bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Community as a Means and an End in Jewish Education
Authors: Levisohn Jon A.
Published: February 2021

This chapter considers the possibility that communities are not only instrumentally but also intrinsically valuable. They are ends rather than or as well as means. The chapter discusses the educational implications of thinking about communities as ends in themselves, rather than as means to individual fulfilment and flourishing. It also considers what happens if, in our construction of visions of Jewish education, we seek to establish not only what makes an educated Jew but also what an ideal Jewish community is. The chapter questions whether or not it is even possible to sustain an enquiry into this question, or if any discussion of educational aims inevitably collapse into individualistic terms.
Mutual Relations between Sheliḥim and Local Teachers at Jewish Schools in the Former Soviet Union
Authors: Dashevsky Ira , Ta’ir Uriel
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses the Heftzibah programme. This programme brings together professional teachers (local as well as sheliḥim) of very different social, cultural, and personal backgrounds. Even among the sheliḥim themselves there is great diversity: some are just starting out on their path in education, while others are close to retirement; some are parents whose children will accompany them on their assignments, others are single or divorced; some are fluent in Russian while others, born in Israel, are taking their first steps in the new language; bearers of a secular world-view have colleagues who are strictly Orthodox or traditional; Ashkenazim work alongside Sephardim. What is common to them all is a sense of mission: a will to pass Jewish and Zionist knowledge on to students in Jewish schools in the FSU. In addition, every shaliaḥ must be in possession of a teaching diploma recognized by the Israeli ministry of education, and at least five years' proven experience in educational work with children.
Beyond the Community
Authors: Miller Helena
Published: February 2021

This chapter examines Jewish day schools in Britain. While some Jewish schools in Britain are private institutions, funded by trusts and individuals within the Jewish community, most Jewish primary and secondary schools are located within the state sector. Here, the two issues of funding and accountability to the government are the keys to understanding Jewish day school education in Britain today. The chapter examines them as well as the matter of curriculum, which has also been shaped by the relationship between Jewish schools and the government. Clearly, these are not completely separate fields of concern, and throughout the chapter links and connections between them will be made as appropriate.
Relationships between Schools and Parents in Haredi Popular Literature in the United States
Authors: Finkelman Yoel
Published: February 2021

This chapter examines how the new family–community model is reflected in popular Haredi educational discourse in the United States. In recent decades, an extensive English-language Haredi popular literature has developed. This literature has been bitterly attacked by several modern Orthodox intellectuals, but it has not been adequately mined as a resource for understanding the ways in which Haredi Jewry negotiates its complex relationship with general culture and tries to mould the character, values, and social alliances of its members. The chapter examines this literature's portrayal of the relationships between schools and families, arguing that it presents conformity between schools and homes as an ideal, and that it calls upon parents to heed the rabbis and educators who can teach them how to build homes that live up to Haredi standards. Yet, in addition to describing this hegemonic ideal, the popular literature also reveals places where actual practice does not live up to that ideal, and raises resistant voices that question aspects of the ideal itself.
Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference
Authors: Berger David
Published: February 2021

The focus of this book is the messianic trend in Lubavitch hasidism. It demonstrates how hasidim who affirm the dead Rebbe's messiahship have abandoned one of Judaism's core beliefs in favour of adherence to the doctrine of a second coming. At the same time, it decries the equanimity with which the standard-bearers of Orthodoxy have granted legitimacy to this development by continuing to recognize such believers as Orthodox Jews in good standing. This abandonment of the age-old Jewish resistance to a quintessentially Christian belief is a development of striking importance for the history of religions and an earthquake in the history of Judaism. The book chronicles the unfolding of this development. It argues that a large number, almost certainly a substantial majority, of Lubavitch hasidim believe in the Rebbe's messiahship; a significant segment, including educators in the central institutions of the movement, maintain a theology that goes beyond posthumous messianism to the affirmation that the Rebbe is pure divinity. While many Jews see Lubavitch as a marginal phenomenon, its influence is in fact growing at a remarkable rate. The book analyses the boundaries of Judaism's messianic faith and its conception of God. It assesses the threat posed by the messianists of Lubavitch and points to the consequences, ranging from undermining a fundamental argument against the Christian mission to calling into question the kosher status of many foods and ritual objects prepared under Lubavitch supervision. Finally, it proposes a strategy to protect authentic Judaism from this assault.
The Rabbinical Council of America Resolution
Authors: Berger David
Published: February 2021

