Legal Reelism, Or: Buttered Popcorn and Red Hot Torts Gary Handman

Film Research: The Basics Gary Handman

1.Describe the types of writing and research about film books journal articles 2.Introduce selected sources for finding books and journal articles in film studies & related fields 3.Discuss how to select article databases (and determine what’s in them)

Writing About Film… Historical Current Scholarly/In-depth Industry Pop and fan

1950’s1960’s Film Studies Film Scholarship Film Scholarship & Film Criticism Movies = 100+ Years Film Scholarship = 50 years Writing about film = fan and industry perspectives from the beginning William Dickson (Edison labs) invents The Kinetoscope1889

Periodicals (aka magazines, journals, serials…)Periodicals (aka magazines, journals, serials…) NewspapersNewspapers ReviewsReviews Critical/Scholarly ArticlesCritical/Scholarly Articles BooksBooks From schlocky to scholarlyFrom schlocky to scholarly Biography, genre writing, individual films, individual directorsBiography, genre writing, individual films, individual directors Web Sites (more about this later…)Web Sites (more about this later…) Other online databasesOther online databases Sources for Film & Scholarship and Research

Reviews: Assessment of aesthetic and content merits of a film  Found in popular periodicals, film periodicals, and (less often) in more scholarly journals  In pop periodicals: Current and Historical (older)  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) Reviews? Critical Writing? What’s the diff? Periodical Articles:

Periodical Articles: Reviews? Critical Writing? What’s the Diff? Critical analysis:  Discuss films in:  broader historical, cultural, political, artistic context and/or  Focus on a specific aspect of a film, film genre, or filmmaker  Found in books and scholarly or film-related journals  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

…But how do you locate this stuff?

The Information Universe Library Catalog(s) Journal/Newspaper Indexes (article databases)

Library Catalog(s)  Pathfinder: UCB Library holdings only  MELVYL (CDL cat): All 9 UC Campuses An inventory of what the library owns Search by Author, Title, Subject Whole books and print and electronic journals, NOT what’s inside of those publications

The Information Universe: Books Cavell, Stanley, Contesting tears : the Hollywood melodrama of the unknown woman / Chicago : University of Chicago Press, UCB Main PN W6.C Get da Book in da Stax Call # Look it Up in Pathfinder or MELVYL by Author, Title, or Subject Look it Up in Pathfinder or MELVYL by Author, Title, or Subject :

The Information Universe: Finding Articles Article Databases (Indexes/Abstracts) Allow subject/author searching in a group of journals in a particular discipline or topical area. Produced by different commercial publishers; often look/act differently from one another. Some indexes also offer: Abstracts Full-Text UC e-Links: links to UC/UCB holdings via MELVYL

Articles/Reviews (how do you find this stuff?) Film-related (not many exist) Film-related (not many exist) General news General news Literary and Arts Literary and Arts Other disciplines: e.g. Women’s Studies, American Studies, Ethnic Studies, History…etc. Other disciplines: e.g. Women’s Studies, American Studies, Ethnic Studies, History…etc. Article databases (aka Indexes)

Choosing an Articles database (index) FIND INFORMATION / ARTICLES / ARTICLE DATABASES BY SUBJECTLook at the listings of article databases available via the library FIND INFORMATION / ARTICLES / ARTICLE DATABASES BY SUBJECTwww.lib.berkeley.edu General Databases are often good places to start (particularly for newsy/topical issues) FIND INFORMATION / ELECTONIC RESOURCES / ELECTRONIC RESOURCES BY SUBJECTListings of subject-specific electronic resources FIND INFORMATION / ELECTONIC RESOURCES / ELECTRONIC RESOURCES BY SUBJECT

All databases are not created equal (or by the same company)…

Common Search Features: --Save list of good stuff --Mail Articles/Citations to yourself

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

GH Desert Island Index/Article Database List No Now Playing MLA Bibliography Expanded Academic Index FIAF Index

But Remember: Not everything is online!!!!!: Article Databases: Generally only go back yrs online (some exceptions – e.g. JStor; Historical Newspapers; PCI) Not every publication is indexed (e.g. weird ejournals and other film arcana) Fairly small (but rapidly growing) subset of the books and journal universe is currently available in full-text Online is Cool

Primary Resources & Older Writing Retrospective indexes Historical film journals

The Information Universe 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 pop culture radar

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

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.

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

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).

Connecting from off-campus

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

Journal Articles and Reviews Arthur, P. “Godfather II." (motion picture review) Film Comment, v 11 (Mar.- April, 1975), p. 2 Reviews Greene, Naomi "Coppola, Cimino: The Operatics of History." Film Quarterly XXXVIII/2, Winter 84-85; p Critical/ScholarlyArticles