National, transnational or supranational cinema? Rethinking European film studies

• Published in: Media, culture & society Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 315 - 331
• Main Author: Bergfelder, Tim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi SAGE Publications 01.05.2005; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Academic disciplines; Cinema; Critical studies; Cultural Pluralism; Cultural studies; Diaspora; Education; Europe; Film industry; Film studies; Foreign languages; History; Media; Migration; Motion picture industry; Social Science Research; Transnationalism; Europe; comprehension of foreign films; international film business and co-productions; history of translation practices; debates in European film history; migration and diaspora in cinema
• ISSN: 0163-4437; 1460-3675
• DOI: 10.1177/0163443705051746

This article discusses critical parameters and historical perceptions that have dominated the academic study of European cinema since the 1990s. The main argument is that what has been frequently ignored is the supranational dimension of the term ‘European’. Thus, while the field of European film studies has witnessed a number of significant shifts in emphasis (most pertinently the refocusing from art cinema towards popular film genres), the core debate still primarily centres on national cinemas. The article then suggests engaging in areas that exemplify interconnectedness between national cinemas. These include patterns of inter-European migration and issues of multiculturalism; industrial practices such as co-productions; as well as localized strategies of receiving foreign films through mechanisms of translation and adaptation.