This chapter assesses the author's proposal of a resolution about messianism to the Rabbinical Council of America. The proposal reads as follows: ‘In light of disturbing developments which have arisen following the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt''l, the Rabbinical Council of America declares that there is no place in Orthodox Judaism for the belief that Mashiach ben David (Messiah son of David) will begin his Messianic mission only to experience death, burial and resurrection before completing it’. The RCA resolution evoked substantial coverage in the Jewish media. It was not formulated as an attack against Lubavitch and addressed the messianist belief in a mild language. Nevertheless, some Lubavitch hasidim levelled strong attacks against the RCA and even stronger attacks against the author.
Judaism is Changing Before Our Eyes
Authors: Berger David
Published: February 2021

This chapter studies how the author published an article in Ha'aretz that aroused a stormy discussion in Israel and the diaspora. The author noted a new rabbinic ruling requiring everyone to believe in the messiahship of the Lubavitcher Rebbe as well as developments that the author regards as manifestations of avodah zarah. In the wake of the article, there were defences of even the most frightening formulations, but there were also sharp denunciations of the practitioners of avodah zarah emanating from various Chabad circles, including those of committed messianists. It remains to be seen whether participants in extremist publications who have not repented will be removed from their posts as educators, spiritual mentors (mashpi'im), and directors of Chabad Houses. Ultimately, the author argues that anyone who recognizes the authority of messianist rabbis and of rabbinic courts headed by them causes an alien belief to be entwined into the communal structure of Judaism; ensures the utter smashing of a central, millennium-old argument against the Christian mission; and effects a deformation of the Jewish religion with regard to a matter that cuts to the very core.
Intrigue and Revolution
Authors: Harel Yaron
Published: February 2021

This is a book of unexpected drama: all eleven chief rabbis appointed in this period of unprecedented change in the Jewish communities of the Fertile Crescent became the subject of controversy and were subsequently dismissed. This took place against a background of events rarely discussed in the context of Jewish society. The book paints a colourful picture of these upheavals set firmly in the social and political context of the time and far removed from the commonly accepted image of Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire. Jews were also affected by modernization and political conflict in the wider society of the time, and these too gave rise to power struggles. The chief rabbis were at the forefront of these confrontations. Most of them recognized that the challenges of modernization had to be met. Their openness to change stemmed from a concern for the future of the communities for which they were responsible, but they were often vociferously opposed. The communal politics that ensued were sometimes heated to the point of violence. In the latter years of the empire, many Jews came to support the Young Turks, with their promise of liberty and equality for all. Rabbis had to develop political awareness and engage in Ottoman politics. This was another source of tension within the community since the new regime punished anyone suspected of opposition severely. The book offers a lens through which to view the Jewish society of the Ottoman Empire at a time when all the traditional norms were being challenged.
The Geonic Period and the Background of Sa’adyah Gaon’s Activities
Authors: Brody Robert
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses the character and achievement of Rabbi Sa'adyah ben Joseph or Sa'adyah Gaon. It looks at Sa'adyah's day, in which the vast majority of Jews viewed themselves as subject to the authority of two ancient Jewish centres: Palestine and Babylonia. It also mentions spiritual leaders known as geonim that headed the prestigious and internationally renowned academies of Sura and Pumbedita in Babylonia and the central academy in Palestine. The chapter recounts the age of the geonim that was preceded by an even more obscure era, the savora'im. It analyses the famous Epistle of Sherira Gaon that was written in 986, which consists of questions on talmudic and halakhic issues that were sent by Jews from communities around the world to the senior members of the academies headed by the geonim.
Sa’adyah the Biblical Commentator
Authors: Brody Robert
Published: February 2021

This chapter focuses on the Bible, which was viewed as sacred by Jews of all persuasions, namely the Rabbanite and Karaite. It reveals how the Karaites imposed that the Bible should be interpreted strictly with reference to the text rather than external sources, while Rabbanite Jews transmitted alongside the Bible, which they called the Written Law. It also describes the Bible's unique status during the geonic era that manifested as the regular order of synagogue readings from the Pentateuch. The chapter explores the central role of the Bible in forms of creative endeavour as piyut and midrash, which was more prevalent in Palestinian traditions than that of Babylonia. It mentions Babylonian sages before Sa'adyah's day that engaged in systematic biblical exegesis as part of their higher education.
Rashi
Authors: Grossman Avraham
Published: February 2021

