| Afterimage: Film, Trauma, and the Holocaust Contributor(s): Hirsch, Joshua Francis (Author) |
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ISBN: 1592132081 ISBN-13: 9781592132089 Publisher: Temple University Press OUR PRICE: $74.58 Product Type: Hardcover Published: December 2003 Annotation: The appearance of Alain Resnais' 1955 French documentary "Night and Fog heralded the beginning of a new form of cinema, one that used the narrative techniques of modernism to provoke a new historical consciousness. "Afterimage presents a theory of posttraumatic film based on the encounter between cinema and the Holocaust. Locating its origin in the vivid shock of wartime footage, "Afterimage focuses on a group of crucial documentary and fiction films that were pivotal to the spread of this cinematic form across different nations and genres. Joshua Hirsch explores the changes in documentary brought about by cinema verite, culminating in Shoah. He then turns to the appearance of a fictional posttraumatic cinema, tracing its development through the vivid flashbacks in Resnais' "Hiroshima, mon amour to the portrayal of pain and memory in "The Pawnbroker. He excavates a posttraumatic autobiography in three early films by the Hungarian Istvan Szabo. Finally, Hirsch examines the effects of postmodernism on posttraumatic cinema, looking at "Schindler's List and a work about a different form of historical trauma, "History and Memory, a videotape dealing with the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. Sweeping in its scope, "Afterimage presents a new way of thinking about film and history, trauma and its representation. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Film - History & Criticism - Social Science | Media Studies - History |
| Dewey: 791.436 |
| LCCN: 2003053131 |
| Series: Emerging Media: History, Theory, Narrative |
| Physical Information: 0.77" H x 6.18" W x 9.18" (0.95 lbs) 213 pages |
| Themes: - Topical - Holocaust |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The appearance of Alain Resnais' 1955 French documentary "Night anda Fog" heralded the beginning of a new form of cinema, one that used the narrative techniques of modernism to provoke a new historical consciousness. "Afterimage" presents a theory of posttraumatic film based on the encounter between cinema and the Holocaust. Locating its origin in the vivid shock of wartime footage, " Afterimage" focuses on a group of crucial documentary and fiction films that were pivotal to the spread of this cinematic form across different nations and genres. Joshua Hirsch explores the changes in documentary brought about by cinema verite, culminating in Shoah. He then turns to teh appearance of a fictional posttraumatic cinema, tracing its development through the vivid flashbacks in Resnais'" Hiroshima, mon amour" to the portrayal of pain and memory in" Pawnbroker." He excavates a posttraumatic autobiography in three early films by the Hungarian Istvan Szabo. Finally, Hirsch examines the effects of postmodernism on posttraumatic cinema, looking at "Schindler's List" and a work about a different form of historical trauma, "History and Memory," aa videotape dealing with the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second Worlda War. Sweeping in its scope, "Afterimage" presents a new way of thinking about film and history, trauma and its representation." |