Cinema Studies   Tags: cine, cinema, cinema_studies, film, motion_pictures, movies  

The horror film is meant to end in hope: Regan McNeil can be exorcized. A hydrophobic Roy Scheider can blow up a shark. Buffy can and will slay vampires. Heroic human qualities like love, bravery, resourcefulness, and intelligence will eventually defeat the monster. But, after the 9/11, American horror became much more bleak, with many films ending with the deaths of the entire main cast.

Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema illustrates how contemporary horror films explore visceral and emotional reactions to the attacks and how they underpin audiences' ongoing fears about their safety. It examines how scary movies have changed as a result of 9/11 and, conversely, how horror films construct and give meaning to the event in a way that other genres do not. Considering films such as Quarantine, Cloverfield, Hostel and the Saw series, Wetmore examines the transformations in horror cinema since 9/11 and considers not merely how the tropes have changed, but how our understanding of horror itself has changed.

Analyses three contemporary films that offer complex and original representations of women's thoughtfulness and individuality: In the Cut (2003), Lost in Translation (2003) and Morvern Callar (2002). Lucy Bolton compares these recent works with well-known and influential films that offer more familiar treatments of female subjectivity: Klute (1971), The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Marnie (1964). Considering each of the older, celebrated films alongside the recent, unconventional works illustrates how contemporary filmmaking techniques and critical practices can work together to create provocative depictions of on-screen female consciousness.

Drawing on the philosophy of Luce Irigaray in relation to women's cultivation of self-knowledge, this book examines female characters as they go through processes of transition or transformation. Bolton's approach demonstrates how the encounter between Irigaray and cinema can yield a fuller understanding of the fundamental relationship between film and philosophy. Through meticulous theoretical positioning, and close textual analysis, Bolton shows how cinema can create works of philosophy that investigate questions of personal identity, sexuality and relationships with others. Furthermore, the book explores the implications of this approach for filmmakers and spectators, and suggests Irigarayan models of authorship and spectatorship that reinvigorate the notion of women's cinema.

Provides a much needed introduction to the complexities of French film for students, cineastes, and the movie-loving public.

* Looks at the differences between French and American national cinema
* Explores how French directors shape their films around two potentially divergent goals: the narration of a story and an elaboration of some theory about film itself.
* Demystifies the "difficulty" of French cinema, allowing the American movie-goer to enjoy films that are too often perplexing at a first viewing.
* Offers extended analyses of classic, New Wave, and contemporary French films—including L'Atalante, Adele H., The Rules of the Game, and Cache.