To this day, the commentaries on the Bible and Talmud written by the eleventh-century scholar known as Rashi remain unsurpassed. His influence on Jewish thinking was, and still is, significant. His commentary on the Pentateuch was the first Hebrew book to be printed, giving rise to hundreds of supercommentaries. Christian scholars, too, have relied heavily on his explanations of biblical texts. This book presents a survey of the social and cultural background to Rashi's work and pulls together the strands of information available on his life, his personality, his reputation during his lifetime, and his influence as a teacher. The book discusses each of his main commentaries in turn, including such aspects as his sources, his interpretative method, his innovations, and his style and language. Attention is also given to his halakhic monographs, responsa, and liturgical poems. Despite Rashi's importance as a scholar and the vast literature published about him, two central questions remain essentially unanswered: what was Rashi's world-view, and was he a conservative or a revolutionary? The book considers these points at length, and an in-depth analysis of Rashi's world-view—particularly his understanding of Jewish uniqueness, Jewish values, and Jewish society—leads to conclusions that are likely to stimulate much debate.
The Social and Cultural Background of Rashi’s Work
Authors: Grossman Avraham
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses the social and cultural background of Rashi's work. According to evidence preserved in the literary accounts and archaeological findings, Jews began to settle in what is now France during Roman times, in the first century CE. That settlement continued uninterrupted until Rashi's time. In general, Jews continued to do well in France. Nevertheless, the weakness of the central government and the ascendancy of local fiefdoms meant that their social and political status differed in each of the feudal states that made up eleventh-century France, depending upon the good will of the local rulers. Two developments during the eleventh and twelfth centuries influenced Jewish economic and intellectual life and the internal organization of the Jewish community: the growth of cities and the European intellectual renaissance. The chapter then looks at the Jewish community in Troyes and the Jewish centre in Champagne; the twelfth-century renaissance; and the Jewish–Christian religious polemics.
Commentary on the Torah
Authors: Grossman Avraham
Published: February 2021

This chapter evaluates Rashi's commentary on the Torah. Rashi saw significance and purpose in every name, time, place, and event—indeed, in every detail—mentioned in the Torah. The essence of Rashi's commentary on the Bible—especially on the Torah—and his extensive use of rabbinic Midrash cannot be understood without appreciating the full significance of this idea, which effectively serves as the basis for the entire commentary. As he sees it, the Torah is not merely a historical or literary work. It is, rather, a holy text conferred on human beings by God to guide them in the way of truth, and it must be read and interpreted in that light. Every detail, large or small, has its own unique value. It is therefore hardly surprising that in seeking out its meaning, Rashi would have frequent recourse to rabbinic Midrash or that he would often suggest more than one meaning.
Genres and Motives
Authors: Ben-Shalom Ram
Published: February 2021

This chapter examines the genres and motives behind Jewish chronology during the Middle Ages. Jewish historiography focused on correlating Jewish chronology, general chronology, and Christian chronology. This was a similar approach to Christian writers. The chapter shows that this correlation of Jewish chronology with Christian and general chronology was one of the many components of medieval Jewish–Christian discourse. On the one hand, this suggests that Jews had a unified approach to history, in which they saw themselves as full participants. On the other, the timing and meaning of historical events were part of the religious polemic with Christianity. Religious polemic and apocalypticism were important reasons why Jewish scholars in Spain and southern France engaged in historiography. Other motives included the moral lessons that could be found in history and intellectual curiosity.
Revelation versus Concealment in the Reception History of the Zohar
Authors: Huss Boaz
Published: February 2021

This chapter explores the tension between the desire to disseminate the Zohar and the wish to limit access to it. This tension is inherent in the economic logic of cultural systems as described by Pierre Bourdieu: ‘all the goods offered tend to lose some of their relative scarcity and their distinctive value as the number of consumers both inclined and able to appropriate them grows’. To increase and maintain the value of cultural products, then, a fine balance must be struck between their circulation, on the one hand, and restrictions on their accessibility on the other. In establishing the Zohar's image as a sacred and authoritative text, some circulation was necessary; yet uncontrolled access to the book was to diminish its value. The chapter focuses on eighteenth-century popularization attempts, mainly by Sabbatians, and the reactions that followed, leading to the imposition of restrictions on kabbalistic study.
Antichrist
Authors: Simmons Amy
Published: February 2021

Written and directed by Lars von Trier, one of the most influential and provocative filmmakers working today, Antichrist (2009), tells a story of parental loss, mourning and despair that result from the tragic death of a child. When the film screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, it split audiences down the middle. Some attacked von Trier for misogyny (amongst other things), while others defended him for creating a daring and poetic portrait of grief and separation. Dense, shocking, and thought-provoking, Antichrist is a film which calls for careful analysis. The book follows an account of the film's making with an in-depth consideration of the themes and issues arising from it — the ambiguous depiction of the natural world, the shifting gender power relations, its reflections on Christianity and the limitations of rationality. At the film's heart, says the author, is a heart-breaking depiction of grief-stricken parents, a confounding interplay between psychology and psychosis, misogyny, and empowerment.
Abject Excess and the Monstrous Feminine
Authors: Simmons Amy
Published: February 2021

