Visit to Kent’s Museum of the Moving Image

Members of the Melodrama Research Group were lucky enough to be part of a group of students who had the opportunity to visit Kent’s Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) in Deal. Kent MOMI – run by Joss Marsh and David Francis – encompasses an archive, a research library, an entertainment venue and more!

kent momi untitled 2 (2)

We were very warmly welcomed by Joss and David who allowed us access to a selection of their amazingly vast collection of ephemeral materials. Members of the group  especially enjoyed exploring the Fan Magazines Motion Picture Story and Photoplay – with many Trade Magazines and film promotion items also available.

Over tasty refreshments Joss and David also spoke about their very well-stocked Library of film books and the joys, and challenges, of planning exhibitions. We were afforded a sneak peak of Ealing Film Posters. Pre-Cinema items such as Cartes de Visite, stereoscopes and a Magic Lantern were also on display. The trip ended with an exciting Magic Lantern Show in beautiful colour.

kent momi untitled 5 (2)

Many thanks to Joss and David for their hospitability, and to Frances for arranging the visit and providing the photos for the Many thanks to Joss and David for their hospitability, and to Frances for arranging the visit and providing the photos for the blog!

 

You can find the Kent MOMI Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/KentMOMI/?fref=ts

Kent MOMI’s vision statement: https://kentmomi.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/kent-momi-vision-statement/

Joss and David’s University of Kent profiles are available on the School of Arts web pages:

https://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/staff-profiles/film/marsh.html

http://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/staff-profiles/film/francis.html

Passages of Gothic Photographs

Many thanks to all those in the Melodrama Research Group who took part in our contribution to The International Festival of Projections. We’d also like to thank Catherine, Liz, Jessica, Ben, Matt and Mark (from the Festival of Projections team) for helping us as well as all those who attended.

Below you can see Ann-Marie’s photo of the setting up of the piece.

passages of gothic DSC_0069

And here are some photographs taken by Frances and Alaina during the performance:

passages for blog gallery IMG_3116

projections for blog image11 (2)passages for blog image21 (2)passages for blog image19 (2)

 

 

 

 

Passages of Gothic Project Notes

Following the intense and enjoyable screening of the Melodrama Research Group’s contribution to the International Festival of Projections,  here is a version of Frances’ wonderful Project Notes for Passages of Gothic.

passages of gothic top

 

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940) is often cited as the first in a cycle of films emerging in Hollywood in the 1940s labelled as ‘Gothic’. These films – which have also been called ‘melodramas’, ‘women’s films’ and ‘female film noirs’ – feature similar narratives focusing on the central female protagonist: the Gothic heroine. In all these films, the Gothic heroine encounters the old dark house which harbours a sinister secret which the heroine must investigate, often in fear for her life. This threat usually emanates from a male love interest, or is sometimes presented as the oppression of a larger patriarchal society. These films – which also include Gaslight (1944), Secret Beyond the Door (1947) and Sleep, My Love (1948) – feature remarkably consistent motifs, including keys, staircases, images of the heroine alone in the dark and the threat of the domestic space. Significantly, the study of film history reveals that these tropes are not isolated to the Hollywood Gothics of the 1940s but, in fact, continue to inform and appear within the Gothic cinema of today. This installation shall highlight and explore these similarities.

This project focuses on the female performance in these films in order to show the narrative and visual agency given to characters who are often seen as passive subjects and victims. Whilst the Gothic heroine may indeed be threatened by her male counterpart or dangerous environment, these stories encourage us to identify with the female lead, admiring her bravery. We engage with these films’ narratives by aligning with the Gothic heroine and her experiences. In particular, our exploration of space is mediated by the Gothic heroine’s actions. This project will illuminate how such investigation consistently takes place within the domestic space: the safety of a home is transformed into the mysterious and dangerous space of the old dark house. Comparing these films demonstrates how the Gothic heroine is often framed within the in-between places of a house: the stairwell, the hallway or the doorway. These thresholds are spaces which blur the boundaries between the public and private spheres of a home, in much the same way these Gothic narratives present a slippage between the real and the imagined; the everyday and the supernatural.

It is for these reasons that Passages of Gothic is presented within Eliot Dining Hall. Eliot College is a building which is also both a public and private space, containing professional forums for study (lecture halls, seminar rooms and offices) and private rooms (student bedrooms and kitchens). The Hall is at the heart of the college and provides passageways between these distinct locations. The Hall’s distinctive appearance has also historically made it the site for public and private events, and its scale is evocative of the intimating houses the Gothic heroine explores in these films. As the name of this event suggests, Passages of Gothic therefore invites you to immerse yourself into the Gothic heroine’s world.

The film shall play on three separate screens and is divided into six ‘chapters’. Together, these chapters create a narrative which is reflective of the fictional journey taken by the Gothic heroine: the heroine enters the house; she is forced the investigate strange occurrences; she is threatened by someone or something; and she may or may not survive her ordeal. In Passages of Gothic these six chapters are:

  1. “I dreamt I went to Manderley again”: Gothic introductions
  2. Inside the house
  3. “I should go mad if I stay!”
  4. Lights in the darkness
  5. Women in peril
  6. “Why?”

