[ecrea] CFP Frames Issue 'Breaking Labels'

    */Frames/, Issue 9, Spring 2016*


    *“Breaking Labels”*

French high-wire artist Philippe Petit once said: “It’s always easy to
describe something complex by applying to it an already known label”.
The impulse to label, and to thereby shape distinct expectations, is
ever present in the life of film and media, from its creative and
promotional stages to its analytical dissection in the halls of
academia. Labels, for instance, play a crucial role in production and
marketing for the purpose of gaining funding and attracting audiences.
Within the context of academia, labels can be conceived of as ways of
framing a certain discourse, or, more generally, to find a common
vocabulary for comparative and interpretative research. But more than
just simplifying and explaining complex structures, labels also
contribute to problematic stereotypes and set limits to artistic
freedom, even if, according to Patti Smith, “artists are traditionally
resistant to labels”.

Though we can observe a never-ending drive to continue using established
theoretical and analytical labels, or creating new critical and
philosophical terms such as “transnational”, “neo-phenomenological”, or
“post-colonial”, the speed in which the field of film and media studies
is changing brings labels under constant interrogation as their validity
and ability to speak to new aesthetic and social issues is challenged.
Further consideration and new understandings of the power structures
applied in creating and perpetuating these labels also cause call for
pause when employing labels. But, in order to reflect on these dynamics
of academic communication, do we need to refrain from theoretical
labels, or do we rather have to reinforce them and follow D.N. Rodowick
in writing an “elegy for theory”? After all, in a moving world of moving
images, is theory not a “compass for artistic development”, to quote
Béla Balázs?

What is at stake, then, when considering when, how, and by whom labels
are used and created, what purpose do they still serve, and what is the
resistance to labelling? How do labels that on the one hand provide
insight also pose a danger of overlooking case-specific complexities?
And what are the ramifications of these dangers in regards to the use of
labels in political and societal contexts in which they run the risk of
perpetuating legacies of colonization, patriarchy, and hierarchies? The
Spring 2016 issue of/Frames Cinema Journal/ seeks to examine the
continuation, reconceptualization, and rejection of the labels that
define the medium we study. *Topics may include but are not limited to:*

  * Theoretical and analytical labels in academia and their contribution
    to or obscurification of understanding media
  * Labels as forms of branding shaping production and audience 
expectations
  * Labels in terms of authorship, power relations, and marketing
  * Stardom and gender as labels, or as results of labelling strategies
  * National labels and their appeals and drawbacks in a changing world
  * Beyond Labels: Are there ways to produce films without (commercial)
    labels?

We seek full article submissions for our features section (5,000-7,000
words) and our POV section (1,000-3,000 words) as well as video
contributions enquiring the proposed topics. Video submissions may be
sent to the editors in the form of a link using an online streaming
source (Vimeo, YouTube, etc.).

*All submissions (including a brief biographical note) should be sent by
February 1, 2016 to:*

*Eileen Rositzka and Amber Shields (editors-in-chief)*

*E-mail: (framesjournal /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(framesjournal /at/ gmail.com)>*

*About /Frames/*

/Frames Cinema Journal/, based at the University of St Andrews, is an
online biannual publication that aims to be a space for cutting edge
research and ongoing discussions among film and media scholars.

http://framescinemajournal.com/


--
Amber Shields
PhD Candidate and Teaching Assistant, Film Studies
University of St Andrews, Scotland

Department of Film Studies
University of St Andrews
99 North Street
St. Andrews, KY16 9AD
Scotland, UK

Email: (alfs /at/ st-andrews.ac.uk) <mailto:(alfs /at/ st-andrews.ac.uk)>

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