This chapter explains that at the centre of Antichrist's (2009) thematic agenda is the female character's body, providing the object for her husband's rivalry over its control. Throughout the film, the woman's transgressive sexual appetite produces excitement and feelings of liberation, then harm and guilt, and finally complete psychic chaos and self-destruction. Her body is also seen as the site of potential danger, where female sexuality itself is an assault on the male ego. Certainly, Lars von Trier wants the audience to be shocked and repulsed, but he is also forcing them not only to register the felt intensities of the characters, but also to question why these representations of violence seem to work so effectively to alienate the audience. In this way, Antichrist grafts its disconcerting metaphors of male—female power struggles onto its narrative of excess, in order to interrogate issues such as sexual violence, female emancipation, and the crisis of masculinity.
Studying Talk to Her
Authors: Hughes Emily
Published: February 2021

Talk to Her (2002) is a hugely rich and interesting, though ambiguous, film that met with both popular success and critical acclaim. The film won an Oscar for best original screenplay and has been hailed by some critics as Pedro Almodóvar's masterpiece. Yet like most of Almodóvar's films, little is clear-cut. The characters are complex and our affinity and empathy for them shifts throughout the film. This book provides an in-depth analysis of both the formal elements of the film (its narrative, genre, and auteur study) and the themes and issues it raises, discussing the social context of modern Spain and its old, traditional iconography; shifting attitudes towards gender; and, crucially, the film's uneasy, morally ambiguous depiction of rape and the spectator's reaction to it.
Introduction
Authors: Hughes Emily
Published: February 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview of Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002). The film offers much, both in terms of thematic analysis and micro analysis of the sound, performance, cinematography, editing, and mise-en-scène. Almodóvar can be considered to be a director who is a specialist in gender and the issue of gender identity is explored in Talk to Her, particularly the notion that gender characteristics are fluid and not fixed. Almodóvar's characters simultaneously embody and reject gender stereotypes and share both feminine and masculine attributes. Most of all, what makes Talk to Her such an interesting film to dissect, is the uneasy position that Almodóvar places the spectator in and how its messages and values create moral ambiguity. The film delivers morally complex, hazy messages about rape, voyeurism, and obsession and consequently, the spectator finds humour where they should find revulsion and sympathy where they should find anger. As a result, the film has sparked a great deal of critical, theoretical, and philosophical analysis, particularly around the issue of rape.
Gender
Authors: Hughes Emily
Published: February 2021

This chapter evaluates how Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002) plays with the idea of gender being a fixed attribute and sees gender instead as something flexible and fluid. Gender roles in Talk to Her are arguably represented as a socially constructed rather than innately determined with characters in careers typically assigned to the opposite gender. Lydia is a female bull fighter in a typically chauvinist industry and Benigno is a male nurse in a very female heavy environment. Almodóvar's blurring of the strict rigid definitions of masculinity and femininity can be viewed as postmodernist. The chapter then considers gender performativity in relation to Almodóvar's body of films. In Talk to Her, Lydia, Marco, and Benigno can be seen to perform both male and female gender characteristics at different times.
Genre and Narrative
Authors: Hughes Emily
Published: February 2021

This chapter studies the genre and narrative of Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her (2002). The narrative of Talk to Her flits between a double- and single-stranded plot line, plays with time with sometimes careless abandon, and contains coincidences that verge of the ridiculous. But yet, far from alienating the spectator, the narrative of Talk to Her pleasingly draws one in and lures the spectator into a position where they are able to suspend their disbelief, enjoy and engage with the plot. The spectator familiar with Almodóvar's films somewhat expects an unconventional narrative and thus is likely to find it unobtrusive. Meanwhile, like most Almodóvar's films, Talk to Her is hard to classify in terms of genre. Unlike the Hollywood system that relies heavily on either star or genre marketing, the marketing for Almodóvar's films relies heavily on his own status as an award-winning auteur film-maker. Talk to Her is thus not bound by generic convention in the way that many Hollywood films are.
The Vampire’s Arrival
Authors: Billson Anne
Published: February 2021

This chapter recounts how Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In begins with a black screen with simple white credits and the title of the film in red, which are colors that are predominant in the film. The chapter probes the typography of the title that was arranged in a configuration reminiscent of 1950s modernism, the era in which the housing estate that provides the film with its central setting was constructed. It also talks about the black of night and the darkness of Eli's hair and eyes that contrast with the light of Oskar's blondness and the snow, which reflect the light and dark within their own personalities. The chapter discusses the color red as the red of blood that was used sparingly but effectively throughout Let the Right One In. It mentions falling snow followed by snow stained with red blood as the first moving image in Let the Right One In.
Meeting the Vampire
Authors: Billson Anne
Published: February 2021

