[Commlist] CFP- Elsewhere from an American perspective in cinema

*Appel à communications / Call For Papers***

*L’ailleurs vu d’Amérique :*

*Espaces Géographiques Étrangers dans le Cinéma Américain*

*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)

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------