Stephanie Dennison – författare

The Routledge Companion to World Cinema explores and examines a global range of films and filmmakers, their movements and audiences, comparing their cultural, technological and political dynamics, identifying the impulses that constantly reshape the form and function of the cinemas of the world. Each of the forty chapters provides a survey of a topic, explaining why the issue or area is important, and critically discussing the leading views in the area. Designed as a dynamic forum for forty world-leading scholars, this companion contains significant expertise and insight and is dedicated to challenging complacent views of hegemonic film cultures and replacing outmoded ideas about production, distribution and reception. It offers both a survey and an investigation into the condition and activity of contemporary filmmaking worldwide, often challenging long-standing categories and weighted—often politically motivated—value judgements, thereby grounding and aligning the reader in an activity of remapping which is designed to prompt rethinking.

Brazilian cinema is one of the most influential national cinemas in Latin America and this wide-ranging study traces the evolution of Brazilian film from the silent era to the present day, including detailed studies of more recent international box-office hits, such as Central Station (1998) and City of God (2002).Brazilian National Cinema gives due importance to traditionally overlooked aspects of Brazilian cinema, such as popular genres, ranging from musical comedies (the chanchada) to soft-core porn films (the pornochanchada) and horror films, and also provides a fresh approach to the internationally acclaimed avant-garde Cinema Novo of the 1960s. Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison apply recent theories on stardom, particularly relating to issues of ethnicity, race and gender, to both well-known Brazilian performers, such as Carmen Miranda and Sonia Braga, and lesser known domestic icons, such as the Afro-Brazilian comic actor, Grande Otelo (Big Othello), and the uberblonde children’s TV and film star, and media mogul, Xuxa. This timely addition to the National Cinemas series provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between Brazilian cinema and issues of national and cultural identity.

Brazilian cinema is one of the most influential national cinemas in Latin America and this wide-ranging study traces the evolution of Brazilian film from the silent era to the present day, including detailed studies of more recent international box-office hits, such as Central Station (1998) and City of God (2002).Brazilian National Cinema gives due importance to traditionally overlooked aspects of Brazilian cinema, such as popular genres, ranging from musical comedies (the chanchada) to soft-core porn films (the pornochanchada) and horror films, and also provides a fresh approach to the internationally acclaimed avant-garde Cinema Novo of the 1960s. Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison apply recent theories on stardom, particularly relating to issues of ethnicity, race and gender, to both well-known Brazilian performers, such as Carmen Miranda and Sonia Braga, and lesser known domestic icons, such as the Afro-Brazilian comic actor, Grande Otelo (Big Othello), and the uberblonde children’s TV and film star, and media mogul, Xuxa. This timely addition to the National Cinemas series provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between Brazilian cinema and issues of national and cultural identity.

Brazil has one of the most significant and productive film industries in Latin America. This ground-breaking study provides an entertaining insight into the Brazilian films that have most captured the imagination of domestic audiences over the years.The recent international success of films such as Central Station and City of God, has stimulated widespread interest in Brazilian film, but studies written in English focus on the 'auteur' cinema of the 1960s. This book focuses on individual films in their socio-historical context, drawing on extensive fieldwork in Brazil and Latin America. It argues that Brazilian cinema has almost always been grounded in intrinsically home-grown cultural forms, dating back to the nineteenth century, such as the Brazilian music-hall, the travelling circus, radio shows, carnival, and, later, comedy television.Combining a chronological structure with groundbreaking research and a lively approach, Popular cinema in Brazil is the ideal introduction to Brazilian cinema.

Renewed interest in Latin American film industries has opened a host of paths of scholarly exploration. Productions from different countries reflect particular social attitudes, political climates and self-conceptions, and must be considered separately and as a whole. The search for national identity is a key component of Latin American films in a time of decreasing cultural diversity and pressures to westernize. Globalization and falling government support have fueled cross-border collaborations, calling into question the idea of a movie's "nationality," and leaving some nations' film industries on the brink of collapse. Whether thriving or barely surviving, struggling to remain distinct or embracing globalization on its own terms, addressing the government or society, Latin American cinema remains vibrant, offering a wealth of material to scholars of all stripes.These collected essays explore important elements of Latin American cinema and its associated national film industries. The first section of essays examines the impact of modernization on both Latin American screen images and the industry itself, offering modern and historical perspectives. The second section focuses on filmmakers who deal with issues of gender and sexuality, whether sexual transgression, the role of female characters, or societal attitudes towards sex and nudity. The final section of essays discusses the relationship between national identity and Latin American film industries: how movies are used to create a sense of self; Uruguay's ongoing identity crisis; and Brazil's use of Hollywood's stereotypical depiction of the country to depict itself. Photographs and an annotated bibliography accompany each essay, and an index supplements the text.