This chapter talks about Oskar's school in Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In, which is introduced by an establishing shot and framed by the entrance to an underpass. The chapter explains how establishing shots play a role that is more important than merely labelling the location or providing rhythmic punctuation. It also considers the passing of an entire day in Let the Right One In, which is conveyed with a single brief scene of Oskar in the classroom or being bullied. The chapter points out the daylight scenes that seem to become even shorter, almost perfunctory, while the night-time or Eli's domain become increasingly dominant as the story progresses. It highlights Håkan in John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel of Let the Right One In, who is unambiguously a paedophile and a former teacher who was fired from his job and became a vagrant until 'rescued' by Eli.
Witchfinder General
Authors: Cooper Ian
Published: February 2021

Witchfinder General (1968), known as The Conqueror Worm in America, was directed by Michael Reeves and occupies a unique place in British cinema. Equally praised and vilified, the film fictionalizes the exploits of Matthew Hopkins, a prolific, real-life ‘witch hunter’, during the English Civil War. For critic Mark Kermode, the release proved to be ‘the single most significant horror film produced in the United Kingdom in the 1960s’, while playwright Alan Bennett called the work ‘the most persistently sadistic and rotten film I've ever seen’. Steadily gaining a cult reputation, unimpeded by the director's death just months after the film's release, the film is now treated as a landmark, though problematic, accomplishment, as it exists in a number of recut, retitled, and rescored versions. This in-depth study positions the film within the history of horror and discusses its importance as a British and heritage film. It also considers the inheritance of Hopkins, the script's relationship to the novel by Ronald Bassett, and the iconic persona of the film's star, Vincent Price. The author conducts close textual readings of specific scenes and explores the film's various contexts, from the creation of the X certificate and the tradition of Hammer gothic, to the influence on Ken Russell's The Devils (1971) and the ‘torture porn’ of twenty-first-century horror.
Lecter’s Progeny
Authors: Forshaw Barry
Published: February 2021

