Doing Research in the Dark:Doing Research in the Dark:

A Radically Attenuated A Radically Attenuated Lesson in Lesson in

Film Studies Resources at UCBFilm Studies Resources at UCB

Film and TV Are:Film and TV Are: • Everywhere and UnavoidableEverywhere and Unavoidable

• Big Business Big Business (& Big Business=Big Hype=(& Big Business=Big Hype=Questionable InfoQuestionable Info))• The Focus of Endless Interdisciplinary The Focus of Endless Interdisciplinary Inquiry: (as aesthetic form;Inquiry: (as aesthetic form;social/cultural text and artifact;social/cultural text and artifact; psycho-psycho-sexual projection; as gender, race sexual projection; as gender, race construction, etc. etc. etc. etc.)construction, etc. etc. etc. etc.)• The Focus of Endless (and often endlessly The Focus of Endless (and often endlessly weird) weird) Popular Inquiry, Popular Inquiry, Fixation & Fetish Fixation & Fetish

Film and TV Film and TV Topics Constitute:Topics Constitute:

• A booming part of the pop publishing industry A booming part of the pop publishing industry (the bad, the weird, and the useful)(the bad, the weird, and the useful)

•An increasingly large part of the trade list of An increasingly large part of the trade list of academic publishers academic publishers

•Focus of print and electronic scholarship in a Focus of print and electronic scholarship in a dizzying array of disciplinesdizzying array of disciplines

• A big slug of the web: the bad, the weird, A big slug of the web: the bad, the weird, and and the useful: the useful:

•Fan sitesFan sites•Studio and other commercial sitesStudio and other commercial sites•Academic sites (in the minority)Academic sites (in the minority)

So…How to Spend So…How to Spend Our Time Today?Our Time Today?

Big Box Office Questions:Big Box Office Questions:•Criticism and scholarly Criticism and scholarly analysis across disciplinesanalysis across disciplines•Reviews Reviews •Credits & other production Credits & other production infoinfo

So…How to Spend So…How to Spend Our Time Today?Our Time Today?

Most of what I’m about to talk Most of what I’m about to talk about about

is posted at:is posted at: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/filmstudies/index.htmlhttp://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/filmstudies/index.html

"How do I find critical analysis of Blade Runner."

The Big Box Office Questions

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/filmstudies/reviewslist.html a table of basic online and print review/criticism sources with links

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/FilmBibMenu.html a growing listing of bibliographies on various film topics and individual films compiled by MRC (includes bibs for genres, filmmakers, national cinemas, and individual film).

Critical Analysis of Blade Runner."

Faves and raves for citations to critical analysis in historical/cultural context:

International Index to Film/TV Periodicals (La Federation Internationale des Archives du Film [FIAF]) MLA (Modern Language Assn. Bibliography)International Index to the Performing Arts; Art Abstracts/AA Retrospective; America History & Life

Expanded Academic Index: include both national news magazines/newspaper and (MAGS) central film studies journals (some full-text): including Cineaste American Film, Film Comment, Film Criticism, Film Quarterly, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Journal of Film and Video, Journal of Popular Film and Television, Literature/Film Quarterly, Sight and Sound, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Variety.

Critical Analysis of Blade Runner."

Also worth scoping out:

Periodicals Contents Index (particularly for older titles)

SSCI and A&HCI; Essay & Gen Lit Index

Film Index International (British Film Institute) Links to selected reviews (with emphasis on Brit stuff) from entries for individual movies: http://fii.chadwyck.com/

Film Literature Index (FLI) (print) (1973 --): best single printed source of international film studies literature

"How do I find critical analysis of Blade Runner." --Other full-text: PROJECT MUSE includes full-text of articles in Wide Angle; Camera Obscura (feminist film studies).

--Substantive film studies e-journals with full-text articles, including freebies, such as Bright Lights; Senses of Cinema (indexed in MLA) (see http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/filmstudies/filmjournals.html for links to these and others)

--Check Pathfinder for separately published monographs, screenplays, etc.----World Cat: Use to find: Use to findbook chaptersbook chapters

"How do I find a review of "The Matrix.”The Big Box Office Questions

Movie Review Query Engine (http://www.mrqe.com/): Includes full-text of R. Ebert (Chicago Sun Times), selected NYT, Washington Post, and others too weird or off-the-wall to mention.

