African American and Pan-African Films

A Short Guide to Writing About Film by Timothy J. Corrigan. (Tisch book stacks: PN1995 .C66 2010)

Both an introduction to film study and a practical writing guide, this brief text introduces the reader to film terms and the major film theories, serving a great purpose for individuals who want to think and write critically about film.

Movie Reviews vs Film Criticism

Review

Criticism

Critical Essay

Theoretical Essay

Author

written by journalist or staff of newspapers, magazines and trade journals from an entertainment, cultural, or artistic perspective.

written by a scholar or other expert in the field of film studies

written by a scholar, or other expert in the field of film studies

Audience

aims at the broadest possible audience, the general public with no special knowledge of film

for those who are "at least familiar with the film under discussion, although that reader may not have thought extensively about it."

for advanced students or readers who "posses a great deal of knowledge about specific films, film history, and other writings about film."

Contents

summaries of the plot or discussion of the film in another context (the director's other work, films of the same genre, etc.) that might help the reader understand it.

functions to introduce unknown films and to recommend or not recommend them.

a far more specific focus than that of a review in order to reveal subtleties or complexities that may have escaped viewers, for example, a short sequence at the beginning of the film, or on a camera angle that becomes associated with a specific character.

"Its aim is to explain some of the larger and more complex structures of the cinema and how we understand them." An essay, for instance, on the relation of film and reality, on the political or ideological foundations of the movie industry, or on how film narrative is unlike literary narrative.

tip: always check the Library Catalog to see if there is a newer edition of this book.

Film as art: Creativity, technology and business -- The significance of film form -- Narrative as a formal system -- The Shot: Mise-en-scene -- The Shot: Cinematography -- The relation of shot to shot editing -- Sound in the cinema -- Summary: Style as a formal system -- Film genres -- Documentary, experimental and animated films -- Film criticism: sample analyses -- Film art and film history.

A few more titles to get you started:

Dictionary of Film Terms: The Aesthetic Companion to Film Art. PN1993.45 .B33 2006

Cinema Studies: the Key Concepts. PN1993.45 .H36 2006

This is a dictionary format to key theoretical terms, genres, film theory and film history. It includes an extensive bibliography.

Becoming Film Literate: the Art and Craft of Motion Pictures. PN1994 .L595 2005

Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. PN1994 .M364 2004

Understanding Movies, 9th ed. PN1994 .G47 2002

Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory. Ref: PN1993.45 .C75 2001

How to Read a Film: the World of Movies, Media, and Multimedia: Language, History, Theory; 3rd ed. PN1994 .M59 2000

The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Ref. PN1995 .O93 1998
Short essays on aspects of film (such as the text, acting, music), critical approaches (e.g., semiotics, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, feminism), and history (American, European, world).

Film Study: an Analytical Bibliography. Ref. PN1994.Z99 M34 1990
A comprehensive four-volume survey of cinema "through a study of representative genres, stereotypes, themes, comparative media, periods, and film history".

Check the Library Catalog for newer editions of these titles.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (online)

African American and Pan-African Films:

African American Films Through 1959: a Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography. Ref. PN1995.9.N4 R54 1998

Frame by Frame: a Black Filmography. Ref. PN1995.9.N4 K57

Frame by frame II: a Filmography of the African American Image, 1978-1994. Ref. PN1995.9.N4 K58 1997

A Separate Cinema: Fifty Years of Black-Cast Posters. Stacks: PN1995.9.p5 K57

Postcolonial African Cinema: Ten Directors Stacks: PN1998.2 .M87 2007

Blacks in Film and Television: a Pan-African Bibliography of Films, Filmmakers, and Performers. Stacks: PN1993.5.A35 Z999 1990

Social and Historical Contexts

Oxford African American Studies Center (online)

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: the Black Experience in the Americas. Ref. E185 .E54 2006.

Movements

The Cambridge companion to the Harlem Renaissance. Stacks: PS153.N5 C345 2007

The Harlem Renaissance: an Historical Dictionary for the Era. Oversize: NX511.N4 H37 1984

A Sourcebook of African-American Performance: Plays, People, Movements. Stacks: PN2270.A35 S68 1999

Avant-garde Performance & the Limits of Criticism: Approaching the Living Theatre, happenings/Fluxus, and the Black Arts Movement. Stacks: PN2297.L5 S45 2005

The Black Arts Movement: Literary Nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s. Stacks: PS153.N5 S56 2005

The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era. Stacks: E185.61 .B6 2006

A World History of Film. Oversize: PN1993.5.A1 S555 2002

Cinema, society, and science -- Early cinema --Film as art and industry -- The global spread of film-- Hollywood in the 1920s -- The cinemas of Europe -- Soviet cinema-- The transition to sound -- Hollywood genres -- Meeting Hollywood's challenge -- Documentary, propaganda, and politics --Film and World War II -- Italian neorealism -- Hollywood's struggles -- Art cinema of Europe and Asia -- Hollywood in the 1950s -- The French new wave --Cinema of liberation -- The new documentary -- American film: turmoil and transformation -- European films of the 1960s and 1970s -- Hollywood recovery -- The cinematic avant-garde -- The global advance of cinema -- English-language art cinema-- New European film -- World cinema -- American cinema: special effects and beyond.