This chapter reflects on the figure of the hyper-intelligent serial killer. The influence of the film of The Silence of the Lambs on the horror (and thriller) genre has been considerable, not just on individual films, but in terms of broadening the parameters audiences have come to expect — both in terms of material that might fundamentally disturb, but also in raising the bar for an intelligent approach to genre material. The sophistication of the Hannibal Lecter character might be said to be a metaphor for the extra levels of nuance which became the norm for the most accomplished entries in the field — no longer were rudimentary characterisations of the heroes and villains of such films the yardstick, or even a straightforwardly Manichean attitude to notions of good and evil. A more ambitious and richly textured approach became the norm. Thomas Harris's character — in screen terms at least — survived in a handful of films that matched impeccable writing and direction with some truly idiosyncratic and offkilter playing, two of them directed by the talented David Fincher. The chapter then studies Fincher's Se7en (1995) and Zodiac (2007).
Studying Indian Cinema
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This book traces the historical evolution of Indian cinema through a number of key decades. The book is made up of 14 chapters with each chapter focusing on one key film, the chosen films are analysed in their wider social, political and historical context whilst a concerted engagement with various ideological strands that underpin each film is also evident. In addition to exploring the films in their wider contexts, the book analyses selected sequences through the conceptual framework common to both film and media studies. This includes a consideration of narrative, genre, representation, audience and mise en scène. The case studies run chronologically from Awaara (The Vagabond, 1951) to The Elements Trilogy: Water (2005) and include films by such key figures as Satyajit Ray (The Lonely Wife), Ritwick Ghatak (Cloud Capped Star), Yash Chopra (The Wall) and Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay!).
Introduction
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This introductory chapter traces how critical discourse on Indian cinema has evolved over the last ten years. It addresses some of the factors that have played a part in accelerating the breadth of research on Indian cinema, particularly the proliferation of new media such as the Internet, YouTube, blogging, and DVDs. The chapter then provides some wider context to the current state of Indian cinema and how it has changed considerably in the new millennium. The term Bollywood, ‘a slang term for the commercial side of the Indian movie business’, continues to be a term of contention among those who work in the Indian film industry, conjuring up unpleasant connotations of low culture and trashy escapism. Yet there is no denying that Bollywood has entered the lexicon of film language and that, at least in the West, this derogatory term points to the film industry based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Like ‘world cinema’, Bollywood has become a catch-all term and a marketing-friendly one, but it fails to cover the sheer diversity and specificities offered by what is one of the world's leading film industries.
Popular Narratives
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses the cinema of Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor's key role in helping to popularise Indian cinema proves to be a worthy starting point in tracing the origins and development of popular narratives and genres. The Kapoor dynasty was paramount in the evolution of mainstream Indian cinema. Indeed, the international success of Awaara (The Vagabond) in 1951 marked the beginning of a decade that would produce some of Indian cinema's most memorable films. The chapter considers a range of areas, comprising of Raj Kapoor's status as an auteur, ideological representations, visual styles ranging from noir to expressionism, the use of song and dance as a narrative tool, and the film's relationship with the wider context of post-partition India under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Trauma of Partition
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter shifts the focus to Indian art cinema with the Marxist work of Bengali director and iconoclast Ritwik Ghatak. The impressive Meghe Dhaka Tara (The Cloud Capped Star, 1960) is his best-known film. Dealing directly with the trauma of partition and its effects on a Bengali family, Ghatak's cinema is bold, uncompromising, and occupies a unique position in Indian cinema. Although his work is still somewhat overshadowed by that of Satyajit Ray, another masterful Bengali film-maker, and though many of his films are still sadly unavailable on DVD in the UK, Megha Dhaka Tara is now recognised as one of the key works of Indian art cinema. The chapter discusses numerous aspects, including Ghatak's position as a film-maker; the wider historical context such as the partition of Bengal; the relationship between melodrama and feminist concerns; the film's categorisation as an example of 1960s counter cinema; and the thematic importance of the family to the film's narrative.
Feminist Concerns
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter surveys the career and legacy of Indian cinema's greatest film-maker, Satyajit Ray. If Raj Kapoor can be credited with popularising Indian cinema around the globe, then Satyajit Ray can certainly lay claim to bringing a measure of artistic credibility and sincerity to Indian cinema. Choosing a favourite Ray film was a tricky proposition given the consistency he maintained as a film-maker over four decades. He may have built his reputation on the Apu trilogy, winning major awards at film festivals, but his lifelong fascination with Bengali novelist Rabindranath Tagore provided the source material for some of his finest and most complex works. Charulata (The Lonely Wife, 1964) forms the focus for the chapter, which covers the Bengal renaissance, Satyajit Ray's status as an auteur, gender representations in the films of Ray, camera and narrative style, the relationships between the three central characters, political undercurrents, and the film's portrayal of married life in the Bengali middle class.
Parallel Voices
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter assesses Shyam Benegal's seminal Ankur (The Seedling, 1972). The emergence of state-sponsored film-making in the late 1960s with Mrinal Sen's Bhuvan Shome (1969) laid the foundations for a new cinematic discourse, giving way to the next phase in the development of Indian art cinema, dubbed by many as ‘parallel cinema’. The work of film-maker Shyam Benegal forms a major part of the parallel cinema movement, and the rural trilogy of films characterising his early work not only sympathised with the oppressed underclass but also established an influential political precedent for many of the young film-makers emerging from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India. The chapter looks at the origins and context of New Indian cinema, as well as the definitions of parallel cinema and its importance to the development of art cinema. It also considers Shyam Benegal's authorial status, key ideological strands, and the film's role in helping to politicise cinema in India.
Mumbai Noir
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter studies how, over the last ten years, Indian cinema has seen an explosion in urban-based crime films. A haunting and gripping study of the Mumbai underworld, Satya (1998) was the catalyst for the Mumbai noir film genre. Satya has influenced many recent films in terms of both style and tone, including most pertinently Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (2008). A cult film abroad, Satya was an unexpected commercial success at the box office. The chapter approaches Satya from a range of perspectives, including the rise of Ram Gopal Varma as a genre provocateur and producer; the production contexts, genre, and the relationship with the American gangster film; the gangster as tragic hero; and finally, the significance the film holds as heralding a new vanguard of talented writers, directors, and actors.
Once Upon a Time in India
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter highlights Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan (Land Tax, 2001). An epic essay on cricket, the British Empire, and the collective will of a group of village farmers, the film joined the ranks of an elite group of Indian films to be nominated for an Academy Award. Lagaan quickly acquired the label of a contemporary classic and revived the career of film star Aamir Khan. The chapter offers a detailed and critically engaged study of the film. It covers areas such as the audience response to the film; representations of the British Raj; colonialism and imperialism; song and dance as narrative storytelling; the ideological value of religion; and the sports film as a vehicle for exploring national concerns.
Revolutionaries
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter reflects on the revolutionary politics of Sudhir Mishra's Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (A Thousand Dreams Like These, 2003). Dismissed by audiences on its release, it has grown to become one of the best-reviewed Indian films of its time. Set against the backdrop of the radical Naxalite movement in 1970s India, Mishra's evocative film is a rare example of contemporary political cinema influenced by the work of Shyam Benegal and Mrinal Sen. The chapter discusses a range of areas, including the origins and evolution of political cinema, with a particular focus on Bengali director Mrinal Sen. It also considers the positioning of the film within broader Naxalite cinema; an analysis of director Sudhir Mishra's career; and key ideologies contested amongst the central characters.
The Elements Trilogy
Authors: Ahmed Omar
Published: February 2021

