Research Fellow
@wcftr
| cinema studies | media distribution | media access | documentary | nontheatrical film + useful media | feminist media history | she/her
Thanks again to
@joshshepperd
for inviting me to speak to your students about studying useful media! For those interested, here are the films I mentioned (or included excerpts of) in my talk ....
(warning: somewhat self-promotional in that they draw from my research)
🧵
Later this spring I'll be giving a (virtual) guest lecture at
@CUBoulderCMCI
. And I got the snazzy poster treatment. A big thank you to
@joshshepperd
for the invite to discuss
#nontheatricalfilm
and useful media!
I'll be heading up to Maine as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Cinema Studies at Bowdoin College for the 2022-23 academic year.
While I'll be coming back to New York quite often, I've been eager to live elsewhere for ages. Here's my ticket!
Dissertation defended with distinction. What an invigorating conversation! Thank you to my amazing committee
@DanStreible
, Dana Polan, Anna McCarthy, Jenny Horne (
@CivicCinema
), and Chuck Wolfe, as well as all the folks who tuned in to root me on. What an absolute honor! 🍾
On a belated professional note: I'm delighted to be joining the Sarah Lawrence film department as a Guest Faculty member for this coming academic year. This fall I'll be teaching two dream classes— "American Feminist Film History" and "Experimental Documentary."
Honored that NYU
@CinemaStudies
faculty awarded me the Jay Leyda Award for Academic Excellence.
...even more special in that Leyda is a supporting player in my dissertation. Here are his 1933 membership cards from the Workers Film and Photo League + film society Film Forum.. 1/
Thanks to all the folks sending me positive vibes for my dissertation defense tomorrow! It means the world. I’m so lucky to have found a network of support in academia.
In my "Intro to Cinema Studies" course I've been making a point to integrate many more examples of works from diverse filmmakers —particularly as example of very "basic" techniques. The beauty of intro courses is you have a world of choices. Will periodically share some...
It’s been a rough many months so I’m happy to report I’m returning to Bowdoin College in Maine as a VAP for the upcoming academic year. Was very happy there in AY22/23. And with more humane teaching load I’m ready to finish my book! Here are some campus photos I took last time!
BIG ARCHIVAL NEWS: project launched to digitize thousands of East German
#newsreels
, documentaries, and feature films, 30 years after Germany’s reunification. Scans will be online and transcribed (h/t
@regmlongo2
)
Last night many of my job-searching colleagues and I received an exemplary email message from a search committee notifying all applicants about their review timeline, when notifications will be issued, and the like. PLEASE ACADEMIA NORMALIZE THIS BEHAVIOR!
@AsheeshKSi
Agreed though I do appreciate some of o.p.’s points. But “more than 5 pgs. long” made me guffaw. School-mandated legalese alone is often close that long!
Why isn’t there more academic literature on THE FAST & FURIOUS franchise?
(And yes, I would absolutely be interested in co-editing a special issue or volume if I am ever asked.) 🚗
2023 has not been a great year for me professionally (and judging by the even-more-tepid academic job market this fall 2024 is unlikely to be better) but getting this guy in July has improved my mood immensely
My essay on the battles to distribute SPAIN IN FLAMES — first pro-Loyalist nonfiction film on the Spanish Civil War to hit American screens — is now out in HJFRTV. I hope film/documentary/media scholars find the "distribution front" metaphor generative.
Should anyone be interested, here's a document I've refined over the years with tips for my students when writing about film. I've primarily used this in intro to film studies (formal analysis type papers). Feel free to borrow or share other things I might add
#pedagogy
Favorite academic book cover? All these years and A FEMINIST READER IN EARLY CINEMA (Duke UP, 2002) is my
#1
. The shiny cover, evoking nitrate film stock, is itself teachable. Can you get better than that?!