Expanded Academic Index (much full-text!)

ProQuest: picks up pop publications not coveredelsewhere online (e.g. Premiere) (some full-text). Includes some full-text from Variety

Lexis/Nexis (News/Arts & Sports/Source: Book, Movie, Music & Play Reviews): some-full text (e.g. LA Times, SF Chronicle, Boston Globe, some NYT

Also worth scoping out: Ethnic Newswatch, Alternative Press Index Online, Women's Resource International (for non-mainstream cultural perspectives)

"How do I find a historical review of Gone With the Wind?"

--Readers Guide Retrospective (older volumes: under Motion Pictures -- Reviews, or even earlier: Moving Picture Plays)

--NYT Index or NYT Film Review Index (PRINT) (Main/Ref; MRC) For early film, see also

--New York Times Film Reviews (6 vol. 1913/1968-1995/96) (print) Reproductions of reviews (Main Ref)

--Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) - Includes full-text articles New York Times (1851-1999)

--Historical Newspapers Online - Includes cites to NYT 1863 to 1905

-- Film Review Index (Patricia and Stephen Hanson, eds.) (print) 1882-1985. Best retrospective review coverage. (MRC and Main Stacks)

--Periodicals Contents Index 1770-1995, first issue– indexing of articles in arts and social sciences

I'm doing a research paper on the image of the disabled (African Americans, the apocalypse, God, gays and lesbians, alcoholism…etc. etc. etc.) in the movies.

The Big Box Office Questions

--Use Film Index International or American Film Institute (both on library web ) to identify movies by theme or genre

--Pathfinder/CDL: [Whatever] in Motion Pictures (watch in particular for topical guides,e.g. Norden, Martin F. The Cinema of Isolation: A History of Physical Disability in the Movies.

--Consult indexes and other resources discussed earlier. NB: widely varying subject terminology for each index: e.g., disabled, film (MLA); Disabled persons -- Portrayals, depictions, etc. (Expanded Academic Index); Handicapped in motion pictures (Pathfinder)

I'm doing a research paper on the image of the disabled (African Americans, the apocalypse, God, gays and lesbians, alcoholism…etc. etc. etc.) in the movies.

The Big Box Office Questions

--MRC Videographies / Bibliographies

•Organized topically, by genre, themes, language/Country

I’m writing about a movie and I need to know who starred in it (or directed it, or produced it). I need to know what other movies the director, star, producer made.

The Big Box Office Questions

--American Film Institute (AFI Index) (library web) US film 1893 to 1970 (except 1951 to 1960) (also available in print Main Huma and MRC)

--British Film Institute (BFI) Film Index International (library web) --stronger for sound era --no animation

--The Motion Picture Guide (thru 1999) (CD-ROM and print in MRC)

--Internet Movie Database (web: http://us.imdb.com/): unlike above, info is supplied by users--so be wary

"How do I find a review of a documentary I saw last month on PBS Frontline or in the Media Center?”

The Big Box Office Questions

--Good luck! Reviews of documentary works (other than stuff by Ken Burns and other big names) are rarer than subtle Tarantino movies.

--Try: Media Review Digest (via Library/Indexes); Expanded Academic Index; Film Literature Index (the TV section)

--Spotty coverage in subject literature: use appropriate indexes: for e.g. America History and Life; Anthropological Literature (RLG) (for ethnography)

"How do I hook up with all this cool stuff from off campus?”

The Big Box Office Questions

Library Proxy Service!

Looking for a movie, a documentary,Looking for a movie, a documentary,etc. etc. etc. to watch…etc. etc. etc. to watch…

IntermissionIntermission

Popcorn? Junior Mints?Popcorn? Junior Mints?Questions?Questions?

Say the magic woidSay the magic woidand an answer comes and an answer comes

down...down...

Gary HandmanGary Handmanghandman@library.berkeley.edu643-8566643-8566