood.
FM: How has the Film Matters editorial and publication process impacted the development/evolution of your article?
TQ: After the peer review process, I spent most of my editing time trimming down my article and consolidating my points.
FM: What audience do you hope to reach with your Film Matters article and/or what impact do you hope it has on the field of film studies?
TQ: I hope that this piece encourages folks to consider the representation of marginalized bodies within contexts of production and distribution. More specifically, I hope that it encourages more nuanced consideration of films that can be interpreted to proliferate harmful narratives. I think there is a tendency – of which I am also guilty – to wholly dismiss media for such problematic elements. I am not proposing that these narratives go dismissed or ignored, but rather that deeper examination may yield jewels of empowerment and/or resistance as well. Such reparative readings are, I think, revolutionary and restorative, and I’d like to encourage them here.
FM: How has your department and/or institution supported your work in film and media?
TQ: The University of Manchester’s Drama & Film Department is world-class. Not only are our lecturers experts in their field(s), but their commitment to research is coupled by a dedication to their students. This fosters not only passion for academic discovery, but also nurtures the very human element of film studies. It is easy to grow, as cognizant, socially aware people and scholars, when in such a caring environment.
FM: How has your faculty mentor fostered your advancement as a film scholar?
TQ: My advisor for this piece, Dr. Darren Waldron, led the module for which I submitted its first iteration. So, not only has he helped me refine this piece for publication (with boundless kindness and patience) and thus introduced me to this industrial process, but he has also been a steadfast presence of encouragement throughout my years at Manchester. His expertise and kindness are qualities I one day hope to emulate.
FM: What advice do you have for undergraduate film and media scholars?
TQ: My advice is to trust your ideas. It can be easy to worry about the validity of your observations and conclusions as someone who is just entering the field, and while people with years of experience have a lot of invaluable wisdom to offer, your ideas also have merit and are worth sharing.
FM: What are your future plans?
TQ: I ultimately hope to do a PhD and be a university lecturer in Film Studies.
Author Biography
Tillie Quattrone holds an AA in Liberal Arts, a BA in Drama and Film, and an MA in Film Studies. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Drama (Screen Studies) at The University of Manchester. Her research interests include screen culture in the digital age, on-screen representations of age and marginalized bodies, and stardom.
