Sue Thornham – författare

At a time when distinctions between television and film have blurred, and multiple TV channels offer us the chance to re-view TV dramas, there is still little attention paid to television drama as text or to ways of theorising such texts. This book offers both a clear account of theoretical approaches to television drama and readings of a range of television drama texts. Arguing that TV drama is a key site for exploring the usefulness of contemporary theories of identity, culture and representation, it offers a framework which links this analysis to theoretical concepts explored elsewhere in cultural, media and film studies over recent years. Each chapter provides a critical account of a specific theoretical approach, outlining its history and scope, and demonstrating its application across a range of TV dramas, ending with a close reading of particular examples. Organised around the themes of identity and subjectivity, the book encompasses a wide range of approaches and texts, from sitcom, to docudrama, to sci-fi and is an ideal resource for undergraduate students of Media Studies, Cultural studies, Communication Studies and Television and Film Studies.

Feminist film theory has a complex history of debate, both with external theoretical positions, and among its own theorists. At the heart of this debate is the difficult relationship between 'woman' as cinematic representation, real life women, and the female theorist. Passionate detachment is the stance of the feminist engaged in a critical reading of the cinema, whether as film critic, as film-maker or as audience member. This book traces the key developments and debates in feminist film theory over the past twenty-five years. Beginning with the work on stereotypes of women from the early 1970s and moving to the most recent debates within cultural criticism, it charts the relationship of feminist film theory to the contexts from which it arises - and to which it offers a profound challenge. From arguments about 'the male gaze' to work on fantasy, horror and the body, each chapter presents a clear and detailed critical account of a key area of debate. Feminist film theory emerges as the central arena in which feminist theories of representation, identity and cultural politics have been fought out from the 1970s onwards.

The interaction of feminism with cultural studies has revolutionised both fields. Here, Sue Thornham traces the complex relationship between the two, examining the ways in which feminism has affected the key theoretical developments for the last thirty years and has influenced - and contested - the direction of cultural studies research. It examines the engagement of feminist theory with psychoanalysis and structuralism, with ethnographic research, with theories of cultural consumption, and with concepts of technology, the body and modernity. It offers an invaluable survey and assessment of the rich and varied literature around each of these topics, providing students with an admirable overview of the field and a firm basis for developed study within both areas.

Since at least the early 1970s, when Claire Johnston observed that despite ‘the enormous emphasis placed on woman as spectacle in the cinema … woman as woman is largely absent’, the relationship of cinema to the construction of gender identities and gendered pleasures has been a central concern within Film Studies. Bringing together the political concerns of second-wave feminism and the dizzying developments in theorizing about representation, culture, and society, early work—as exemplified by Johnston’s writing—changed radically the nature of Film Studies and the issues which it would address. Later scholars attended to concerns about sexuality, drawing on queer theory; and race and ethnicity, often influenced by postcolonialism. Most recently, Global Cinema Studies has sought to refocus these concerns yet again, whilst ‘postfeminism’ has questioned many of the assumptions on which Film Studies work on gender has rested.Film and Gender is a new title in Routledge’s Major Works series, Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies. It meets the need for an authoritative reference work to enable users to navigate and make sense of the subject’s large literature, its history, and its continuing centrality within Film Studies. Compiled by Sue Thornham, whose work includes Passionate Detachments: An Introduction to Feminist Film Theory (1997) and Feminist Film Theory: A Reader (1999), and Niall Richardson, author of The Queer Cinema of Derek Jarman (2009) and Transgressive Bodies: Representations in Film and Popular Culture (2010), this eagerly awaited collection brings together in four volumes the foundational and the very best and most provocative scholarship on film and gender.Film and Gender includes a full index and comprehensive introductions, newly written by the editors, which place the collected material in its historical and intellectual context. It is an essential work of reference and is destined to be valued by scholars and advanced students as a vital research tool.

