Teaching and Learning Guide for: ‘Have You Seen Any Good Films Lately?’ Geopolitics, International Relations and Film
Authors: Dodds Klaus 
Published: July 2008

Teaching and Learning guides provide ideas and inspiration for using Compass articles in advanced educational settings.

Author's Introduction

Why should geographers be interested in visual media such as film? Films provide not only a rich source of textual and audio‐visual evidence about particular events, such as the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, but also opportunities for civic education and public engagement.

National governments have frequently turned to the entertainment industry in times of war and crisis. Using Hollywood as the main example, this article shows how the entertainment industry has co‐operated closely with government departments and agencies, such as the Department of Defence and the Central Intelligence Agency. Taking a geographical approach, this article presents the main perspectives on films to be found within political geography and allied disciplines, such as international relations.

Genre and generic cinema. Genre is an important mechanism for classifying film and potential audience appeal. If, for example, we want to understand the importance of place in structuring plot development and denouement, we need to appreciate the different generic conventions associated with the action thriller as opposed to the Western. Generic cinema is popular with major Hollywood studios because it is comparatively easy to market to audiences both within and beyond the English‐speaking world.

Audiences matter. Although there is a tendency to note that the rise of the so‐called blockbuster film has marginalised the importance of plot and character development, we should not assume that audiences are not capable of engaging critically with films and their subject matter. Using online evidence found at the Internet Movie Database, this article concludes with some consideration of how audiences can respond quite differently to films, such as Black Hawk Down (2001).

Author Recommends

1. Altman, R. (1999). Film/Genre. London: British Film Institute.

This is an excellent introduction to genre and generic cinema and explains how genre, even if specific categories are unstable, shapes plot development and audience reactions.

2. Bordwell, D. (2006). The way Hollywood works it. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

This book provides a very helpful guide to the politico‐economic and cultural dynamics of the major studios and Hollywood more generally.

3. Dodds, K. (2007). Geopolitics: a very short introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

This short book provides an overview of critical and popular geopolitics.

4. McCrisken, T., and Pepper, A. (2005). American history and contemporary Hollywood film. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.

It is particularly strong on the development of the blockbuster movie and offers an excellent analysis of films, such as Black Hawk Down (2001).

5. Monaco, J. (2000). How to read a film. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

This is a great book that really shows how films can and are interpreted in different ways by scholars working in film studies and beyond.

6. Power, M., and Crampton, A. (eds) (2007). Cinema and popular geo‐politics. London: Routledge.

The first edited collection of essays on popular geopolitics and film written by political geographers, political scientists and international relations scholars.

7. Robb, D. (2004). Operation Hollywood. New York: Prometheus.

A very readable account of how Hollywood and the Department of Defence have collaborated with one another on a range of filmic projects from the World War II onwards including The Longest Day (1961) and Top Gun (1986).

8. Valantin, J. M. (2005). Hollywood, the Pentagon and Washington. London: Anthem Press.

A detailed study of what the author calls ‘national security cinema’ especially in the Cold War period and beyond.

9. Weber, C. (2001). International relations theory. London: Routledge.

The leading writer on film and international relations offers here a very accessible guide to how film can be used to interrogate International Relations (IR) ‘myths’, such as sovereignty and world order.

10. Weber, C. (2005). Imagining America at war. London: Routledge.

This book explores the cinematic terrain of post‐9/11 America. She is particularly strong on gender relations and cultures of masculinity.

Useful Links

1. Box Office

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/

This site provides information on box office receipts and other essential information on particular films, such as budgets and release dates.

2. British Film Institute

http://www.bfi.org.uk/

This site provides great information on film and has an excellent ‘education’ section, which provides good sources on film genres, film criticism, and so on.

3. Film and Philosophy

http://www.film‐philosophy.com/

Created in the mid‐1960s, this online journal provides a rich example of more philosophical readings of film, which provides a sharp contrast to more audience‐based research on film.

4. Internet Movie Database

http://www.imdb.com/

This site is one of the world's largest online sources of film criticism and users can track how others have commented and responded not only on particular films but also other users.

5. Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies

http://www.participations.org/

This online journal provides a good example of how audience and reception studies is carried out by contemporary film studies scholars.

Focus Questions

How does film represent international political events and processes such as 1991 Gulf War and global capitalism?

What difference does genre make to the way in which place animates plot and character development?

How does identity and territoriality relate to film?

Is it wrong that Hollywood does collaborate with government agencies such as the Department of Defence?

How have contemporary films attempted to address the 11 September 2001 attacks and the subsequent American occupation of Iraq?

Why does it matter that we study audience reactions to films?

Bulleted Outline

Geopolitical and international relation perspectives on film

Cinematic geopolitics and visual cultures

Generic cinema and US national security post‐9/11

Audiences and films: a range of reactions and emotional attachments

Conclusions: film, civic education and national culture

Practical Exercises

Using the James Bond film series as an example, consider how Bond's missions reflect or even anticipate real‐life events, such as the Space Race, Second Cold War and War on Terror.

Discuss the generic characteristics of the action‐thriller using a film such as Die Hard (1988) as an example.

Organise a communal viewing of a film, such as Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), and ask your fellow participants to record not only what they consider memorable but also how their ‘mood’ might change depending on the use of outtakes, music, popular cultural references and one‐to‐one interviews.