Transnational cinema
Encyclopedia
Transnational cinema is a developing concept within film studies
that encompasses a range of theories relating to the effects of globalization
upon the cultural and economic aspects of film. It incorporates the debates and influences of postnationalism
, postcolonialism
, consumerism
and Third cinema
, amongst many other topics.
Transnational cinema debates consider the development and subsequent effect of films, cinemas and auteurs which supersede national boundaries in becoming cultural products and representations.
. National identity has been posited as an 'imaginary community' that in reality is formed of many separate and fragmented communities defined more by social class
, economic class, sexuality, gender, generation
, religion, ethnicity, political belief and fashion, than nationality
.
The increasingly transnational practices in film funding, production and distribution combined with the 'imagined community' thus provide the basis for an argued shift towards a greater use of transnational, rather than national, perspectives within film studies
. Global communication through the internet has also resulted in changes within culture and has further resulted in film transcending perceived national boundaries .
Subsequently, Hjort, John Hess and Patricia Zimmerman, amongst others, have attempted to clearly define the utilisation and implementation of Transnational cinema theories. To assist the ongoing discussions, Transnational Cinemas, the first Academic Journal dedicated to the ongoing debates, has been announced by Intellect for publication in 2010.
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
that encompasses a range of theories relating to the effects of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
upon the cultural and economic aspects of film. It incorporates the debates and influences of postnationalism
Postnationalism
Postnationalism describes the process or trend by which nation states and national identities lose their importance relative to supranational and global entities...
, postcolonialism
Postcolonialism
Post-colonialism is a specifically post-modern intellectual discourse that consists of reactions to, and analysis of, the cultural legacy of colonialism...
, consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
and Third cinema
Third Cinema
Third Cinema is a Latin American film movement that started in the 1960s-70s which decries neocolonialism, the capitalist system, and the Hollywood model of cinema as mere entertainment to make money...
, amongst many other topics.
Transnational cinema debates consider the development and subsequent effect of films, cinemas and auteurs which supersede national boundaries in becoming cultural products and representations.
Key debates
A key argument of Transnational cinema is the necessity for a redefinition, or even refutation, of the concept of a national cinemaNational cinema
Like other film theory or film criticism terms , the term "national cinema" is hard to define, and its meaning is debated by film scholars and critics. National cinema is a term sometimes used in film theory and film criticism to describe the films associated with a specific country...
. National identity has been posited as an 'imaginary community' that in reality is formed of many separate and fragmented communities defined more by social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
, economic class, sexuality, gender, generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
, religion, ethnicity, political belief and fashion, than nationality
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
.
The increasingly transnational practices in film funding, production and distribution combined with the 'imagined community' thus provide the basis for an argued shift towards a greater use of transnational, rather than national, perspectives within film studies
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
. Global communication through the internet has also resulted in changes within culture and has further resulted in film transcending perceived national boundaries .
Ongoing definition
The broad scope of topics relating to Transnational cinema have raised some criticisms over its exact definition, as Mette Hjort notes:(...) to date the discourse of cinematic transnationalism has been characterized less by competing theories and approaches than by a tendency to use the term ‘transnational’ as a largely self-evident qualifier requiring only minimal conceptual clarification.
Subsequently, Hjort, John Hess and Patricia Zimmerman, amongst others, have attempted to clearly define the utilisation and implementation of Transnational cinema theories. To assist the ongoing discussions, Transnational Cinemas, the first Academic Journal dedicated to the ongoing debates, has been announced by Intellect for publication in 2010.
Further reading
- Guneratne, A. & Dissanayake, W (eds.) Rethinking Third Cinema, London & New York: Routledge, 2003.
- Hjort, M. & Mackenzie, S. Cinema and Nation, London: Routledge, 2000
- Hunt, L. & Wing-Fai, L. East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational Connections on Film, London & New York: I.B. Tauris, 2008.
- Kauer, R & Sinha, A (eds.) Bollywood: Popular Indian Cinema Through a Transnational Lens, New Delhi: Sage, 2005.
- McIlroy, Brian. Ed. Genre and Cinema: Ireland and Transnationalism, London & New York: Routledge, 2007.
- Nestingen, A & Elkington, T. (eds.) Transnational Cinema in a Global North: Nordic Cinema in Transition, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005.
- Pisters, P. & Staat, W. Shooting the Family: Transnational Media and Intercultural Values, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005.
- Shohat, E & Stam, R. (eds.) Multiculturalism, Postcoloniality and Transnational Media, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2003.