BOOK REVIEW Theorizing World Cinema

Theorizing World Cinema is a collection of discursive essays on the topic of films from around the globe. With contributions from twelve expert scholars, Theorizing World Cinema provides an analysis on the state of cinema across a number of countries, building on the works of other major names in the field to outline the major drivers and themes currently evident within the medium.

Theorizing World Cinema embraces world cinema in its purist sense, avoiding the typical approach of Hollywood and the rest. Such a style draws from a theory of polycentric multiculturalism put forward by Shohat and Stam in their book Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism And The Media (1994), in which they question the Eurocentric view of cinema in the West. This theory purports that to reduce cinema to Hollywood and the rest is somewhat patronising, and reduces cinema from outside of the Western world to little more than a reaction to what is produced in the West, with little scope for independent thought.

While this theory may be in itself cause for debate, it is true that discussions of world cinema often, as mentioned in this book, treat Hollywood as “the undesired other to be distinguished against, or otherwise as an unmentionable shadow lurking in the dark.” Editor Lúcia Nagib sums things up rather poetically: “World cinema is not a discipline, but a method; a way of cutting across film history according to waves of relevant films and movements, thus creating flexible geographies.” Such inclusivity underlines the scope of coverage offered within this book, and thus it is testament to its effectiveness that such a grand project with such an enormous scale can be condensed so effectively into a very readable publication.

An excellent read for anyone keen to learn more about the current themes and patterns abounding within cinema around the globe.

However, rather than just offering an overview of a selection of movies from a certain country or continent in an attempt to shoe-horn in a connection in order to offer a summary of films in the region, Theorizing World Cinema is much more targeted and focussed. The essays provide a discussion of certain elements relating to the interconnectedness of films from various countries, eras and regions, along with an analysis of how such productions were either influenced by their time, politics or culture, or how the films themselves impacted upon such areas.

The book is split into twelve chapters, covering an array of topics, including the unique case of Indian cinema, the transnational cinematic patterns of Latin America, an examination of the dialectics of black British cinema, and an investigation of Ang Lee’s accented cinema. The aim of these essays is to provide in-depth discussions of the various themes, offering a new or more thorough examination of the topics. Generally, this involves building upon previous research from other experts in the field to delve deeper, as well as seeking to apply related theories to new themes.

While the degree of depth the book goes into could easily result in it becoming a cumbersome and difficult read, the language employed is, for the most part, simple enough to follow, avoiding overuse of technical vocabulary to make it an easier read. The book also endeavours to provide a thorough explanation of the theories being employed to explain a particular argument, with extensive reading lists also available for anyone eager to learn more about a particular topic.

The book presents a vast array of differing films in order to support the discussion with a number of examples which are unlikely to be considered amongst the mainstream. Indeed, it is likely that for even some of the most hardened cinephiles, there will be films included which could perhaps be new to them. Theorizing World Cinema includes Lynne Ramsey’s Scottish film Morvern Caller (2001), Italian classic Cabiria (1914), Lisandro Alonso’s surprisingly Argentinean-based film Liverpool (2008), erotically charged Japanese film In The Realm Of The Senses (1976), and multicultural British film Bhaji On The Beach. These films make up just a handful of the array of examples used to help provide basis and to support the varying arguments presented throughout. All the entries are well-considered, fitting in well with the wider narrative, and are shown alongside some iconic stills to give the reader a better flavour of the film, although more such shots would perhaps have been welcome to have broken up some of the heavy chunks of text more effectively.

The editors and contributors, including Laura Mulvey, John Caughie, Geoffrey Nowell-Smith, Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Julian Smith, are all experts within the field.  Every contributor has had many years of experience in their specified field, with many professors from major universities around the UK and beyond have adapted their discussions from various forums and conferences in order to put forth their respective sections in this book. Their passion and knowledge for the topic is fully in evidence throughout, enabling the book to be all the more appealing, and potentially offering readers the opportunity to discover further publications the many contributors have been involved with, many of which are helpfully listed here.

The twelve chapters are broadly split into four main and somewhat disparate subject areas. While some will likely hold the interest of the reader more than others, every topic remains an interesting, insightful and engaging read, with fascinating analysis presented in a very easy to read style.

Theorizing World Cinema is an excellent read for anyone keen to learn more about the current themes and patterns abounding within cinema around the globe, and how a variety of films have been influenced by or are a reflection upon the wider cultural realm. Presented in a very readable form, the book is accessible to film buffs and the layman alike, offering an array of new takes on a classic theme by a number of renowned and well respected contributors.

Release date: 2^nd November 2011 / Author: Lucia Nagib / Publisher: I.B.Tauris

By Andy Neary

Andy Neary is a French-speaking writer typically focussing on much more
prosaic topics in his job as a market analyst, focussed on retail, for which…

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