Epic Cinema Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

This chapter explores the ways in which the generic label of ‘epic’ might be deemed relevant for Ridley Scott’s film Prometheus (2012), and more broadly for the ways in which a discussion about the meanings of epic in early... more

This chapter explores the ways in which the generic label of ‘epic’ might be deemed relevant for Ridley Scott’s film Prometheus (2012), and more broadly for the ways in which a discussion about the meanings of epic in early twenty-first-century cinema might be undertaken outside the genre of ‘historical epic’. It argues for the need to explore how ‘epic science fiction’ operates in Scott’s Prometheus in ways that both relate and transcend common definitions of the term ‘epic’ in contemporary popular culture. It also focuses on the unorthodox models of biological evolution of the film’s narrative, suggesting ways in which they can help with genre criticism. When it comes to cinematic intertextuality, a discussion about generic taxonomies and transformations cannot be conducted at the beginning of the twenty-first century without reflecting on the tropes that cinema animates and the fears it enacts at the heart of our genetic imaginary.

Studies in epic cinema have flourished in the past decade, but one senses that scholars take the term to be self-explanatory, without considering its literary origins and the variety of films that can be placed under the rubric of the... more

Studies in epic cinema have flourished in the past decade, but one senses that
scholars take the term to be self-explanatory,
without considering its literary
origins and the variety of films that can be placed under the rubric of the
epic. Furthermore, the question of epic style has received less scholarly attention.
In this article, I propose that in order to define epic cinema we need to
look at literary, philosophical, and film theoretical discussions of the epic. In
doing so, we will be able to appreciate that epic cinema is an exceptionally
expansive umbrella term that covers many and diverse film practices, including
films (1) with epic subject matter but not epic style, (2) with epic subject
matter and epic style, (3) with epic style but not epic subject matter, and (4)
films which can be placed under the rubric of the modernist epic.

Ensayo sobre música e Historia, pátinas sonoras (comparando versiones de óperas de Wagner y otros géneros musicales) y su relación con los efectos históricos, relacionados también con la estética cinematográfica de filmes de ambientación... more

Ensayo sobre música e Historia, pátinas sonoras (comparando versiones de óperas de Wagner y otros géneros musicales) y su relación con los efectos históricos, relacionados también con la estética cinematográfica de filmes de ambientación histórica y ficción fantástica. Perteneciente a la serie "Historia, épica y estética", publicada en el número de octubre 2004 de Noseolvida.com