#AcademicChatter
#FilmTwitter
Uploaded official version of my dissertation to ProQuest this morning. I oddly feel nothing? Still dissatisfied with parts but I’m trying to remember this is only first step in what — I hope — will be an eventual, more polished, book.
If I finish my first book project (🤞), my second book will be on the history of college campus film societies (thanks to 16mm film). I’m taking this signage in and around my campus office as a sign!
Yesterday was my last day of classes at Bowdoin. VAPs aren’t the best gig but I have tremendous respect for how my colleagues and the institution treated and supported us visitors. An extreme rarity that should prove the rule. Very sad to go!
BRB for awhile — going to finish writing and then defend (🤞!) that dissertation this summer.
Good luck to everyone else who is stuck in a similar races against the clock these days. And I'm off....✌️
Earlier this year, I co-edited a
@JCMSJournal
Teaching Media dossier w/
@JoeGinClark
, Thorn Chen, + Sofia Gräfe on nontheatrical and useful media. I'm going to use this thread periodically to add additional citations to the nontheatrical bibliography. 1/
In both academia and not academia, the bar for treating job applicants like humans is so low that my heart sings when I get timely and kindly worded rejection notices — personal or form letter. (One time I even got an email followed by phone call and love that person forever!)
First days at Bowdoin. Orientation next week. Looking forward to spending the coming academic year here!
Teaching this fall: (1) introductory cinema studies course and (2) documentary + nonfiction survey (first time…finally!!)
Going with what I call a “living syllabus” in my classes this semester. I keep it in a Google sheet and remind students to check regularly for content. (Policies/due dates never change). I’m always worried students will find this stressful but never have had complaints 1/
Proud to announce the lineup for “Media and/as Infrastructure, a virtual symposium taking place 29-30 April.
@JoniHaywardM
,
@unlikelymidge
, and I have been working on this since last summer. Follow
@mediainfra22
for registration link and updates!
@ProfJMale
@PamelaW31986513
Strongly encourage your grandson to do A LOT of research on higher education market and job prospects for his specific discipline! The classic professor job of tenure-track/tenure is very rare these days. It's ROUGH so make sure he knows what he's getting into!
I'm holding the book in my hands so it's official! Delighted that my essay on films produced at New York City's Henry Street Settlement has been published in SCREENING RACE IN U.S. NONTHEATRICAL FILM vol from
@DukePress
. Thank you again to editors
@MarshaGGordon
+ Ally Field!
Inspired by colleague, I’m going to try a “living syllabus” this semester. Course policies, expectations, assignments, deadlines will be secure. But weekly content (readings/films) will “live” in a Google Doc which I can tweak as necessary. I’m optimistic pros will outweigh cons.
Keeping it light with some mundane professional news: (1) my article on radical '30s documentary distribution in USA has been accepted to Historical Journal of Film, Radio, & TV and...
I highly recommend Kiki Loveday’s incisive essay “The Pioneer Paradigm” from
@FemMediaHist
issue on “Decolonial Feminisms.” Can’t wait to assign in my “Feminist Media History” course this spring! Link ⬇️
For anyone interested, I posted my syllabi for my fall classes — American Feminist Film History and Experimental Documentary — on my academiaedu page. Hopefully they are useful for anyone contemplating similar courses.
My parents are coming to my VERTIGO talk on Sunday. I will definitely be giving them a shout-out since their laissez-faire approach to my childhood media consumption meant their 9-year old’s favorite film was VERTIGO. Normal, right?
File under things I never thought I’d get to do! On November 19 I’ll be talking about VERTIGO at Jacob Burns Film Center (
@jbfc_ny
).
The doc. featurette at end of my beloved childhood VHS copy is my film scholar origin story so feels appropriate.
For my academic friends here sharing syllabus for my spring 2023 "Blockbuster: Art, Commerce, and Politics of Popular Filmmaking" course.
(As always, pained by how much great scholarship I had to leave off but sighs aside here's to a productive course!)