Remapping Brazilian Film Culture makes a significant contribution not only to debates about Brazilian national cinema, but more generally about the development of world cinema in the twenty-first century.This book charts the key features of Brazilian film culture of the first two decades of the twenty-first century, including: the latest cultural debates within Brazil on film funding and distribution practices; the impact of diversity politics on the Brazilian film industry; the reception and circulation of Brazilian films on the international film festival circuit; and the impact on cultural production of the sharp change in political direction at national level experienced post-2016. The principle of "remapping" here is based on a need to move on from potentially limiting concepts such as "the national", which can serve to unduly ghettoise a cinema, film industry and audience. The book argues that Brazilian film culture should be read as being part of a globally articulated film culture whose internal workings are necessarily distinctive and thus deserving of world cinema scholars’ attention. A blend of industry studies, audience reception and cultural studies, Remapping Brazilian Film Culture is a dynamic volume for students and researchers in film studies, particularly Brazilian, Latin American and world cinema.*Honorary Mention - Best Book in Humanities for the LASA Brazil Prize 2021*

Remapping Brazilian Film Culture makes a significant contribution not only to debates about Brazilian national cinema, but more generally about the development of world cinema in the twenty-first century.This book charts the key features of Brazilian film culture of the first two decades of the twenty-first century, including: the latest cultural debates within Brazil on film funding and distribution practices; the impact of diversity politics on the Brazilian film industry; the reception and circulation of Brazilian films on the international film festival circuit; and the impact on cultural production of the sharp change in political direction at national level experienced post-2016. The principle of "remapping" here is based on a need to move on from potentially limiting concepts such as "the national", which can serve to unduly ghettoise a cinema, film industry and audience. The book argues that Brazilian film culture should be read as being part of a globally articulated film culture whose internal workings are necessarily distinctive and thus deserving of world cinema scholars’ attention. A blend of industry studies, audience reception and cultural studies, Remapping Brazilian Film Culture is a dynamic volume for students and researchers in film studies, particularly Brazilian, Latin American and world cinema.*Honorary Mention - Best Book in Humanities for the LASA Brazil Prize 2021*

The Routledge Companion to World Cinema explores and examines a global range of films and filmmakers, their movements and audiences, comparing their cultural, technological and political dynamics, identifying the impulses that constantly reshape the form and function of the cinemas of the world. Each of the forty chapters provides a survey of a topic, explaining why the issue or area is important, and critically discussing the leading views in the area. Designed as a dynamic forum for forty world-leading scholars, this companion contains significant expertise and insight and is dedicated to challenging complacent views of hegemonic film cultures and replacing outmoded ideas about production, distribution and reception. It offers both a survey and an investigation into the condition and activity of contemporary filmmaking worldwide, often challenging long-standing categories and weighted—often politically motivated—value judgements, thereby grounding and aligning the reader in an activity of remapping which is designed to prompt rethinking.

The apparent shift in power relations between the developed and developing world, along with the increasing emphasis that national and transnational organisations place on the role of ‘soft power’ in global foreign policy, has profound implications for global film culture. Focusing primarily on the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), this innovative collection examines the diverse and often competing ways the group as a whole engages with film as a medium of artistic expression, and as a ‘soft power’ resource. The contributors explore the wider implications for world cinema of its members’ differing and dynamic positions in the global media landscape, and the book includes a comparative analysis by examining the post-imperial soft power of the UK at the time of Brexit.

