Film Matters Launches Hendrix College Partnership

Posted on August 14, 2020 by admin

Film Matters has been moving and shaking this year (if we do say so ourselves!), teaming up with new colleges and universities to expand opportunities for undergraduate authors/editors. We are pleased to announce our latest partnership, with Hendrix College, who will now be responsible for managing our online content here.

Under the expert guidance of Kristi McKim, who has been a longtime member of our advisory board, not to mention the guest editor of several dossiers (both online and in print) over the years, undergraduate students at Hendrix College will serve as joint authors and editors of the Film Matters site. Equally exciting is the mentorship that Hendrix students will provide to their fellow undergraduate authors across the globe – hands-on applied learning in action, as drafts are exchanged between editors and authors. Hendrix students will learn crucial publishing and project management skills on the job. An institution that prioritizes engaged learning, Hendrix College offers a structure within which this Film Matters opportunity beautifully fits as an experience of active learning and pre-professional training.

Kristi McKim, now our Online Editor, is Professor and Chair of English/Film and Media Studies at Hendrix College, where she was honored as the 2014-15 United Methodist Exemplary Professor, nominated for the CASE US Professors of the Year Award, and recently recognized with the 2019-20 Carole Herrick Award for Excellence in Academic Advising. Studying global ecocinema through a phenomenological approach, she has published the books Love in the Time of Cinema (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) and Cinema as Weather: Stylistic Screens and Atmospheric Change (Routledge, 2013), with essays ranging from the scholarly to personal in journals such as Camera Obscura, Studies in French Cinema, Senses of Cinema, Bennington Review, New England Review, and Bright Lights Film Review. Emerging from a fascination with trees, her current research explores film as natural history.

One of the “Most Innovative Liberal Arts Colleges” (U.S. News & World Report) and one of the nation’s forty “Colleges that Change Lives,” Hendrix College, located in Conway, Arkansas, offers a major and minor in English with a Film and Media Studies track. Chaired by Dr. Joshua Glick, Hendrix’s Film and Media Studies Program positions film, television, and emerging media within aesthetic, technological, and historical contexts. Through taking a wide breadth of courses, students learn to interpret as well as contribute to their media environment through essays, videographic criticism, digital storytelling, curated exhibitions, and long-form filmmaking projects. Hendrix’s English Department also offers tracks in Literary Studies and Creative Writing, which—in tandem with Film and Media Studies coursework—prepare students to read and write a variety of critical and creative forms.

Starting in September 2020, undergraduate students looking for online publication opportunities will now work with Hendrix College, where the newest editorial board looks forward to their submissions. Likewise, filmmakers seeking interview or review coverage. Please email submissions or emails of interest/introduction to:

  • FilmMattersOnline AT hendrix.edu

Hendrix and Film Matters look forward to working with you on future online reviews and articles!

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Suzi Fera, Author of FM 10.3 (2019) Article “Purple Reign: The Contradictory Use of the Royal Color Purple in Disney’s Animated Villains”

Posted on August 4, 2020 by admin
Maleficent arriving uninvited to the celebration of the birth of Princess Aurora. Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney Productions, 1959)

Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.

Suzi Fera: “Purple Reign” Is a stylistic analysis of the use of the color purple in Disney animated feature films. It argues that, until very recently, the color purple is generally reserved for villains and people who do not fit the American and Victorian ideals that Walt Disney promoted.

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How Netflix Challenged the Concept of Cinema. By Dylan O’Connell

