*Call For Papers***
*Elsewhere from an American Perspective:*
*Foreign Places in American Cinema*
*
*
*International Conference*
*5-6 mai 2022*
*Université d’Artois, Arras (France)*
*Laboratoire Textes & Cultures (EA 4028)*
*Keynote speakers:*
W. Anthony Sheppard (Williams College, MA, USA), author of /Extreme
Exoticism: Japan in the American Musical Imagination/ (Oxford U. P.,
2019).
Antoine Gaudin (Université de Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle), author of
/L'espace cinématographique. Esthétique et dramaturgie/ (Armand Colin,
2015).
* **********
/Ruggles of Red Gap/(McCarey, 1935), shot at Paramount studios,
creates the illusion of Paris and London in the Hollywood tradition of
fake movie sets. /The Lady from Shanghai/ (Welles, 1947) uses /matte
painting/ for Acapulco. /An American in Paris/ (Minnelli, 1951) has
live footage of Paris as well as stylized Metro-Goldwin-Mayer set
designs. Filming /Roman Holiday/ (1953) William Wyler takes his camera
around Rome but also includes rear projection for some scenes to the
point of making the famous sculpture /Bocca della Verità/ bigger than
it actually is. Half a century later, /The Last Samurai/ (Zwick, 2003)
depicts 19th century Japan shooting on location in New Zealand,
Hollywood, the Shoshazan Engyo-ji Temple in Himeji, the Chion-In
Temple in Kyoto, as well as incorporating computer generated images.
All the while Sofia Coppola shoots /Lost in Translation/ (2003) on
location in the streets of Tokyo, Jim Jarmusch captures Tangiers at
night in /Only Lovers Left Alive/ (2013), Neil Burger goes to Prague
to film /The Illusionist/ (2006) whose action takes place in Vienna
and Wes Anderson travels to Germany to recreate a pastel Budapest in
/The Grand Budapest Hotel/ (2014).
American cinema, though traditionally ethnocentric, has always shown a
great interest in foreign cities and landscapes, replete with
adventure narratives from /Indiana Jones/ (Spielberg, 1981-2008) to
/The Lost City of Z /(Gray, 2016), national destiny or exploration
narratives through Martin Scorsese’s eyes in /Kundun/ (1997) and
/Silence/ (2016), countless war movies such as /The Thin Red Line/
(Malick, 1998) or /Fury/ (Ayer, 2014)]. Tales of exile, wandering,
tourism, romance, personal or professional trips pervade American film
history. These places whose exoticism and alterity are underlined by
various aesthetic choices give way to different “reality effects”
(Barthes).
As the Internet and globalization have facilitated intercultural
exchanges, international travel and communication, the cosmopolitan
approach (Woodward & Skrbis, 2013) to film studies (Schwartz, 2007;
Eleftheriotis (2016); Deleyto, 2018), questions related to the
transnational (Ezra & Rowden, 2006) and the transcultural (MacDougall,
1999; Baloğlu & Birincioğlu, 2021), namely what goes beyond national
cinema or cultural identity, have become central aesthetic and
critical preoccupations. Should we still think in terms of cultural
hegemony (Vassey, 1997; Behlil, 2016) when it comes to American
cinema, its relation to the world and the way it represents foreign
places? What type of hybridization has been observed so far? How do
the industry’s economic and cultural policies impact the
representation of foreign territories in American cinema? What about
diplomacy (Nilsen, 2011; Elmer & Gasher, 2005) and geopolitical
questions? Do these films’ aesthetics convey an American identity
which is more or less conspicuous depending on the period? If the
study of space (Gaudin, 2015; Rosario & Alvarez, 2018) seems like an
obvious way to deal with the question at hand, what about the practice
of space (physical reality, social context), human interactions,
gender relations, codes and customs, cultures and religions, iconic
landmarks, iconic figures, literary and artistic heritage? And what
about music (Sheppard, 2019) which is an essential component of film?
What about actors’ performances (e.g. cosmopolitan performance,
Deleyto, 2020) in these films?
We will welcome papers covering these questions and more, adopting
various methodologies and theoretical approaches as long as they stay
within the scope of American films representing foreign places.
The conference will take place on May 5 – 6, 2022 at Artois
University, 9 rue du Temple, 62030 Arras, France.
Proposals in French or English (with a short summary and key words,
approx. 2000 characters) should be submitted via email to Julie
Assouly ((julie.assouly /at/ univ-artois.fr))
<mailto:(julie.assouly /at/ univ-artois.fr))>and Esther Heboyan
((esther.heboyan /at/ univ-artois.fr))
<mailto:(esther.heboyan /at/ univ-artois.fr))>by November 15, 2021.
You will receive an answer by December 1.
Proposals should include the following information:
Name and first name
Institution, department, address
Position
E-mail
There will be a banquet on May 5, 2022. Let us know whether you wish
to join and if you have any dietary restrictions.
Please note that a Covid vaccine certificate will be required of all
participants.
*Scientific committee :*
Julie Assouly (Université d’Artois)
Celestino Deleyto (Université de Saragosse)
Kevin Dwyer (Université d’Artois)
Esther Heboyan (Université d’Artois)
Sébastien Lefait (Université d'Aix-Marseille)
Nolwenn Mingant (Université d’Angers)
Elizabeth Mullen (Université de Brest)
David Roche (Université de Montpellier)
