Framing Media #3 - Eleni Palis on Rethinking Film Quotations Through Race

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Today's episode features Eleni Palis, an assistant professor of English and Cinema Studies at the University of Tennessee, who researches the intersections between classical and post-classical American cinema. We discuss her article, "Race, Authorship and Film Quotation in Post-Classical Cinema” published in Screen. Palis transforms our idea of the film quotation from a practice of canonization used by the directors of New Hollywood by looking at innovative practices by three African American filmmakers: Julie Dash, Cheryl Dunye, and Spike Lee. In her reading of their films, and particularly the use of manufactured and "fake"quotations, Palis demonstrates an alternative use to the practice that interrogates our own relationship to film histories, both real and imagined. Trough a generation of filmmakers who cannot necessarily look to the past for the same kind of inspiration, her article allows us to rethink our own relationship to Hollywood's own history.

Episode #12 - Kevin B. Lee (Slacker)

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"For me, it's been parachuting into a film, looking at everything that's been said about it, and trying to synthesize understanding of it from that...But I really want to establish a personal voice and a personal stake in the films that I'm talking about."

When Peter sat down to do a video essay on his own a few years back, he primarly studied and examined the work of Kevin B. Lee. Luckily, Peter has gotten to know Kevin, and was thankful to sit him down for a podcast while in Chicago last month. Kevin explains his long winded path into filmmaking and finally film criticism. The two discuss the art and process of making video essays, the importance and frustrations with film canons, and his work in highlighting the work of independent Chinese filmmakers. Finally, they open up a can of worms with Richard Linklater's Slacker, a film Kevin describes as similar to today's Facebook and Twitter feeds.

0:00-1:20 Opening

1:20-4:22 Establishing Shots - Side Effects

5:20-1:14:10 Deep Focus - Kevin B. Lee

1:15:33-1:45:12 Double Exposure - Slacker (Richard Linklater)

1:45:13-1:48:57 Trivia Round, Close, and Outtake

Read and watch Kevin B. Lee's work on Press Play, Fandor, Shooting Down Pictures, Sight & Sound, and Moving Image Source.

Follow Kevin on Twitter.