Passages of Gothic is the culmination of the research conducted by the Melodrama Research Group into female performance, stardom, genre conventions, Gothic tropes and the representations of the heroine on-screen. This installation showcases the re-emergence of Gothic tropes – in a remarkably consistent fashion – across film history, highlighting the importance of the Gothic heroine within this. Our celebration of the Gothic’s strong, brave, and active heroines contributes to an important, broader research question: why, after 75 years, do these representations of the Gothic heroine persist in the 21st Century?

crimson peak

Top image: Lies Lanckman and Ann-Marie Fleming (image from The Innocents (1961); Main text: Frances Kamm; Bottom image: Crimson Peak (2015)

Credits:

Passages of Gothic

Project organiser: Sarah Polley

Project’s writer and content provider: Frances Kamm

Project’s editor: Alaina Piro Schempp

Lead technician: Lies Lanckman

Promotions: Ann-Marie Fleming

IT Support: Oana Maria Mazilu

Contributor: Tamar Jeffers McDonald

Contributor: Katerina Flint-Nicol

 

The Gothic Heroines

Joan Fontaine in Rebecca (1940)

Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight (1944)

Dorothy McGuire in The Spiral Staircase (1945)

Joan Bennett in Secret Beyond the Door (1947)

Claudette Colbert in Sleep, My Love (1948)

Deborah Kerr in The Innocents (1961)

Katharine Ross in The Stepford Wives (1975)

Shelley Duvall in The Shining (1980)

JoBeth Williams in Poltergeist (1982)

Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986)

Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath (2000)

Nicole Kidman in The Others (2001)

Naomi Watts and Laura Harring in Mulholland Drive (2001)

Belén Rueda in The Orphanage (El Orfanato) (2007)

Rebecca Hall in The Awakening (2011)

Chiara D’Anna and Sidse Babett Knudsen in The Duke of Burgundy (2014)

Mia Wasikowska in Crimson Peak (2015)

 

The Melodrama Research Group

The Melodrama Research Group is sponsored by the Centre for Film and Media Research within the School of Arts, University of Kent. The MRG is a cross-faculty group of academics who are interested in exploring the ideas surrounding melodrama as a hotly-contested topic. The group meets for regular screenings and debates, maintains a dynamic blog and has hosted research events. The group brings together scholars from various disciplines in order to foster collaborative networks for studying this pervasive but challenging genre.

https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/melodramaresearchgroup/

International Festival of Projections

This is a new, free arts festival taking place at the University of Kent from 18-20 March 2016. Spread across both the Canterbury and Medway campus, and with satellite events within the Canterbury City Centre, the festival celebrates the exciting and varied theme of projections.

http://www.kent.ac.uk/projections/

 

 

 

Screening of Passages of Gothic 20th March, 5-8pm, Eliot Dining Hall

A reminder that all are warmly invited to join us for our multi-screen Passages of Gothic installation on Sunday the 20th of March, from 5-8pm, in Eliot Dining Hall. The 20 minute presentation will run on each hour and half hour.

Passages poster

 

You can find our more information about the University’s exciting Festival of Projections here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/projections/

Opportunity to vote for the BFI to restore Margaret Lockwood Melodrama Bedelia (1946)

Exciting News! The British Film Institute (BFI) is giving the public the chance to vote for 1 of 3 selected films to be restored back to its former glory.

Bedelia 6145628601_d8bb8155b6_b

You have the choice of:

Bedelia (Lance Comfort, 1946, starring Margaret Lockwood)

Mr Topaze (Peter Sellers, 1961, starring Peter Sellers)

The Assam Garden (Mary McMurray, 1985, starring Deborah Kerr and Madhur Jaffrey)

All of these films look really interesting though the possibility of seeing another Lockwood melodrama made Bedelia my choice.

The poll closes on the 11th of March.

Find more information and vote here:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/vote-rescue-forgotten-british-film

 

The International Festival of Projections 18th-20th of March

The Melodrama Research Group is taking part in the University’s  International Festival of Projections, running from the 18th-20th of March.

We will be presenting a piece entitled Passages of Gothic on the 20th of March from 5-8pm in Eliot Dining Hall. This 3 screen installation, lasting around 20 minutes, will begin on each hour and half hour.

innocents-ms-giddens-deborah-kerr-candlelight-candelabra

Our blurb:

Experience an atmospheric multi-screen installation celebrating the Gothic heroine in film. While she is often dismissed as a passive observer, this curated collection of classic film clips privileges the Gothic heroine in moments of active investigation and bravery. These often stand directly in opposition to her suffering and persecution. Explore the slippage between women’s private and public behaviours in a setting which reflects, indeed heightens, the complexity of these underrated female protagonists.

You can find more information, including the Festival’s programme, here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/projections/