Readings on Course Reserves.

WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)

Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.

Prev Next

Path of Discovery in the Catalogs

1. Find a title/author (assigned readings/Course Reserves);

2. Note the descriptive language of the Catalog record.

3. Use that language in further searches

e.g. Click on subject/author in the record to see further results and related topics.

Author	Leonard, David J.
Title	Screens Fade to Black: Contemporary African American Cinema
Publisher	Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2006.
Subject	African Americans in motion pictures.
	African Americans in the motion picture industry.

Typical Subject Searches

Note the language pattern (Click on the Searches for real time results in the Catalog.)

motion pictures south africa (a country)

motion pictures africa (a region)

lee spike (a filmmaker; last name first)

race in motion pictures (Broad Themes)

Blacks in Motion Pictures

African Americans in Motion Pictures

Keyword Search

Sample topic: performing blackness in films

perform* and black* and (cinema or film* or "motion pictures")

The above search is limited to books, a feature in Advanced Keyword search mode.

Tips:

1. include "and" in between keywords;
2. "or" and ( ) nest related/varied expressions;.
3. black* for any or all forms of the word, e.g. black, blacks, blackness.
4. " " around phrases, e.g. "motion pictures"

Some Key Sources:

Film & Television Literature Index

Academic OneFile

Project Muse (current years only); JSTOR (earlier years only).

Film Literature Index 1976-200. (2002-04:Ref. [HUM] Z5784.M9 F45)

Film review index (1882-1985.) Ref. [HUM] PN1995 .F467 1986

Index to Critical Film Reviews. (1923-1971) Ref. Z5784.M9 B64

Retrospective Index to Film Periodicals, 1930-1971.

Browse some of the film studies journals here:

Click on the number to pause the slide.

Additional Sources:

America: History and Life

Historical Abstracts

Race Relations Abstracts

Africa-Wide: NiPAD

Women's Studies International

Black Film Center/Archive (Indiana University)

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the button to these three options:

a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;

b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.

c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:

a.Tufts Library Catalog (including e-journals)
b. Electronic journals list
c. Use ILliad to request your article, if Tufts does not have your journal.

Movie Reviews in Magazines & Newspapers:

Film & Television Literature Index

Academic OneFile

Book, Movie, Music, Play, And Video Reviews in LexisNexis

Factiva
Many foreign language press.

Time Magazine (1923-Present)

New York Times Historical Archive, (1851-3 yrs before current date; current years in LexisNexis)

Times Digital Archive (1785 - 1985)

Film Statistics

Academic OneFile
Tip: Search for "Statistics" box office and other keywords.

ABI/INFORM
Tip: search for "statistics" "ticket sales" and other keywords.

JSTOR
Tip: Search for "Statistics" and other keywords.

Also use sources under the Reviews Tab

Web Sites

BFI Statistics on film and television
UK film production, academy awards, box office, etc.

The Hollywood Reporter: Charts
Movie sales, box office, production budgets, etc.

KORDA
Database on public funding for the film and audiovisual sector in Europe.

Lumiere
Database on admissions for films released in Europe.

MERLIN
Database on legal information relevant to the audiovisual Sector in Europe.

Nielsen EDI
A Web based system that allows our clients to instantly access real-time film performance on a global, nationwide, regional, local or theatre level.

The Numbers
The largest freely available database of movie industry information on the Web.

World Wide Box Office
Current international box office numbers.

Sample Searches in the Catalog for Scripts (screenplays):

1. Click on the search for real time results in the Catalog:
1. motion picture plays
1. screenplay and "All quiet on the western front"

2. Published radio, television, and film scripts: a bibliography. Ref. Z7223.S3 P68 (only up to 1975)

3. The Drama Scholars' Index to Plays and Filmscripts. Ref. Z5781 .S17 (1974-1980 only.)

4.Search Play Index for radio and television plays.

WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)

Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.

Script Writing

Alternative Scriptwriting: Successfully Breaking the Rules. PN1996 .D36 2002

Creating Unforgettable Characters. PN1689 .S44 1990

How Scripts Are Made. PN1996 .K24 1990

Writing Short Scripts. PN1996 .P58 1999

Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding Classical Narrative Technique. PN1996 .T46 1999

The Art of the Storyboard: a Filmmaker's Introduction.PN1995.9 .P7 H42 2008

Filmmaking: Narrative & Structural Techniques.PN1995.9.P7 F63 1992

How to Shoot a Movie and Video Story: the Technique of Pictorial Continuity. Oversize: TR850 .G367 1985

Click on the search for real time results in the Catalog:
1. motion picture plays technique

Recommended: