[Commlist] Call for abstracts for KOSMORAMA - journal for film research and film culture - special issue on Popular cinema as a cultural forum: the films, the stars, the fans - from movie theatres to streaming platforms

**Call for abstracts for KOSMORAMA – journal for film research and film 
culture. Special issue 2027 (spring)**

## Popular cinema as a cultural forum: the films, the stars, the fans - 
from movie theatres to streaming platforms ##

From Garbo to Barbie - popular films are part of our common cultural 
frame of reference in
contemporary as well as historical social and cultural contexts. In 
other words they are a part of a
cultural forum as storytelling and as a cultural practice: This special 
issue investigates how film as a
cultural forum includes popular film as a specific art form telling 
stories and how these films are
engaged with in the cultural public sphere: from Hollywood's Golden Age 
to today’s digital streaming
platforms.
The concept of film as a cultural forum builds on ‘the cultural forum 
model’ (e.g. Newcomb and Hirsch
1987) which was originally conceptualised for analysing television, and 
how its cultural form was
closely connected to its role in our culture and society. Instead in 
this special issue, we use the
framework to focus on the connection between popular film genres and 
stars and how they are engaged
with across media by fans and critics.
Popular films work as a cultural forum because they are sites for 
discussions and this includes a range
of different social and cultural issues: such as representations of 
gender and ideology, cultural taste and
artistic value as well as moral panic debates. From the very beginning 
‘going to the movies’ was not
only about watching the movie but part of a broader set of cultural 
practices, rituals and narratives
framed by a cross-media presence in mainstream culture. We welcome 
abstracts focusing on
contemporary and historical studies of popular cinema as a cultural 
forum with focus on films, stars
and/or fans and/or how films are engaged with across different media.

The special issue invites contributions from different research 
traditions: Star studies, celebrity studies,
fan studies, film history, media history, Cultural Studies, gender 
studies, journalism studies. Popular
cinema as cultural forum invites historical and contemporary studies 
including:

· Popular cinema and Film cultural practices across different media 
(from magazines, posters, daily
newspapers to social media and digital platforms·
· Popular Cinema and stars as representations of gender, class, 
ethnicity, sexuality
· Popular Cinema and qualitative audience studies
· Fashion and film and stars in historical or contemporary contexts
· Film as cross-media culture in a historical or contemporary perspective
· Cultural debates concerning film quality and artistic value
· The moral panics and concern for young audiences
· The cultural practices of going to the movies or streaming

KOSMORAMA is an online open access journal published by the Danish Film 
Institute. No payment required by the authors!
VISUAL MATERIAL: We strongly recommend contributors to include visual 
material for their
articles (however the author is responsible for securing the publishing 
rights)
Timeline:
Deadline for abstracts: 30/6 2026 (please send a 250-word abstract and a 
100-word bio)
Notification of acceptance 1/7 2026
Deadline for finished article: 1/12 2026
Planned publishing date 1/3 2027
Double Blind Peer review
Word limit for articles: 5000 words

If you have questions, please contact the co-guest-editors: Helle Kannik 
Haastrup
(h.k.haastrup /at/ hum.ku.dk) & Katrine Sommer Boysen (Editor-in-Chief 
Lars-Martin Sørensen)
Styleguide: https://www.kosmorama.org/en/en/guidelines-contributors
About Kosmorama: 
https://www.kosmorama.org/en/kosmorama/english/about-kosmorama


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