This anthology brings together the key statements from the main debates in feminist film theory in Britain and the United States since 1970. The book maps the impact of major theoretical developments - structuralist and semiotic theory; psychoanalysis; theories of ideology, language and discourse - on this growing field, in terms of both theoretical shifts and changes in methodologies. The relationship of feminist film theory to feminist media and cultural studies is outlined, as is the relationship between developments in feminist film theory and feminist film making. Includes readings from Laura Mulvey, Jacqueline Rose, Mary Ann Doane, Tania Modleski, Annette Kuhn, Jackie Stacey, Elizabeth Cowey, Linda Williams, bell hooks, Teresa de Lauretis. For the past twenty-five years, cinema has been a vital terrain on which feminist debates about culture, representation and identity have been fought. This anthology seeks to chart the history of those debates, bringing together the key statements in feminist film theory in Britain and the United States since 1970. The book maps the impact of major theoretical developments in this growing field - from structuralism and psychoanalysis to post-colonial theory, queer theory and postmodernism in the 1990s - interms of both theoretical shifts and changes in methodologies. Organised into six sections, the readings deal with a wide range of topics: oppressive images; "woman" as fetishised object of desire; female spectatorship; film audiences; issues of fantasy and desire in popular film; and the cinematic pleasures of black women and lesbian women. The centrality of a feminist "politics of vision" unites all the readings in this book.Key Features*Divided into six sections for ease of use: Taking up the Struggle; The Language of Theory; The Female Spectator; Textual Negotiations; Fantasy, Horror and the Body; Re-Thinking Differences*An introduction setting out the key debates in feminist film theory*Introductions to each s

Over the past few decades feminist media scholarship has flourished, to become a major influence on the fields of media, film and cultural studies. At the same time, the cultural shift towards ‘post-feminism’ has raised questions about the continuing validity of feminism as a defining term for this work. This book explores the changing and often ambivalent relationship between the three terms women, feminism and media in the light of these recent debates. At the same time it places them within the broader discussions within feminist theory - about subjectivity, identity, culture, and narrative - of which they have formed a crucial part.The book is organised around four key topic areas. ‘Fixing into Images’ offers a rethinking of one of the first preoccupations of feminist media analysis: the relationship between women and images. ‘Narrating Femininity’ explores the narratives of femininity produced in media texts in the light of theories of narrative and identity. ‘Real Women’ examines both the continuing absence of women’s voices from the genres of news and documentary, and their over-presence within popular ‘reality’ media forms. Finally, ‘Technologies of Difference’ examines the relationship between feminism, women and new media technologies. Throughout, the book explores key issues within feminist media studies both through specific examples and via critical engagement with the work of major theoretical writers. Features*A completely up-to-date study of the key areas of issue and debate in feminist media studies.*Includes case studies and discussion of the work of key writers in the field.*Contains readings of specific texts, ranging from news and advertising to reality TV and ‘postfeminist’ TV drama.

Media Studies: A Reader introduces a full range of theoretical perspectives through which the media may be explored, analysed, critiqued, and understood. The Reader reaches back to essential statements from writers such as Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall, Marshall McLuhan, Jürgen Habermas, Jean Baudrillard and Michel Foucault, whose work was central to forming the field. It also includes wide ranging work on contemporary media formations from a stellar collection of diverse theorists, including Annabelle Sreberny, Paul Gilroy, Charlotte Brunsden, Angela McRobbie, Asu Askoy and Kevin Robins, Micheal Bull, and Nick Couldry, to name only a very few of those included. Finally, the Reader looks to the future, exploring new media formations and their significance, through the work of Mark Andrejevic, Lev Manovich, Jonathan Sterne and others.The sixty-five readings are divided into two main parts: 'Studying the Media' begins with a section on key theoretical perspectives and follows this with five sections opening up questions around the Public Sphere, Representation, Feminism and Gender, Audiences, and Everyday Life respectively. The second part, 'Case Studies', brings together concrete examples of how theoretical approaches can be realised through a series of case studies, covering for instance, reality TV, news, advertising, and new media. With easy-to-follow introductions and guides to further reading accompanying each section, Media Studies: A Reader equips the student to engage with key debates in the field. This new edition updates all sections with a rich selection of contemporary writing complementing re-chosen media 'classics'. In addition: * Further Reading lists have been comprehensively updated* Introductory essays to each section have been expanded and re-written