Explores the relationship between soft power and film in relation to national and transnational cinemasExamines the implications for global film culture of the apparent shift in power relations between the developed and developing worldConsideration given to the transnational dimension of film culturesDiscusses the relationship between film culture and soft power in the BRICS countries and the UKThe apparent shift in power relations between the developed and developing world, along with the increasing emphasis that national and transnational organisations place on the role of 'soft power' in global foreign policy, has profound implications for global film culture. Focusing primarily on the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), this innovative collection examines the diverse and often competing ways the group as a whole engages with film as a medium of artistic expression, and as a 'soft power' resource.The contributors explore the wider implications for world cinema of its members' differing and dynamic positions in the global media landscape, and the book includes a comparative analysis by examining the post-imperial soft power of the UK at the time of Brexit.

Paulo Emílio Salles Gomes (1916–77) is revered in Brazil as the first ardent defender, promoter and theorist of Brazilian cinema. A film professor, critic and historian, his dedication to cinema shaped a generation of influential film critics in his home country, and set the foundations for the serious study of film in Brazil. For the first time in English, this book brings together a selection of his essays for an English-speaking audience, with detailed explanatory introductions to each section for readers unfamiliar with the context of the writings of Salles Gomes.By blending together ruminations on global and national cinema, as well as avant-garde film and popular movies, the collection shows how the defence and promotion of a national cinema has been forged through dialogues with international trends, informed by commercial influences, and shaped by global and national political contexts. The book thus introduces readers to the international dimensions of Salles Gomes’s engagements with film, and in doing so reassesses the locatedness of his formulations on national cinema and signals their international dimensions.

A survey of contemporary Latin American popular culture, covering topics that range from music and film to popular festivals and fashion.Like no other volume of its kind, Pop Culture Latin America! captures the breadth and vitality of pop culture in Central and South America and the Caribbean, exploring both familiar and lesser-known aspects of its unique melange of art, entertainment, spirituality, and celebrations.Written by contributors who are scholars and specialists in the cultures and languages of Latin America, the book focuses on the historical, social, and political forces that have shaped Latino culture since 1945, particularly in the last two decades. Separate chapters cover music, popular cinema, mass media, theater and performance, literature, cultural heroes, religions and festivals, social movements and politics, the visual arts and architecture, sports and leisure, travel and tourism, and language.Chronology of major developments in the cultural life of post-1945 Latin AmericaA bibliography of the literature and electronic resources on the major forms of popular culture in each country or region

This collection of original essays focuses on the cross-currents and points of contact among Spain, Portugal and Latin America and their impact on the regions' film industries.This book focuses on the cross-currents and points of contact in film production among so-called Hispanic countries (Spain, Portugal and Latin America), and in particular the impact that co-production and supranational funding initiatives are having on both the film industries and the films of Latin America in the twenty-first century. Together with chapters that discuss and further develop transnational approaches to reading films in the Hispanic and Latin American context, the volume includes chapters that focus on funding initiatives, such as IBERMEDIA, that are aimed at Spain, Portugal and Latin America. An analysis of such initiatives facilitates a nuanced discussion of the range of meanings afforded to the term transnationalism: from the workings of those driven by economic imperatives, such as co-productions and 'Hispanic' film festivals, to the cultural, for example the invention of a marketable 'Latinamericaness' in Spain, or a 'Hispanic aesthetic' elsewhere.Stephanie Dennison is Reader in Brazilian Studies at the University of Leeds

Brazil's pressing socio-political questions as seen through the country's horror-film-influenced audio-visual production between 2008 and 2022.Since the 2008 release of Embodiment of Evil, the third instalment in the Coffin Joe trilogy, which began with At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, Brazil's audiovisual industry has been producing an increasing number of unsettling, often violent and frequently dystopian films, reflecting the wide-ranging social, cultural, environmental and economic problems the country is facing.This edited volume by scholars from Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States discusses a broad selection of Brazilian audio-visual productions released between 2008 and 2022 which, through their use of aesthetic and narrative devices borrowed from horror cinema, shed light on the country's pressing socio-political questions. Mostly by first-time directors, these productions bear witness to a second 'Golden Age' of Brazilian horror cinema (reflected in new, specialised festivals such as CineFantasy, RioFan, CRASH and Fantaspoa) and ultimately serve to illustrate, in audio-visual form, the tensions at the heart of Brazilian society in the second decade of the twenty-first century.