Making Sense of Cinema : Empirical Studies Into Film Spectators and Spectatorship

There are a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to researching how film spectators make sense of film texts, from the film text itself, the psychological traits and sociocultural group memberships of the viewer, or even the location and surroundings of the viewer. However, we can only understand the agency of film spectators in situations of film spectatorship by studying actual spectators' interactions with specific film texts in specific contexts of engagement. __Making Sense of Cinema: Empirical Studies into Film Spectators and Spectatorship__ uses a number of empirical approaches (ethnography, focus groups, interviews, historical, qualitative experiment and physiological experiment) to consider how the film spectator makes sense of the text itself or the ways in which the text fits into his or her everyday life. With case studies ranging from preoccupations of queer and ageing men in Spanish and French cinema and comparative eye-tracking studies based on the two completely different soundscapes of __Monsters Inc.__ and __Saving Private Ryan__ to cult fanbase of the __Lord of the Rings__ Trilogy and attachment theory to its fictional characters, __Making Sense of Cinema__ aligns this subset of film studies with the larger fields of media reception studies, allowing for dialogue with the broader audience and reception studies field. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Empirical Approaches to Film Spectators and Spectatorship CarrieLynn D. Reinhard and Christopher J. Olson Dominican University The Theory of the Implied Spectator The Study of the Actual Spectator The Goal of This Collection References 2 Spectatorship in Public Space The Moving Image in Public Art Annie Dell’ Aria Hanover College Introduction Public Art and Public Screens Case Studies Case Study 1: SONG 1 and the Seduction of Cinema Case Study 2: Crown Fountain and the Ludic Civic Space Case Study 3: BBC Big Screens and Creating a Sense of Place Conclusion Notes References 3 The Festival Collective Cult Audiences and Japanese Extreme Cinema Jessica Hughes University of Queensland Introduction Critical Approaches to Japanese Extreme and Audience Reception Studies Phenomenology as Empirical Approach Case Studies: Japanese Extreme Screenings at BIFF and Fantasia Analysis: Cult Audience Interrelations and the Collective Viewing Experience Discussion: Collective Audiences, Extreme Content, and Transnational Reception Conclusion Notes References 4 Transnational Investments Aging in Les Invisibles (Sébastien Lifshitz, 2012) and Its Reception Darren Waldron The University of Manchester Introduction Contexts and Methods of the Study Approaching LGBTQ Film Festival Audiences Emotions and Identifications in Responses Approaching and Receiving Community Histories Discussion Conclusion Notes References 5 Preferred Readings and Dissociative Appropriations Group Discussions Following and Challenging the Tradition of Cultural Studies Alexander Geimer University of Hamburg Introduction Fight Club, the Mindfuck Genre, and Its Irritation Potential Group Discussions and the Documentary Method Reception of the Mindfuck Film Fight Club Discussion: Dissociation as the New Normal? Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes References 6 “Legolas, He’s Cool . . . and He’s Hot!” The Meanings and Implications of Audiences’ Favorite Characters Martin Barker Aberystwyth University Introduction Other Research Traditions and Identification Methods Results Conclusions and Implications Methodological Directions and Limits Notes References 7 In Search of the Child Spectator in the Late Silent Era Amanda C. Fleming Indiana University Introduction The Payne Fund Studies Case Study: Mitchell’s Children and Movies Found Data Analysis Found Data and Historical Spectatorship Conclusion Notes References 8 Seeing, Sensing Sound Eye-Tracking Soundscapes in Saving Private Ryan and Monsters, Inc. Andrea Rassell , Jenny Robinson, Darrin Verhagen, and Sarah Pink RMIT University Sean Redmond Deakin University Jane Stadler The University of Queensland Introduction Sounding Cinema Method Case Study 1: The Depths of Sound in Saving Private Ryan Case Study 2: The Corridors of Sound in Monsters, Inc. Seeing, Sensing Sounds: Summary Observations Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes References 9 Seeing Animated Worlds Eye Tracking and the Spectator’s Experience of Narrative Craig Batty and Adrian Dyer RMIT University Claire Perkins Monash University