Finding Film Reviews and Film Criticism

1. 1.Describe organization of library information 2. 2.Introduce selected sources for finding books and journal articles in film studies 3. 3.Discuss how to select article databases (and determine what’s in them) 4. 4.Discuss how to develop search strategies 5. 5.Discuss how to develop search strategies

Writing About Film… Current Historical (The movies are over 100 years old!) Scholarly/In-depth Industry Pop and fan

ReviewsReviews Critical/Scholarly ArticlesCritical/Scholarly Articlesin Periodicals (aka magazines, journals, serials…)Periodicals (aka magazines, journals, serials…) NewspapersNewspapers BooksBooks Biography, genre writing, thematic writing, individual films, individual directors, specific erasBiography, genre writing, thematic writing, individual films, individual directors, specific eras Web Sites (more about this later…)Web Sites (more about this later…) Other online databasesOther online databases What Kinds of Stuff is out there?

Reviews? Critical Articles? Whas tha difference?

Journal Articles: Reviews:   Found in popular periodicals, film periodicals, and (less often) in more scholarly journals   Assessment of aesthetic and content merits of a film   Usually cover current releases, more pop theatrical releases   Tend to be relatively short and relatively superficial (with some exceptions and depending on the publication and who’s doing the writing)

Journal Articles: Reviews? Critical Writing? What’s the Diff? Critical analysis:   Found in books and scholarly journals   Multiple Disciplines!!!!!! Everyone is interested in film!   Discuss films in:   broader historical, cultural, political, artistic context and/or   Focus on a specific aspect of a film, film genre, or filmmaker   Tend to be longer, more substantive than reviews (with some exceptions and depending on the publication and who’s doing the writing)   Often include notes, bibliographies, other scholarly apparatus

Journal Articles: Critical analysis: Scholarly writing about film…really only took off after the 1950s So….. Critical analysis of pre-WWII films written at the time the movie was released are rare

…But how do you locate all this stuff? Catalogs: OskiCatCatalogs: OskiCat Article databases (Indexes)Article databases (Indexes)

Inventory of what the Library owns: Books Books Journals (BUT NOT what’s inside of them!!!!!!) Journals (BUT NOT what’s inside of them!!!!!!) …But how do you locate all this stuff? Search by: AuthorAuthor TitleTitle Subject (keywords)Subject (keywords) Media Media Manuscripts, documents, maps…etc. etc. etc. etc.) Manuscripts, documents, maps…etc. etc. etc. etc.) … But what is OskiCat, my darling?

The Information Universe: Finding Articles Article Databases (Indexes/Abstracts) * * Databases produced by different commercial publishers; often look/act differently from one another. ** Regularly updated ** Allow subject/author searching in a group of journals in a particular discipline or topical area. * FULLLLL TEXXXXT!* Some indexes also offer abstracts AND/OR FULLLLL TEXXXXT!

Look at the listings of article databases available via the library General Databases are often good places to start (particularly for newsy/topical issues) Choosing an Articles database (index)

Gary’s Desert Island Index/Article Database List No Now Playing

GH Desert Island Index/Article Database List No Now Playing Academic Search Complete MLA Bibliography FIAF Index International Index to the Performing Arts

Two possibilities: Links you to full-text in ANOTHER article databaseLinks you to full-text in ANOTHER article database ANOTHER Or Flips you over to MELVYL so you can locate a physical copy of the journal at UCB or elsewhere.Flips you over to MELVYL so you can locate a physical copy of the journal at UCB or elsewhere.MELVYL

Connecting from off-campus Instructions at HELP/CONNECTING FROM OFF CAMPUS

But Remember: Not everything is online!!!!!: Article Databases: Generally only go back yrs online (some exceptions – e.g. Historical Newspapers) Not every journal is indexed (but most major scholarly ones are) Fairly small (but rapidly growing) subset of the books and journal universe is currently available in full-text Online is Cool…

Remember Also: Not every topic has lots written about it, either in books or journal lit. --Research on very current topics --Research on radically specific topics --Research on topics off the beaten academic track or off the current pop culture radar

How to Begin? Before you click: THINK Formulate a concise, concrete statement of the research problem Formulate your search in terms of keywords and key phrases: The impact of television advertising and television violence on school performance and pre-adolesecent social interaction.

How to Begin? Before you click: THINK Think of synonyms for key words/phrases The impact of television advertising and television violence on school performance and pre-adolesecent social interaction. Children Youth Adolescents …etc. Commercials Ads …etc. Academic achievement Grades …etc. Media TV…etc Socialization, relationships, peer interaction…etc.

The Information Universe What to do if nothing is turning up: Tweak your topic: Broaden it / select a different angle Rethink your search strategy (new keywords, new concepts, etc.) Bail out completely and choose another topic

A few cautionary words about research on the Net LibraryLand The Net Google Rocks! Gooooogle Scholar???

FilmBibMenu.html a growing listing of bibliographies on various film topics and individual films compiled by MRC (includes bibs for genres, filmmakers, national cinemas, and individual film).

…being driven over the edge by your research? Call me: Gary Handman