Vincent Bec, Author of FM 11.1 (2020) Article “Women Still in Danger: A Look at Incel Rhetoric in the 1980 Slasher Film He Knows You’re Alone”

Posted on December 18, 2020 by admin
Nancy is introduced in the trailer for He Knows You’re Alone (MGM, 1980).

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

Vincent Bec: My article is “Women Still in Danger: A Look at Incel Rhetoric in the 1980 Slasher Film He Knows You’re Alone.” It is meant to be a discussion on how this film can be viewed through a rather extreme misogynistic lens to show how elements of this film’s plot came together, probably accidentally, in a way that gives it a narrative similar to rhetoric found in the incel community. It is not meant to suggest that watching the film is going to turn someone who isn’t a misogynist into a misogynist, rather it is meant to show how someone who is already deeply invested in misogynistic beliefs and communities could connect to the film in a way the standard viewer may not.

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Mise-en-Scène Scrapbook: Phantom Hunter. By Ashlin Lawler

Posted on December 18, 2020 by admin

Phantom Hunter is a fictional film that comments on many aspects of reality, including gender norms, politics, and societal issues. My biggest inspiration for this film is the Jason Bourne series, whose story – in addition to being an action thriller – serves as a subtle political comment in the aftermath of 9/11 (Gaine). If it were an actual film, the plot of Phantom Hunter would be presented in a nonlinear fashion so as to reveal information to the viewer as the story progresses.

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Moonstruck: A Spellbinding Message About Love. Reviewed by JaZmyn Shambley

Posted on December 18, 2020 by admin
Moonstruck (Norman Jewison, 1987). Courtesy of The Criterion Collection.

Curses, bad luck, and the special powers of the moon all emerge at one point or another in Norman Jewison’s magical Moonstruck (1987), almost providing audience members with the same viewing experience they would have with a fantasy film. Yet, the film excels as one of cinema’s most polished and revered romantic comedies, with the American Film Institute listing it as the eighth best romantic comedy in its “10 Top 10” list dedicated to the genre. Moonstruck flourishes due to the undeniably engrossing leading love interests Loretta Castorini (Cher), a self-assured Italian American widow residing in Brooklyn Heights, and Ronny Cammareri (Nicolas Cage), a volatile yet tender-hearted bakery worker, as the pair irrationally fall head over heels in a passion-induced night lit by a spell of the full moon. Despite Loretta’s engagement to Ronny’s estranged brother, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), she is still unexplainably smitten with Ronny, making for an irresistibly appealing plot.

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Jasper Chen, Author of FM 11.1 (2020) Article “Westernization and Sinicization: How Chinese Cinema Formed a Modern National Identity”

Posted on December 8, 2020 by admin
A still of The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai

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

Jasper Chen: “Westernization and Sinicization” is a historical research piece on the effects of Westernizing and modernizing influences on Chinese film in the early twentieth century. It explores how this tug of war between such influences and nationalistic, anti-imperialist sentiments played out in films, creating an imagined space to explore Chinese identity.

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The Deeper Meaning Within Chad Stahelski’s Neo-Noir Action-Thriller, John Wick (2014). A Motif Analysis by G.M. Smith

Posted on December 8, 2020 by admin
John Wick mourns the death of his wife. (John Wick, Lionsgate, 2014).

It is easy to assume that action films are artistically insignificant. Many people truly believe that action films are all the same and serve little to no purpose in terms of filmic artistry. However, this belief is harsh and inaccurate. There can be infinite meanings behind any film, and action movies are no exception. In this essay, I will solidify this argument with a well-known action film entitled John Wick (2014). We will analyze recurring motifs throughout the film, including the use of color, dark clothing aesthetic, guns, and violence. While these motifs are present in all three John Wick films, we will be focusing particularly on the first film in this piece.

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Lydia Spencer-Elliott, Author of FM 11.1 (2020) Article “Choreography to Choreocinema: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Surrealism and Dance”

Posted on November 17, 2020 by admin
A Study in Choreography for Camera (Maya Deren, 1945)

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

Lydia Spencer-Elliott: “Choreography to Choreocinema: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Surrealism and Dance” explores the role of dance within the Surrealism movement from performances in 1917 to contemporary cinema in 2016. The article delimits the notion of legacy and of labeling different styles of dance choreography “surrealist.”

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FM 11.1 (2020) Digital Media Dossier: Video Essays

Posted on November 10, 2020 by admin

A companion video essay section to accompany the Digital Media dossier in FM 11.1 (2020) produced by Jennifer O’Meara and students, Trinity College Dublin.

Another Cinema, Cinema of the Other
By Giorgiomaria Cornelio and Lauren “Ren” O’Hare

Artists’ Statement:

Conceived as an exploration and an homage to the Third Cinema, this video essay investigates an idea of art as a permanent revolution, where the building of a new image coincides with the raising of a new man. The struggle and the multiplicity behind this movement are still highly necessary, because a truly de-colonized cinema is a cinema always to come.

Voiceover: In Dialogue with Videographic Film Criticism
By Jessica Timlin

Artist’s Statement:

This video essay analyzes the use of voiceover in videographic film criticism. Already an established technique in film, voiceover in videographic film studies is still uncertain. However, by looking at various uses of this tool in a range of video essays, the benefits and pitfalls of voiceover will be identified.

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FM 11.1 (2020) Released!

Posted on November 10, 2020 by admin

FM 11.1 (our first issue of 2020, this most unusual year) 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 early 2021.)

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

The “Digital Media” dossier, edited by Jennifer O’Meara and students at Trinity College Dublin:

These book reviews:

These film reviews:

And these DVD/Blu-ray reviews:

Clearly, lots to see and engage with here. So for more details about this issue, please visit: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/fm/2020/00000011/00000001

Are you an undergraduate author who wants to be published in Film Matters? Then we want to work with you! Please check out all the different ways you can publish with us.

Stay healthy!

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Parul Tiwari, Author of FM 10.3 (2019) Article “Exploring the Relationship of the Geography and People Through Composition in the Films of Abbas Kiarostami”

Posted on November 10, 2020 by admin
The contours of landscape created through colors, textures and variety in levels in The Wind Will Carry Us (MK2 Productions, 1999)

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

Parul Tiwari: This article aims to analyze landscape in the films of Abbas Kiarostami using the compositional frames of the films to speculate upon the cultural, political, and existential relations that come up between people and nature.  

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What We’re Watching: Halloween Edition. By Sydney Boone, JaZmyn Shambley, and Sophia Stolkey

Posted on October 30, 2020 by admin
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (Trans World Entertainment, 1988)

As the first edition of our soon-regular column, “What We’re Watching,” we’re blending our cinephilia with Halloween spirit to reflect on perhaps less obvious choices for holiday viewing. Take up our recommendations at your own risk, as these films are sure to give you a spook!

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