British Genre Cinema (part I and II) - Detailseite

The development of British cinema is marked by two seemingly contradictory tendencies: the establishing of a distinct, artistically minded national cinema in opposition to the dominance of commercial Hollywood cinema on the one hand, and the development of its own brand of commercial genre cinema on the other. Ever since the 1950s, with the emergence of the Hammer Studios and other prominent British production companies, British cinema was able to develop its own unique take on horror films, gangster films and comedies.  After the comparable dearth of the 1980s and 1990s, British genre cinema returned with a vengeance in the early 21^st century.

In this seminar we will trace the development of British genre cinema from the 1950s to the present. We will explore the development of different genres in their respective socio-cultural and production contexts. We will trace the emergence of important directors with both commercial and auteur sensibilities. In addition, we will explore the possibilities of theorising genre and national cinema in a wider cultural and international context.  

Texts will be made available on Moodle. The selection of films will be discussed during the first session.

Introductory reading:

James Leggott. Contemporary British Cinema: From Heritage to Horror. Wallflower Press, 2008.