This chapter reviews Deepa Mehta's elements trilogy: Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005). Both Fire and Earth are discussed in some detail while the focus of the chapter remains with the final film Water, which can be considered as Mehta's greatest achievement to date. Water is arguably also one of the most controversial films to have been made by an Indian film-maker since it addresses the religiously sensitive issue of Hindu widows. Due to the bulk of financing originating from Canada, Water is labelled as a Canadian film, thus complicating Mehta's position as an Indian film-maker. Residing in Canada, Mehta is part of the Indian diaspora. The chapter approaches the trilogy from an ideological perspective, exploring the politics of sexuality in Fire and the politics of nationalism in Earth. It looks at Water in terms of its controversial production history, its depiction of Hindu widows, and the interaction of ideology and politics.
The Birth of Cinema
Authors: Withall Keith
Published: February 2021

This chapter discusses the technical and inventive basis for cinema, and briefly describes the important pioneers. It covers the developments prior to the invention of cinema and the first decade of its development, approximately 1895 to 1905. This is a distinct period in film, sometimes characterised by the term ‘primitives and pioneers’. Not all scholars are happy with the term primitive. The films seem simple compared with the complexities of late silent features, but they are also sophisticated in their own way. The screening of a good quality copy of a Georges Méliès' film would emphasise this point of view. There are three clear avenues for study: the technology itself, technique and language, and the idea of the ‘cinema of attractions’. It should be clear that even though these early films are not strictly narratives in the accustomed sense, they are full of opportunities for the study of representations and value systems.
The Growth of an Industry
Authors: Withall Keith
Published: February 2021

This chapter examines the second decade of cinema, which runs approximately from 1905 to the start of World War I in 1914. This period sees the establishment of an industrial organisation for film, both in Europe and the USA. The development of the industry involves two key concepts in film studies: vertical and horizontal integration. Essentially, as the industry developed and firms grew larger, they attempted to exert ever greater control on the market. The key was exhibition, which is where the actual money from admissions was made. Both France and the USA are interesting models for study in this development, and each has distinctive features. The study should include as many of the key factors that enabled this growth in monopoly. These include the development of the dedicated film theatre, the introduction of a rental system, and the developments in programming and film form. Also, there is the rich area of stardom as this period sees the establishment of the film centre Hollywood.
The Teen Years of Cinema
Authors: Withall Keith
Published: February 2021

This chapter evaluates the teen years of cinema, which roughly corresponds to World War I, 1914–1918. Many of the changes were under way before the war and only reached full development afterwards. Thus, the Hollywood studio system had its roots at the start of the teens, and it is only considered fully developed with the arrival of M-G-M in 1924. It was in these years that Hollywood first became synonymous with ‘the movies’ for the large majority of filmgoers, at home and abroad. The development and increasing sophistication of Hollywood film-making are clear subjects of study. In terms of film-makers, D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. De Mille are key examples; both directors can be studied in order to understand the development of Hollywood's narrative and continuity system. While this was not fully developed until the end of the teens, the conventions on which it is built can be clearly identified in the work of both directors. Outside the USA, there are many interesting developments and changes. However, it is quite difficult to access copies of the films from this period.
Alternative Cinemas
Authors: Withall Keith
Published: February 2021

This chapter assesses alternative cinemas. In the 1920s, there were a series of film movements that were motivated by very different interests than mainstream cinema, primarily political. The most important at the time and the one that has had an enduring influence in world cinema became known as Soviet Montage. Because of their influence, there is an extensive selection of Soviet Montage films available. The chapter then considers filmmakers Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov. It also looks at the avant-garde and the late silents. Meanwhile, documentary film and especially animation crossover with the mainstream cinema. The developments in the 1920s and John Grierson's founding of the British Documentary Film Movement initiates an important trend in documentary film that still influences film and television today. It also feeds into an idea of ‘British realism’ still apparent in British films.
Epilogue: Death and Resurrection
Authors: Withall Keith
Published: February 2021

This epilogue describes how silent film was not only replaced by sound after 1930, it disappeared. Sadly, this was in many cases literally. The nitrate film stock used in the silent era contained valuable materials including silver. Old film stock was frequently pulped in order to extract these. At the same time as the old silent reels were being dumped and destroyed, however, people were also starting to save them. The two important groups in this process were collectors and professional archivists. The silent era has also figured as a setting and plot line in popular sound films. The most famous and successful would be Singin' in the Rain (1952), a humorous picture of a fictional Hollywood studio facing the disruption of the new sound technology. In addition, great silent cinema moments influence later film-makers, who frequently include homage to their predecessors.
Foreword
Authors: Thrower Stephen
Published: February 2021

