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…

Traces contemporary literary analyses of Latin American melodrama and the romance, looking especially at the work of Peter Brooks and Janice Radway. Suggests that the film "Lejania" produces a spectatorship of shifting positionalities, which mitigate against a passive spectatorship that would serve as a reactionary force. (RS)

Describes levels of displacement in Stroheim's film "Greed," including (1) the displacement of reason, pleasure, and life by the desire for gold; and (2) the displacement that points to a double movement in Stroheim's cinematic style. Argues that the film's sense of doom arises from the psychic nightmare operating through the mechanics…

Examines women's art within the context of art by men, viewing the works as an ongoing intertextual debate. Uses this approach to analyze two nineteenth-century films: "Morning Bath" and "Fatima." Juxtaposes "Fatima" with the 1973 film, "Take Off." Shows how these works form an intertextual network, with the…

Explores populist ideology by examining it in the content and expression of "Roman Scandals," a musical film of the 1930s. (MM)

Discusses the prevalence of castration anxiety in Clint Eastwood's film "Unforgiven." Describes the situations in which the castration theme is presented, and the inherent symbolism in each situation. Points out that castration does not have to be physical, citing incidents from the film as proof. (PA)

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,…

Contends that Bernardo Bertolucci's films engage in a persistent critique of the essentialist subject; states that he focuses on the lasting effects of a tumultuous early fusion between a preverbal child and an "archaic" mother, associated in part with instinctual, prelinguistic rhythms disruptive of meaning. Discusses several of…

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,…

States that the twofold question for many film and video makers has been how to elicit the viewer's identification with the screen composition and what specific psychological, cultural, and political significance to give it. Finds that the playwright, Samuel Beckett, addressed this question in two films, "Film" and "Eh Joe."…

Examines the dissonant and "camp" effect inherent in describing "Johnny Guitar" as a Joan Crawford western. Argues that the film's camp effect depends on its crossing of a female star vehicle with the western, a stereotypically masculine genre. Summarizes Crawford's childhood and rise to fame. Concludes by exploring the lesbian…

Discusses Joe Hembus's "Western-Lexikon," a German encyclopedia of the western, and one particular entry: "Der Schatz im Silbersee," or "Treasure of Silver Lake," a uniquely German western adapted from a story by Karl May. Explores the impact that this film had on the European--and eventually, American--filmmaking…