Writing film industry history

Spicer, Andrew

Abstract

This chapter provides a critical overview of the main ways in which film industry history has been formulated and described. It argues that any account must address three basic questions: (i) how film industry history has been defined and delimited (the object of study); (ii) the customary sources used and the major methodological approaches employed (what counts as evidence); and (iii) the purposes or intentions of film industry historians (what is being explained? The chapter explores how these issues have been tackled by a range of different scholars, discussing the ways in which they have conceptualized film industry history in what is a dynamic and shifting field populated by researchers from a variety of perspectives and disciplinary backgrounds with contrasting priorities and preoccupations. It uses as examples studies that have been influential, and/or illustrate broad trends or shifts in approach. A brief concluding section considers the possible future direction of film industry history.

Citation

Spicer, A. (2021). Writing film industry history. In P. McDonald (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Media Industries (429-438). London and New York: Routledge

• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Oct 4, 2021
• Publication Date: Oct 5, 2021
• Deposit Date: May 30, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2023
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 429-438
• Book Title: The Routledge Companion to Media Industries
• Chapter Number: 37
• ISBN: 9780429275340
• Keywords: film history
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9579962
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Media-Industries/McDonald/p/book/9780367225261