James Marriott’s close reading of Neil Marshall’s The Descent is a gem of accessible psychoanalytic film theory. Speaking as a reader of many texts on horror, it seems to me that psychoanalytical writing on the subject can often stray into aridity, dissertation-speak, convoluted argument and counter-argument and, worst of all, the dogmatic assertion of psychoanalysis as the primary index of truth. This book, however, is meticulous, open-minded and immensely readable. What distinguishes it is Marriott’s clarity of engagement and his readiness to acknowledge branching points of view. There is no need to worry here about abstruse jargon, or the tendency – endemic for a while in psychoanalytic treatises on horror – to neglect the film under discussion in favour of plucking at some ingrown Freudian hair....
The Descent
Authors: Marriott James
Published: February 2021

This chapter offers a detailed synopsis of Neil Marshall's The Descent (2005). This serves to clarify what actually happens (going by the reviews, the film has been for certain viewers a confusing experience) and to introduce some speculative ideas that do not fit neatly anywhere else. The film is about a group of women who went on a caving expedition which would eventually go horribly wrong. The chapter highlights the significance of one of the scenes in the beginning of the film in establishing various subtle fault lines in the group dynamic. Rather than opting for unrealistically distinct character types, Marshall presents a group whose credibility is actually enhanced by an apparent initial similarity, as though the viewer has been introduced around at a party or a new workplace and has trouble remembering exactly who everyone is. This credibility, along with the length of the scene, demonstrates that the film has a certain compassion for its characters, prompting a copycat response from the viewer. These characters are neither ciphers nor witless irritants, and the film spends some time building them up as credible individuals.
Family
Authors: Marriott James
Published: February 2021

This chapter explores which films Neil Marshall was watching while he wrote The Descent. Neil Marshall has in various interviews cited Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972), Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979), and The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) as the principal cinematic influences on The Descent, and the three offer a useful way to triangulate his film's co-ordinates. Deliverance, Alien, and The Shining are, like The Descent, about small groups isolated in hostile conditions with something unexpected and nasty. All three films play on fears of isolation and explore intra-group tensions alongside their more overt horror content; in The Shining the two are broadly indistinguishable. Beyond these thematic similarities, Marshall notes in 'The Making of The Descent' that each film relates to aspects of his in different ways: Deliverance is about an adventure trip that goes wrong, Alien is about atmosphere and menace and dark spaces, and The Shining is about someone going insane. The chapter then highlights the cave films that followed The Descent's release.
Studying the British Crime Film
Authors: Elliott Paul
Published: February 2021

Ever since its inception, British cinema has been obsessed with crime and the criminal. One of the first narrative films to be produced in Britain, the Hepworth's 1905 short Rescued by Rover, was a fast-paced, quick-edited tale of abduction and kidnap, and the first British sound film, Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail (1930), centred on murder and criminal guilt. For a genre seemingly so important to the British cinematic character, there is little direct theoretical or historical work focused on it. The Britain of British cinema is often written about in terms of national history, ethnic diversity, or cultural tradition, yet very rarely in terms of its criminal tendencies and dark underbelly. This volume assumes that, to know how British cinema truly works, it is necessary to pull back the veneer of the costume piece, the historical drama, and the rom-com and glimpse at what is underneath. For every Brief Encounter (1945) there is a Brighton Rock (2010), for every Notting Hill (1999) there is a Long Good Friday (1980).
Introduction
Authors: Conterio Martyn
Published: February 2021

This chapter introduces Mario Bava, who made his officially credited directorial debut with Black Sunday, which took inspiration from a 19th-century short story, Viy, written by Ukrainian author Nikolai Gogol. It explains the title Black Sunday, which was originally La maschera del demonio in Italian, before it was changed by American International Pictures (AIP) upon its release in the United States. It also explains how the Italian-language title, La maschera del demonio, is considered a pun, homage, or rip-off of Hammer's 1957 production La maschera di Frankenstein. The chapter recounts how the AIP purchased North American distribution rights and re-edited scenes, redubbed the soundtrack and dialogue, changed character names and gave Black Sunday an entirely new identity. It describes England's theatrical run of Black Sunday as Revenge of the Vampire in 1968.
Context
Authors: Conterio Martyn
Published: February 2021

This chapter introduces Mario Bava, who was born on 29 July 1914 in Sanremo, Liguria and a 'figlio d'arte' or a child of the arts. It talks about Bava's father who provided his ties to the film world, the sculptor and cinematographer Eugenio Bava, whose artistry and pioneering experimental photography was utilised in the burgeoning Italian movie-making industry of the 1900s. It also recounts how Bava stepped in to complete a low-budget film titled I vampiri after its director, Riccardo Freda, walked off set. The chapter mentions Julian Petley, who likened Bava to his compatriot, Lucio Fulci, in the City of the Living Dead review for Film & Filming and qualified both as metteur en scène directors. It also describes 1960, which is considered a fine vintage year in the illustrious and often controversial annals of horror cinema.