Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.
Lauren Mattice: My article focuses on starlet Clara Bow and her once lost film It (1927) and demonstrates how both stars and studios have navigated the sexual identities of women. The essay looks to the original release of It and its reevaluation after a single surviving copy was discovered in Prague in the 1960s to illustrate how scholars have explored beyond its initial commercial and critical success to examine how Bow’s embodiment of the young, vivacious flapper girl uncovers the ideal image of the 1920s new woman as desired by growing female audiences.
FM: What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article?
LM: The paper and the research in general was guided by primary sources, especially fan magazines. Looking at portraits, film reviews, letters from fans, and newspaper clippings coupled with Bow’s biography helped paint a picture of her fall from the limelight and the cultural circumstances surrounding the film’s success.
FM: Describe the original context for/when writing this article while an undergraduate student.
LM: The article was originally written as a final paper for a class titled “History of the International Cinema I,” focusing on the development of cinema from its beginnings up until World War II. The prompt asked for us to examine the reasons for a silent film not becoming part of the canon and how the archival discovery of a particular film and its rerelease change the narrative of film history that had been told before. A few weeks before the prompt had been released, we did an exercise examining primary sources from the silent era, including fan magazines, which led me to go in that direction for my research topic.
FM: How has your department and/or institution supported your work in film and media?
LM: USC has been particularly helpful for me in fostering an actual appreciation for research, which I attribute to the broad range of topics that professors and classes allow us to explore and delve deeper into. For instance, this paper was written for an international film class pre-World War I, but I was able to take our concept of fan culture and apply it to silent-era Hollywood. It’s encouraging to know that when your research takes you in an unexpected direction, the scope of your topic will not be limited by the faculty if it is still relevant.
FM: How has your faculty mentor fostered your advancement as a film scholar?
LM: My mentor and TA for the class was Peter Labuza. He led me in the direction of examining the star persona and in each class guided us in examining primary and secondary resources and databases, which became crucial to bring together my findings. With this paper, he gave suggestions on how to constantly work on improving my argument, narrowing my focus and increasing readability. In general, he has also been instrumental in advising me on how to continue my own research in grad school and beyond.
FM: How has the Film Matters editorial and publication process impacted the development/evolution of your article?
LM: The Film Matters editorial and publication process has helped me concentrate my main argument into its most persuasive sections, while also encouraging me to streamline my drafting process.
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?
LM: I hope to reach audiences that may not be interested so much in silent film but do have a sense or appreciation for the way that fan culture has influenced the perception of film since its inception. I would also hope that it sheds light not just on portrayals of women in film, but in mass media in general, through how Bow’s character was marketed and later vilified.
FM: What are your future plans?
LM: I hope to go to grad school to study either film preservation or law, but who knows! Whatever it ends up being, I hope it involves movies.
Author Biography
Lauren Mattice is a junior at the University of Southern California, double majoring in Cinema and Media Studies and Philosophy, Politics and Law. Her research interests include French cinema and representations of femininity. After her undergraduate studies, she hopes to go to grad school and study film preservation and law.