For the past twenty-five years, cinema has been a vital terrain on which feminist debates about culture, representation, and identity have been fought. This anthology charts the history of those debates, bringing together the key, classic essays in feminist film theory. Feminist Film Theory maps the impact of major theoretical developments on this growing field-from structuralism and psychoanalysis in the 1970s, to post-colonial theory, queer theory, and postmodernism in the 1990s. Covering a wide range of topics, including oppressive images, "woman" as fetishized object of desire, female spectatorship, and the cinematic pleasures of black women and lesbian women, Feminist Film Theory is an indispensable reference for scholars and students in the field. Contributors include Judith Butler, Carol J. Clover, Barbara Creed, Michelle Citron, Mary Ann Doane, Teresa De Lauretis, Jane Gaines, Christine Gledhill, Molly Haskell, bell hooks, Claire Johnston, Annette Kuhn, Julia Lesage, Judith Mayne, Tania Modleski, Laura Mulvey, B. Ruby Rich, Kaja Silverman, Sharon Smith, Jackie Stacey, Janet Staiger, Anna Marie Taylor, Valerie Walkerdine, and Linda Williams.

Essays on new theories, methods, and research for the field of media studiesMedia Studies: A Reader introduces a full range of theoretical perspectives through which the media may be explored, analyzed, critiqued, and understood. This reader includes essential essays from writers such as Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall, Marshall McLuhan, Jürgen Habermas, Jean Baudrillard, and Michel Foucault, whose work was central to forming the field. It also includes wide ranging work on current media formations from key contemporary theorists, including Paul Gilroy, Angela McRobbie, and Nick Couldry. Finally, Media Studies: A Reader looks to the future, exploring new media formations and their significance through the work of Mark Andrejevic, Lev Manovitch, Jonathan Sterne, Janice Radway, Ien Ang, David Morley, Linda Williams, and others.The sixty-seven readings are divided into two main parts. "Studying the Media" begins with a section on key theoretical perspectives and follows this with five sections opening up questions around the Public Sphere, Representation, Feminism and Gender, Audiences, and Everyday Life. The second part, "Case Studies," brings together concrete examples of how theoretical approaches can be realized through a series of case studies, covering, for instance, reality TV, news, advertising, and new media.With easy-to-follow introductions and guides to further reading accompanying each section, Media Studies: A Reader equips the student to engage with key debates in the field. With over 60% new material, this new edition updates all sections with a rich selection of contemporary writing complementing media studies classics. In addition, further reading lists have been comprehensively updated and introductory essays to each section have been expanded and re-written.

Dutch director Marleen Gorris is known chiefly for two films: A Question of Silence (1982), her fiercely feminist first film, in which three women meet by chance in a women's clothing boutique and ritually murder its male owner; and Antonia's Line (1995), her fourth film and winner of the 1996 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, which traces four generations of Antonia's female 'line' in the matriarchal community she establishes in postwar rural Holland. Both have been extensively discussed, though rarely together, and appear on university syllabuses. Her second Dutch language film, Broken Mirrors (1984), and her five films in English, however, have received far less, and in some cases no critical attention. Using feminist reformulations of ideas of vulnerability and resistance, this first book-length study of her films examines their revisionings of narrative, time and space, and the possibilities they present of other narratives, other subjectivities and other relationships.

Dutch director Marleen Gorris is known chiefly for two films: A Question of Silence (1982), her fiercely feminist first film, in which three women meet by chance in a women's clothing boutique and ritually murder its male owner; and Antonia's Line (1995), her fourth film and winner of the 1996 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, which traces four generations of Antonia's female 'line' in the matriarchal community she establishes in postwar rural Holland. Both have been extensively discussed, though rarely together, and appear on university syllabuses. Her second Dutch language film, Broken Mirrors (1984), and her five films in English, however, have received far less, and in some cases no critical attention. Using feminist reformulations of ideas of vulnerability and resistance, this first book-length study of her films examines their revisionings of narrative, time and space, and the possibilities they present of other narratives, other subjectivities and other relationships.

Sue Thornham's study explores issues in feminist filmmaking through an examination of a wide range of films by women filmmakers, ranging from the avant-garde to mainstream Hollywood, and from the 1970s to the present day, discussing directors including Sally Potter, Jane Campion, Julie Dash, Patricia Rozema and Lynne Ramsay.