@chrisjsuggs
As UG, my grandpa died a few days before finals. Had to fly to area w/ lots of snow so I emailed a professor as an FYI that I’d arranged return flight to be back night before exam but if snow happened I might be stuck. His reply: I don’t care why if you’re not back you get an F.
@Soitisrice
Depends on personal experience. Some PhDs have this skill set, others might not. If a PhD was trying to get out of academia, they’d probably need to go in at this level. It’s a perception of “overqualified” by virtue of a PhD.
My pre-ordered copy of Haidee Wasson’s new book EVERYDAY MOVIES just arrived from
@ucpress
! A synthesis of the tremendous work she’s been doing for the last decade on
#16mm
+ other projector formats. Glad to have it on hand as I wrap up my dissertation.
A student has been researching early women amateur filmmakers, including Marion Norris Gleason. Together we used the
@mediahistorydl
and found several articles Gleason published in MOVIE MAKERS, including this gem on how to film your "weekend cineantics" (Jan 1931 issue)
Dear Colleagues,
If you're teaching an intro to film class this spring, I implore you to reflect on the content you're using. Are you overrelying on the canon—content you were taught with decade(s) ago?! Mix it up, bring in more diverse examples. I humbly share some suggestions..
In my "Intro to Cinema Studies" course I've been making a point to integrate many more examples of works from diverse filmmakers —particularly as example of very "basic" techniques. The beauty of intro courses is you have a world of choices. Will periodically share some...
#SCMS24
is a'go — Delighted that my panel "Frictions of Distribution: New Industrial and Nontheatrical Histories" with Rielle Navitski, Laura Isabel Serna, and
@DerekLong08
has been accepted. Boston, March 2024. Here we come!
(I'll be talking about Swank Digital Campus)
Spring semester at Sarah Lawrence College starts next week. I'm delighted to be teaching a seminar I dreamed up a few years ago. To prep and cull the reading list, I've had a great time reading/re-reading the work of scholars I admire including... 1/
Today is Ida Lupino day in "American Feminist Film History"! We'll be discussing our week's feature — NOT WANTED — in depth. Students have opportunity to watch HITCH-HIKER, OUTRAGE or THE BIGAMIST for an essay question on their midterm exams.
@sleepythewhale
No idea. Colleague made a case that perhaps PhD would have a conflict of interest for grants (they might know applicant?). Or they had a bad experience with someone in past, think they’d be too highfalutin about wages? 🤷♀️
Brilliant question from prospective student in my American Feminist Film History course. "Do you know anything about history of women composers/sound designers/engineers." I do not now, anyone have anyone have any leads for 20th century? How about you,
@SignalsToNoises
?
Teaching Adorno and Horkeimer's "Culture Industry" on Thursday. My lecture feels very stale so I'm curious if anyone has done any fun in-class activities or found generative ways to facilitate discussion?
Collecting more primary sources for revived “American Feminist Film History” course this spring. Thanks to wonders of interlibrary loan I’ll be including excerpts from HOW TO BECOME A UNION CAMERAWOMAN by Jessie Maple. Learned of her via
@_heyjackson
’s
MoMA's home movies exhibit was among my favorite exhibits EVER. While part of its singular affective quality was its layout in the museum space - so many screens simultaneously playing side-by-side! - how could I ever complain the footage is being made accessible to all online?!
From all walks of life, home movies provide a vital window into our collective humanity. That’s why they’re the subject of the first
#MoMAVirtualViews
@rajroynyc
introduces Virtual Views: Home Movies. Discover the raw power of amateur films:
Looking forward to screening Academy promo film THE COSTUME DESIGNER (1949) with Edith Head in my “American Feminist Film History” class in the coming weeks!
Excited to present (and get feedback on!) a paper humbly proposing a model for studying the specificity of educational film distribution in panel "Rethinking the Value(s) of Distribution" with Rob King,
@DerekLong08
+
@rossmelnick
See you in Chicago (hopefully)!
