MeCCSA Postgraduate Conference

I had the pleasure of sharing more of my work on James Bond at the MeCCSA Postgrad conference at the University of East Anglia this month. http://www.uea.ac.uk/film-television-media/news-and-events/meccsa-network

This time I presented my research into the reasons for Skyfall's success (see abstract below). I was pleased that my fellow academics' engagement with my work caused them to ask me some very useful and thought provoking questions, which have influenced me to continue this research with a stronger emphasis on the nationalist elements of the film; their role in representing an image of the UK to both domestic and foreign viewers and how this is received by both of these audiences.

Some other points that were made to me after my presentation was the negative representation of Scotland as a rather desolate, weary and cold place. What do you think?

Also the fact that Adele won an Oscar for best original song when the melody is based on the James Bond theme tune, therefore making it not so original. Do you agree?

The Success of Skyfall (2012)

‘And we’re back,’ the words used by an enthralled Mark Kermode (2012) in his review of the most recent instalment in the Bond movie franchise, Skyfall. With the critical failure of the preceding film, Quantum of Solace (or ‘Question of Sport’ as Kermode mocked in reference to its rather forgettable title) the producers of Skyfall had to produce something big: not only a commercial success but, essentially, a ‘good’ film, one that justified its big budget and inevitable hype. Skyfall achieved just this, becoming the most successful British film to date by making £94 million at the box office within the first 40 days of its release and, crucially, it received the thumbs up from renowned movie critics such as Kermode. I would like to investigate the reasons for Skyfall’s success. 

My research methods have been influenced by Barabara Klinger’s idea of a cinematic ‘histoire totale’: an approach to documenting the impact of film by considering a variety of different sources outside of the film text. Klinger explains that, ‘A totalized perspective thus depicts how social forces invite viewers to assume positions, giving us a range of possible influences on spectatorship’ (1997: 114). That is to say that one can look beyond the film itself in order to determine the reasons for its positive reception. With this in mind, I have analysed related artefacts from the build-up to the release of Skyfall in an attempt to understand the high expectations that were set up for the audience. I have followed this research with a textual analysis of Skyfall so I can see how these expectations have been carried through and met by the film itself. In this way I will effectively be presenting a history of Skyfall, albeit a very limited and specific one, documenting the facts surrounding the film, which may have been responsible for its popularity. 

Works cited:

Kermode, M. (2012) ‘Mark Kermode Reviews Skyfall’ from Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review 

[radio clip] 26^th October, Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0109stz 

[Accessed: 1^st March 2013]

Klinger, B. (1997) ‘Film History Terminable and Interminable: Recovering the Past in Reception 

Studies,’ from Screen, 38(2), pages 107-128

Trans-(media) conference, College of Staten Island, New York

I have been inspired to document my academic research online by my recent attendance at the Trans-(media) conference at the College of Staten Island, New York. http://www.blog.csimediaculture.com/?p=21
This two day event provided attendees with a plethora of interdisciplinary talks and I also enjoyed sharing my research (see abstract below) with fellow academics. I would not have been able to attend this conference without the travel grant awarded to me by the Alumni Foundation at the University of Bristol and I feel very privileged to have represented this organisation to an international audience.

Licence to Trans-Genre:

An analysis of the ways in which Licence To Kill (1989) adopts narrative properties of the Western genre.

According to Kitses, The Western is ‘the most popular and enduring of Hollywood forms.’ (1969: 7) The history of cinema is adorned with iconic images of cowboys, saloons and desert landscapes, however, key to the Western’s popularity are the aspects of its narrative: the characterisation, plot and moralistic values. As Kitses suggests, these revolve around a negotiation between the wilderness and civilization (1969: 11). Often, the hero, as a man of the wild, spends the film trying to remain independent from the community until he eventually succumbs. These narrative aspects, I believe, have been adopted by the Bond film Licence To Kill in an attempt to give new life to the franchise; a response to opinions at the time that, ‘the longer the [Bond] films continue the more derivative and depressingly formulaic they become.’ (Chapman, 2003: 91) As a result, Licence To Kill adds a wild side to the character of Bond, presenting a more complex hero, who is unpredictable, morally unstable and emotionally driven. Amongst the recognisable formalistic conventions of the Bond franchise lies a narrative in which our hero is constantly negotiating with the civilized ways of his profession and the wilderness to which he has strayed. In this paper I will identify elements of the film which combine conventions of Western and Bond and explore their effects.

Works cited:

Kitses, J. (1969) Horizons West, London: Thames Hudson

Lindner, C. (2003) The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader, Manchester University 

Press