Jodi Sita Australian Catholic University Introduction The Pilot Project Method Story and Character in Up Data Analysis Results Conclusion References 10 Focalization, Attachment, and Film Viewers’ Responses to Film Characters Experimental Design with Qualitative Data Collection Katalin Bálint University of Augsburg András Bálint Kovács University of ELTE Introduction Character Engagement, Focalization, and Attachment Styles Experimental Design Introduction of Case Study Analysis Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgment Note References 11 Making Sense of the American Superhero Film Experiences of Entanglement and Detachment CarrieLynn D. Reinhard Dominican University Introduction Superhero Films and Reception Studies The Minutia Reception Method Studying the Reception of Superhero Films Analyzing the Moment-by-Moment Reactions Conclusion Note References 12 Indexing the Events of an Art Film by Audiences with Different Viewing Backgrounds Sermin Ildirar Birkbeck–University of London and Istanbul University Introduction Event Perception in Film Art Films and Commercial Films Introduction of Case Study Analysis Results Discussion Conclusion Notes References 13 Exploring the Role of Narrative Contextualization in Film Interpretation Issues and Challenges for Eye-Tracking Methodology Thorsten Kluss, John Bateman, and Kerstin Schill University of Bremen Heinz-Peter Preußer University of Bielefeld Introduction The Process of Seeing Film The Experimental Design Results Analysis of Static AOIs Analysis of Dynamic AOIs Additional Findings Dynamic Yarbus? Conclusion Acknowledgments References 14 Conclusion A Methodological Toolbox for Film Reception Studies Christopher J. Olson Dominican University A Methodological Toolbox References Index Machine generated contents note: Chapter 1: Introduction: Empirical Approaches to Film Spectators and Spectatorship CarrieLynn D. Reinhard (Dominican University, USA) and Christopher J. Olson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA)Chapter 2: Spectatorship in Public Space: The Moving Image in Public Art Annie Dell'Aria (Graduate Center CUNY, USA)Chapter 3: The Festival Collective: Cult Audiences and Asian Extreme Cinema Jessica Hughes (University of Queensland, Australia)Chapter 4: Transnational Preoccupations: Representations of Aging in Spanish and French Queer Cinemas and their Reception Darren Waldron (The University of Manchester, UK)Chapter 5: Preferred Readings, Subject Positions and Dissociative Appropriations: Group Discussions Following and Challenging the Tradition of Cultural Studies Alexander Geimer (University of Hamburg, Germany)Chapter 6: "Legolas - He's Cool...and He's Hot!": The Meanings and Implications of Audience Attachments to Fictional Characters Martin Barker (Aberystwyth University, UK)Chapter 7: In Search of the Urban Child Spectator in the Late Silent Era Amanda Fleming (Indiana University, USA)Chapter 8: Seeing, Sensing Sound: Eye Tracking Soundscapes in Saving Private Ryan and Monsters Inc. Sean Redmond (Deakin University, Australia), Sarah Pink (RMIT University, Australia), Jane Stadler (RMIT University, Australia), Jenny Robinson (RMIT University, Australia), Andrea Rassell (RMIT University, Australia) and Darrin Verhagen (RMIT University, Australia)Chapter 9: Seeing Animated Worlds: Eye Tracking and the Spectator's Experience of Narrative Craig Batty (RMIT University, Australia), Jodi Sita (Australian Catholic University, Australia), Adrian Dyer (RMIT University, Australia), and Claire Perkins (Monash University, Australia) Chapter 10: The Effect of Focalization and Attachment on Film Viewers' Responses to Film Characters: Mixing Experimental Design with Qualitative Data Collection Katalin Bálint (University of Utrecht, The Netherlands) & András Bálint Kovács (University of ELTE, Hungary)Chapter 11: Making Sense of the American Superhero Film: Critical Engagement and Cinematic Entanglement CarrieLynn D. Reinhard (Dominican University, USA)Chapter 12: Applying a Model for Comprehension of Texts in the Comprehension of an Art Film Sermin Ildirar (Istanbul University, Turkey)Chapter 13: Guiding Imagination by Narrative Contextualization: Exploring Cinematic Moving Images via Eye Tracking Experiments Thorsten Kluss (Bremen University, Germany), Heinz-Peter Preusser (Bremen University, Germany), John Bateman (Bremen University, Germany), and Kerstin Schill (Bremen University, Germany)Chapter 14: Conclusion: Considerations for Future Directions Christopher Olson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA)Index.