Steven Rawle

From relatively humble beginnings in a King Kong-inspired Japanese studio picture, the kaij? eiga has developed into a global genre. While the origins of giant kaij? the term often preferred to 'monster' remain firmly rooted in Japan, the figure has become a transnational spectacle. This book explores how kaij? went global, from the adoption of Godzilla movies in translation to the appropriation of cultural material across borders. With reference to the genre's global development, its exploitative Western circulation and the labour of fans, the book examines how genres with deep national roots can become transnational phenomena.

From relatively humble beginnings in a King Kong-inspired Japanese studio picture, the kaij? eiga has developed into a global phenomenon. While the origins of giant kaij? the term often preferred to 'monster' remain firmly rooted in Japan, the figure has become a transnational spectacle. This book explores how kaij? went global, from the adoption of Godzilla movies in translation to the appropriation of cultural material across borders. With reference to the subgenre's global development, its exploitative western circulation and how it demonstrates shifting power bases in global cinema, the book examines how genres with deep national roots can become transnational phenomena.

An effective filmmaker needs to have a good understanding of how film language works, and more importantly, how to actively influence an audience’s thoughts and feelings and guide their gaze around the screen. Packed with examples from classic and contemporary cinema, The Language of Film reveals the essential building blocks of film and explains how the screen communicates meaning to its audience. You will learn about fundamental theories and concepts, including film semiotics, narrative structures, ideology, and genre, as well as how elements such as shot size, camera movement, editing technique, and color come together to create the cinematic image. With insightful case studies and discussion questions, dozens of practical tips and exercises, and a new chapter on film sound, this new edition of The Language of Film is a must-have guide for aspiring filmmakers.

This core teaching text provides a thorough overview of the recently emerged field of transnational film studies. Covering a range of approaches to analysing films about migrant, cross-cultural and cross-border experience, Steven Rawle demonstrates how film production has moved beyond clear national boundaries to become a product of border crossing finance and creative personnel. This comprehensive introduction brings together the key concepts and theories of transnational cinema, including genre, remakes, diasporic and exilic cinema, and the limits of thinking about cinema as a particularly national cultural artefact. It is an excellent course companion for undergraduate students of film, cinema, media and cultural studies studying transnational and global cinema, and provides both students and lovers of film alike with a strong grounding in this timely field of film studies.