Posted on August 4, 2020 by admin

Keywords: Netflix, film industry, distribution, exhibition, brand, algorithm

INTRODUCTION

What defines film? Format is not the answer, considering the industry transition to digital cameras did not disqualify the film label. Perhaps the defining factor is more abstract? I think the answer lies in the experience of film. I think a debate about the experience of film will soon consume the institution of film (by which I refer to the filmmakers, critics, theorists, studios, festivals, distributors, exhibitors, et cetera). Exhibition is a core component of this experience, but most important to my thesis is how changes in distribution have created changes in exhibition and consequently ignited this debate. Distribution and exhibition have been linked throughout film history, especially as the introduction of new technologies such as television, physical formats, and the internet opened new viable pathways for distribution that drifted further from theatrical exhibition. Netflix dramatically altered the exhibition experience of audiences by prioritizing distribution to the home instead of theaters. The company Netflix was founded in the United States in 1997 and, by the end of 2019, Netflix’s US subscriber base had grown to 61.04 million subscribers of a global total 167 million subscribers (Watson, “Number of Netflix Paying Streaming”). During the same period, the number of theaters in the United States declined 22 percent from 7,480 to 5,869 (Watson, “Number of Cinema Sites”). These numbers only hint at a larger narrative about how Netflix evolved as a distribution service and brand, how it created a competitive marketplace of major and minor streaming services, and how it introduced challenges to the established film industry. Said challenges include Netflix’s popularization of home streaming, acquisition of “Original” content, and declination of subscriber agency through a recommendation algorithm. Netflix created an existential dilemma about the experience of film and the importance of exhibition in relation to that experience.

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Joe Day, Author of FM 10.3 (2019) Article “History of Terror: The Non-Hammer Horror Period Piece and British National Identity”

Posted on July 25, 2020 by admin
Witchfinder General (Tigon Pictures, 1968). Celluloid Wicker Man

Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.

Joe Day: This article examines British horror films that have used historical events of the nation to fuel their narratives.

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“‘Ideal’ Femininity Is Actually Just Successful Drag”: Gender Performance in Little Miss Sunshine and Dumplin’. By Leah Gaus

Posted on July 25, 2020 by admin
Figure 1.   Abigail Breslin as Olive during her talent performance in Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s Little Miss Sunshine (Twentieth Century Fox, 2006).

Keywords: femininity, gender performance, drag, pageant, post-feminism, Little Miss Sunshine, Dumplin’

“There’s an absurdity involved in wearing a bathing suit with heels,” says Kimberly H. Hamlin, author of an article on the first years of the Miss America beauty pageant. “Are we supposed to actually do something in a swimsuit or just look good?” (qtd. in Bernard). According to the pageant industry, it’s the latter. Pageant films don’t say any differently, highlighting the rigorous discipline required to even be a contestant, let alone to wear the crown. From thriller-comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous (Jann, 1999) and the everlasting Miss Congeniality (Petrie, 2000) to roller derby drama Whip It (Barrymore, 2009), the pageant industry’s high standards of femininity are exemplified through women who threaten to transgress them. Little Miss Sunshine (Faris and Dayton, 2006) and Dumplin’ (Fletcher, 2018) are no exception, featuring main characters who challenge these expectations, whether or not they intend to do so. Through the talent category of the pageant in each film, Olive (Abigail Breslin) and Will (Danielle Macdonald) expose gender as a performance, simultaneously transgressing the pageant’s definition of femininity and exuding to-be-looked-at-ness; furthermore, each film critiques sexism while engaging with post-feminism, albeit to different extents.

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FM 10.3 (2019) Now Out

Posted on July 18, 2020 by admin

Film Matters is pleased to report that FM 10.3 (our final issue of 2019) is now officially out electronically via Ingenta and EBSCO. (Due to the COVID-19 situation, print copies will follow once the Intellect offices are back open.)

In this issue, you will find our remembrance of John Pruitt:

As well as the following peer-reviewed feature articles:

The “Based on Actual Events” Dossier, edited by Fabrizio Cilento and students at Messiah College:

The “Catastrophe!” Dossier, edited by Tom Ue and students at Dalhousie University:

It’s another big issue! And one that we are proud of. For more details about this issue, please visit: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/fm/2019/00000010/00000003

Are you an undergraduate author who wants to be published in Film Matters? Then we want to work with you! Please check out our current CFPs.

And stay healthy!

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CFP 12.2 (2021) Special Issue: “The Monstrous”

Posted on June 20, 2020 by admin

Film Matters is officially announcing Chapman University’s first special issue CFP 12.2 on “The Monstrous.” This themed call is soliciting work from undergraduates and recent graduates for consideration in issue 12.2 (2021).

The deadline is December 1, 2020.

Film Matters has officially adopted MLA 8th edition style (and is moving away from 7th edition guidelines) — so please prepare your submissions accordingly.  Purdue OWL’s MLA Formatting and Style Guide (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html) is an excellent resource to consult, in this regard.

For more information about this call for papers, please download the official document (PDF):

CFP 12.2 (Chapman)Download

Submissions should include a cover sheet, which includes the author’s name, title of essay, institutional affiliation, and contact information; all other identifying information should be removed from the body of the text, in order to aid the blind peer review process.

And submissions and questions should be directed to:

  • specialtopicsfilmmatters AT gmail.com (please put “Issue 12.2” in the subject line) 

Please note that Film Matters does not accept submissions that are currently under review by other journals or magazines.

Undergraduates and recent graduates, please submit your film-related research papers today!  Chapman University looks forward to receiving your papers!

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Film Matters Goes Bicoastal!

Posted on June 20, 2020 by admin
Chapman University Dodge College logo

Film Matters is pleased to announce a new academic partnership with Chapman University in Orange, California.  Starting with issue 12.2 (2021), Chapman University will joint edit six issues — FM 12.2 (2021), FM 13.2 (2022), FM 14.2 (2023), FM 15.2 (2024), FM 16.2 (2025), and FM 17.2 (2026) — along with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), providing peer-reviewed and edited content according to set themes (the first theme, CFP 12.2, will be on “The Monstrous”).  Kelli Fuery, Associate Professor in Film Studies at Chapman University, will serve as the new Special Issues Editor, leading the Chapman effort in this initiative.  Fuery brings plenty of Film Matters experience to this project, having guest edited a dossier on screened violence for issue 8.1 (2017) as well as the entire issue 9.2 (2018) on neglected cinemas and post-global politics. She also served as a judge for the Masoud Yazdani Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Film Scholarship in 2017.

Kelli Fuery is Associate Professor of Film Studies in Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. Her publications include: Visual Cultures and Critical Theory (co-authored, 2003), New Media: Culture and Image (2008), and Wilfred Bion, Thinking and Emotional Experience with Moving Images (2018). Her research focuses on psychoanalytic and philosophical approaches to film and media, exploring issues of embodiment, theories of power, cultural identity politics, affect and emotion. Her current project examines Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of ambiguity in relation to women’s filmmaking. 

Chapman University’s mission is to provide personalized education of distinction that leads to inquiring, ethical, and productive lives as global citizens. The BA in Film Studies at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts offers a comprehensive study of film, exploring historical, critical, and theoretical aspects of cinema, engaging with global and diverse filmmakers to consider inclusive perspectives on the art of the moving image.

Students wanting to submit papers for Chapman’s themed calls will use specialtopicsfilmmatters AT gmail.com for submissions and inquiries; while students seeking UNCW’s standard open calls will still use futurefilmscholars AT gmail.com.  East Coast to West Coast, Film Matters is excited to expand its outreach to undergraduate students writing and thinking about film.  Chapman and UNCW look forward to hearing from you!

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FM 10.2 (2019), Guest Edited by The Ohio State University, Now Out

Posted on June 20, 2020 by admin

Film Matters is excited to announce the release of issue 10.2 — guest edited by The Ohio State University’s Margaret C. Flinn, with the help of Associate Guest Editor Anna Talarico and undergraduate students — on the theme of documentary!

In this issue, you will find the following feature articles:

And these featurettes:

As well as book, film, and DVD/Blu-ray reviews by:  Jack Corbett, Brian C. Davis, Austin Graham Dunn, Rylan Lee, Nick Michael, Cari Milowicki, Jonathan T. Pearce, Jordan Michael-Victor Penrose, Jenicka Roche, and Kelly Rudolph.

For more details about this issue, please visit: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/fm/2019/00000010/00000002

We love to work with guest editors! And we’re always looking for new undergraduate authors! So if you have an idea for an issue or are interested in publishing, please get in touch with us today.

Stay healthy!

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K. M. Wise, Author of FM 10.1 (2019) Article “Generational Horror: A Comparison of Tim Curry’s and Bill Skarsgård’s Portrayals of Pennywise in Stephen King’s IT”

Posted on June 13, 2020 by admin
Tim Curry as Pennywise in IT (Lorimar Productions, 1990)

Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.

K. M. Wise: My article that is being published in Film Matters is titled “Generational Horror: A Comparison of Tim Curry’s and Bill Skarsgård’s Portrayals of Pennywise in Stephen King’s IT.” I started writing this research paper in the fall of 2017 almost immediately after the remake was released. I was incredibly taken with the film and I knew that I wanted to start some kind of conversation surrounding how spectacular I thought it to be. I finally found my inspiration in the changes made from the original miniseries to the new film and what that could tell us about the millennial generation.

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