Film Matters Magazine

Gabrielle and Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess (Renaissance Pictures)

Margaret Rasberry: When did you first hear about Film Matters?

Emma C. Farrell: I first heard about Film Matters when I was an exchange student at the University of Kansas. My professor for Television Studies announced in class that the magazine was at that time looking for students to submit papers on the topic of fandom – a subject which I have always been very passionate about, both as an active member of many fan communities myself and as a scholar. Since I am originally from Scotland, I must admit that I had never heard of Film Matters before, so I was very keen to learn more. From hearing my professor describe the magazine further to me and how it has engaged with the film studies community and celebrated the work of undergraduate film scholars, I knew that submitting a paper to the magazine and having it potentially published would be a wonderful and life-changing opportunity.
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Ivory-Sinclair: How did you first hear about Film Matters and how did you decide to get involved?

Tim Palmer: Along with Liza Palmer, I co-founded the journal and oversaw its origins.  The idea and concept were hers, I should stress.

IS: How do you mentor your students?

TP: Mentoring to me is the most catalytic yet overlooked part of the job of academia.  It’s essential to the craft of the academic, and is something – in my experience – all good teachers and professors enjoy, investing much of their working time into.  I work with students preparing their papers for submission for Film Matters, as well as supervising Honors Students – my Honors supervisee, Levi Vasquez, just had his paper chosen by the UNCW [University of North Carolina Wilmington] as its single nominee for the Best Honors Paper, to be considered for the annual Portz Scholar award, offered by the National Collegiate Honors Council, which made me very happy.  To me it’s about introducing students to the professional elements of research, peer review, and publication; all of which are essential to know, and know well, if you want to get into this career track.  Intellectually, I try always to expose my students to ideas, texts, films and materials inside and outside the classroom, to get as much out of their time in college as possible.  Mentoring, in other words, extends in many directions outwards from all the facets of my work as a film professor.
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Steven T. Gamble: How did you first hear about Film Matters and what inspired you to submit your article?

Brandon Konecny: It’s hard to pin down a precise moment. Being a former UNCW [University of North Carolina Wilmington] film student, Film Matters is well advertised around the department, so I’d imagine I heard about it that way. What inspired me to submit to it? It probably just came from loving cinema. Cliché answer, right? Well, it’s true: we get into this field because we’re movie-lovers, and as such we like communicating with other fellow cinephiles, talking about our likes and dislikes, espousing cinematic gems and berating cinematic flops. We do this in person, of course. So why not do it via written expression? The only difference is that essays, I think, allow you to fortify your points with impressive polysyllabic film jargon—like “polysyllabic.”
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Zach Boylston: How did you first hear about Film Matters and what inspired you to submit your article?

Christina Marie Newland: I think I found Film Matters because I was fascinated with some of the big scholarly film journals – coming fresh from university, I started looking for opportunities for young film scholarship. I was so excited to find out that Film Matters existed and that it was such a quality platform, as well. In terms of my article, on Raging Bull [“Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull, Italian American Masculinity, and the American Dream,” FM 4.1, 2013], it was my favorite chapter of my final year dissertation at Nottingham Trent University. My professors encouraged me to get it published outside of school, so I went for it.
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Junyang ZHAO: First off, can you tell us about The Ocularist?

Philip Formby: The profession of ocularistry is one that is little known to the majority but essential to a wide-ranging minority. The Ocularist follows John Pacey Lowrie in his journey to improve the life of his patients with his unique perspective and dedication to the advancement of ocular prosthetics.
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Emily Anderson: How did you first hear about Film Matters and how did you decide to get involved?

Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park: I learned about Film Matters in a serendipitous manner. On his own initiative, Javi Altor Zubizarreta – one of my top students at the University of Notre Dame – submitted his revised freshman seminar research paper to Film Matters. When Film Matters accepted his submission for publication, he shared this good news with me. Upon receiving my complimentary copy of 1.2, I realized what a marvelous endeavor Film Matters is, and decided to enhance my pedagogy so that my top students would all benefit by also having a chance to get published in Film Matters. After Javi’s success with “Action Stars Who Don’t Get Any Action: Hong Kong Actors in U.S. Roles,” I have had a steady string of my students from the University of Notre Dame publish in this journal. This list includes Eleanor Huntington (1.4), Kathleen Bracke (3.1), Eric Hinrichsen (3.2), Grayson Nowak (4.1), and Rona Vaselaar (4.2).
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