This book provides a unique examination of the way Europe's past is represented on contemporary screens and what this says about contemporary cultural attitudes to history.
This book provides a unique examination of the way Europe’s past is represented on contemporary screens and what this says about contemporary cultural attitudes to history. How do historical dramas come to TV and cinema screens across Europe? How is this shaped by the policies and practices of cultural institutions, from media funding boards to tourist agencies and heritage sites? Who watches these productions and how are they consumed in cinemas, on TV and online , are just some of the questions this volume seeks to answer. From
The Lives of Others to
Game of Thrones, historical dramas are a particularly visible part of mainstream European film production, often generating major national debates on the role of the past in contemporary national identity construction.
Contents.- List of illustrations.- Introduction: Screening European
Heritage by Axel Bangert, Paul Cooke & Rob Stone.- Section One: Contexts of
Production.- 1.The Politics and Sociology of Screening the Past: A National
and Transnational Perspective Ib Bondebjerg.- 2.British Flanders:
Co-Produced Television Drama and the Limits of a European Heritage Jaap
Verheul.- 3. Towards World Heritage Cinema (Starting from the Negative)
Alan OLeary.- Section Two: Limits of Representation.-
4. Rewriting History
from the Margins: Diasporic Memory, Shabby Chic and Archival Footage
Daniela Bergahn.- 5. Facing Dark Heritage: The Legacy of Nazi Perpetrators
in German-language Film Axel Bangert.- 6. Spectral Spanish Heritage: The
Hauntology of La noche de los girasoles Paul Mitchell.- 7. Adapting Balzac
in Jacques Rivettes Ne Touchez pas la hache (Dont Touch the Axe,
2007): Violence and the Post-Heritage Aesthetic Andrew Watts.- 8. The
Ironic Gaze: Roots Tourism and Irish Heritage Cinema Ruth Barton.-
9. Whose
Heritage?: Noi credevamo and the National, Regional and Transnational
Dynamics of the Risorgimento Film Alex Marlow-Mann.- Section Three: Modes
of Consumption.- 10. Historical Films in Europe: The Transnational
Production, Circulation and Reception of National Heritage Drama Andrew
Higson.- 11. From English Heritage to Transnational Audiences: Fan
Perspectives and Practices and Why They Matter Claire Monk.- 12. From
Auschwitz-land to Banglatown: Heritage Conflicts, Film and the Politics of
Place Paul Cooke.- 13. Cinematic Pilgrimages: Postmodern Heritage Cinema
Rob Stone.- Index
Professor Paul Cooke is Centenary Chair of World Cinemas at the University of Leeds, UK. He has written on world cinemas engagement with Hollywood and on the legacy of both National Socialism and the GDR in contemporary German culture. He is currently developing a series of community filmmaking projects exploring the dark heritage of Germany and South Africa. Professor Rob Stone is Chair of European Cinema and Professor of Film Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. He is the author of several volumes on Spanish cinema, the political and cultural history of Basque cinema, flamenco and film, Surrealism and the cinema of Richard Linklater.
