The West in Early Cinema
After the Beginning
9789053568316
464 pages
Amsterdam University Press
Overview
Verhoeff investigates the emergence of the western genre, made in the first two decades of cinema (1895-1915). By analyzing many unknown and forgotten films from international archives she traces the relationships between films about the American West, their surrounding films, and other popular media such as photography, painting, (pulp) literature, Wild West Shows and popular ethnography. Through this exploration of archival material she raises new questions of historiography and provides a model for historical analysis. These first traces of the Western film reveal a preoccupation with presence and actuality that informs us about the way in which film, as new medium, took shape within the context of its contemporary visual culture.
Author Bio
Nanna Verhoeff is Professor of Screen Cultures and Society in the Department of Media and Culture Studies of the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University. She dedicates her research both to the comparative study of screen media, and to the development of methods and concepts for the creative humanities. Previous publications include The West in Early Cinema: After the Beginning and Mobile Screens: The Visual Regime of Navigation – both published with Amsterdam University Press. This current book on urban screens completes this trilogy, which proposes methods and concepts for comparing and analyzing screen media across times and places.
