Examines how, in the film "Lady of the Lake," an experiment with the conflation of the look of the camera with that of the protagonist through extended first-person camera techniques dismantles conventional voyeuristic visual pleasure, affects the representation/fetishization of women in the film, and figures into the debate on the…

States that the boundaries of any genre are slippery, but this is particularly true of the postmodern horror film, since the definition of postmodern is itself blurry. Argues that postmodern horror films include films from 1968 onward. Defines postmodernism and the characteristics of postmodern horror, including violence, violation of boundaries,…

States that many critics concerned with genre theory deny that the genres of horror and science fiction are flexible and adaptable. Discusses a group of recent American horror films that present a distinct variation of the horror film, including "Fatal Attraction,""Single White Female," and "After Hours." Concludes…

Describes "impersonal narration," an approach that defends the concept of the cinematic narrator as a logical and pragmatic necessity. Compares this approach with existing theories of the cinematic narrator, addressing disagreements in the field of film narrative theory. (MM)

States that Bill Nichols's notion of documentary modes helps to articulate some of the troubling aspects of "Roger and Me." Suggests that "Roger and Me" is part of a new ethos, derived from poststructuralist thought and postmodernist form that flouts "negative mastery" as a form of validity. Advances the opinion that…

States that humor is dependent on individual perspective, and that the subject matter of "Lolita" (1962), which concerns child abuse and molestation, is difficult to treat with humor. Argues that despite its subject, "Lolita" continues to be funny. Concludes that viewers know the subject matter is not funny, but while watching,…

Discusses the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School and how it offers a way of seeing normally obscured relations of social power in the details of modern capitalist culture. Concentrates on claims about critical theory that have functioned as strategies of denial. (MS)

Traces the Romanticism in the work and persona of film director Jean-Luc Godard. Examines the contradictions posed by Godard's politics and representations of sexuality. Asserts, that by bringing an ironic distance to the works of such canonized directors, viewers can take pleasure in those works despite their contradictions. (MM)

Discusses the 1955 Vladimir Nabokov novel "Lolita," and the central theme of "Lolita" being a prize in a struggle between two men. Examines some of the moments of sadomasochism in the novel and film, and the relationship between director Stanley Kubrick and the lead actor Peter Sellers. Concludes with an analysis of Kubrick's…

Argues that the dominant themes in Bigelow's "Blue Steel" are female subservience, masculine authority, sex as economic exchange and guilty pleasure, woman as threatening and domestic, and castration anxiety. Analyzes Jamie Lee Curtis's portrayal of the protagonist, Megan Turner, as being androgynous when in uniform, and as possessor of…

Argues that the filmwork of Alfred Hitchcock shows his manipulation of melodramatic silence in that his films demonstrate a link between silence and truth. Concludes that in the simultaneous longing for and denial of the power of film silence lies the modernist complexity of Hitchcock's films that suggests the uses of melodramatic language in a…

Muses on the difference between film in the theater and on home video, using "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as an example. Chronicles the complete viewing experience of this particular film at home. States that although home video supplies an excellent tool for "how-to" analysis, its interactivity cannot supply a valid theory of…

Analyzes Zalman King's 1990 film "Red Shoe Diaries." Argues that the conflicting interests of sexual desire in "Red Shoe Diaries" are indicative of the placement of female heterosexual desire within contemporary culture. Concludes that "Red Shoe Diaries" offers a narrative about the importance and construction of…

Explores silent film actress Norma Talmadge's "star persona" in the 1920s. Focuses on the public discourses that provide the background for Talmadge's departure from the screen. Analyzes why her two "talkies" failed commercially and critically. Concentrates on promotional and publicity materials and on the films themselves. (PA)

Posits that the birth of the road film is linked to interrelated postwar phenomena: the advent of the automobile as an expression of individuality, and the emergence of a large strata of restless youth. Discusses road films from 1950 to the 1990s. Finds that the gradual depoliticization of road film rebellion must itself be understood finally as…