The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index
How good is the representation of LGBTQ characters in major Hollywood films? Find out in the latest annual report from GLAAD which maps eight major motion picture studios during the 2019 calendar year. GLAAD researched films released by Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, STX Films, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros., as well as films released by […]
Black Britain on Film Collection
Free via the BFI player this collection of films celebrates the Black presence in Britain. They include a significant number of pre-Windrush films and documentaries highlighting black lives . They include footage of this visit of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson to Manchester Docks in 1911.
MediArXiv launched
A new scholar-led digital archive for media, film and communication studies—has just been launched by Jeff Pooley, Associate Professor of Media & Communication, Muhlenberg College (USA) . Papers are being gradually added. Certainly one to watch. Other good sources include: SSRN Papers Core Open access research papers
Economics of the Oscars
As the winners of the Academy awards 2018 have been announced, here are some social science sites for locating materials on the economics of the Oscars. The Independent has an interesting section of facts on impacts on careers which was published in 2016. Statista has a fact file of data on the awards, which subscribers […]
Classic Movie Posters Online
Great new digital collection from the Harry Ransom Center University of Texas at Austin. They are gradually placing online over 10,000 posters from the 1920s-1970s. The great collection can be browsed by date or searched by keyword. A remarkable resource for film historians. They are also of value for examining representations of race and gender […]
Gender imbalance in film scripts
University of Washington computer scientists have created a tool which analyses film scripts to consider the relative power and agency of characters in films. Their results showed women in more passive roles. See the press release from the University. Read their paper for more about how the connotation frames were created and for detailed analyses […]
BFI Filmography
A great new resource from the BFI which explores a wide range of topics relating to the history of UK feature film. Free access to great sources of data on box office takings, directors and actors. It includes substantial sections on gender and the film industry. On the latter topic NESTA has conducted some interesting […]
How many women work in UK film production?
In 2015 25% of the 203 British films in production had no women in any of the six key production roles (director, writer, producer, exec-producer, cinematographer, and editor). According to the latest report from the Calling the Shots: women and contemporary film culture in the UK, 2000-2015’ based at the University of Southampton. This is […]
Digital Fan Magazine Collection (1911-1963)
Free access to the full text of a growing number of popular magazines produced for film fans in the mid 20th century via the Media History Digital Library. A great resource for American cinema, popular culture and social historians. They include Silver Screen (1930-1940) and Motion Picture [Magazine] (1914-1941). Read this example of Hollywood magazine […]
Academy Awards
To mark the recent Oscars, here is some social science related research! Study the rhetoric (and find out which award winners cried) by consulting Who thanked Who a database of all speeches since 1952 compiled by Rebecca Rolfe. This can be compared with the official awards website Does winning an Oscar improve box office success? […]
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