#SCMS22
Just finished what I think is a pretty compelling draft of my first ever book proposal! Sending to a dear colleague to read/critique and optimistic I'll have it out by beginning of January !!!! 🎉🤞
I rarely Tweet my frustrations but this quote from an introductory film textbook is particularly irksome...
I know MANY useful media, nontheatrical, archivists, and
@Orphan_Films
folks who beg to differ...
Ebay has been an especially fruitful site for gathering research materials for my dissertation-to-book. This one is the most generative I’ve found yet. Not elaborating much here but it’s just 🏆! Invaluable as I write my book’s last chapter.
Reading my "Film History to 1960" students' responses to last week's screening of THE GODDESS — many were surprised to find themselves emotionally invested in a silent (!!!) film and impressed that the film didn't shame the woman for her choices.
SILENT FILM FOR THE WIN!
This is the face of a person who has recovered from COVID and is very excited to have started their semester this the week! Students seem smart, enthusiastic, and ready to hit the ground running! Now let’s just make sure they do the readings! 😜
Proof that the NYPL
#16mm
circulating collection does, in fact, circulate!
My ‘friend’ and I are currently traveling together from Astoria to Lincoln Center
@liamerivaki
I imagine this is case. The job posts salary range though so if said person with a PhD expected a higher salary they wouldn’t apply. At least that’s my logic. (this isn’t a job I’m applying to)
"Documentary film producing is a field so brand-new that it hasn't had a chance to acquire any prejudices against woman...[its] just as wide open to women as it is to men and offers...equal opportunity to all who are qualified and interested." — March 20, 1940.
TY NYPL clippings.
First week of “Women and Media” at Hunter College: starting with BARBIE as accessible way to introduce an array of approaches to studying popular culture and why it matters. Should be a fun discussion! Here are reviews and news coverage I assigned… 1/
There is an expansive history waiting to be written on
#nontheatrical
#distribution
of feature films (Hwd + foreign) in USA before home video. My research on prominent mid-century
#16mm
distributor Tom Brandon hopes to get the ball rolling.
Dissertation defense on Feb 11 🙃🤞
The great Ashley Swinnerton of
@MoMAFilm
is curating a weekly "Film Vault Summer Camp" this month, streaming works from their collection. First up: immersive phantom ride THE FLYING TRAIN (1902) and 1938 compilation GREAT ACTRESSES OF THE PAST
Wednesday evening at
#SCMS23
! Join me, Lauren Berliner, Jasmyn Castro, Haidee Wasson, and Patricia Zimmerman for a roundtable discussion about everyday media past and present
#nontheatricalfilm
My copy of InsUrgent Media
@iupress
just arrived. Gratifying to see my long gestating work on radical labor film MEN & DUST (1940) in print (and sharing space with so many amazing activists + scholars). Bravo editors
@rowbey
+
@screenangst
!
...it all started with
@Orphan_Films
.
Watching Lois Weber’s SHOES (1916) and Marion E. Wong’s THE CURSE OF QUON GWON (c. 1916-17) on the big screen with my students! Beautiful Blu-Rays from
@MilestoneFilms
and
@KinoLorber
.
Congrats again to the brilliant
@labuzamovies
on winning the SCMS Dissertation Prize!
Title: "When A Handshake Meant Something: Lawyers, Deal Making, and the Emergence of New Hollywood"
#SCMS21
Immensely fortunate to be @ institution (albeit temporarily) that actually financially supports career development of visiting faculty. Bowdoin's grant committee approved archive trip for new project I'm launching about AFI's Directing Workshop for Women. Los Angeles here I come!
Teaching film history to 1960 survey for first time (previous iterations I’ve taught were non-USA). Pains me how much content I’ve needed to cut to appropriately cover US scene but, on the bright side, I’m showing LIFE & DEATH OF 9413: A HWD EXTRA in full for first time!