With regard to considerations of the auteur and mise en scene, I found the article “Imagining Geographies of Film” by Stuart C. Aitken and Deborah P. Dixon particularly interesting. The purpose of this article is to connect the geographic analysis of film to other disciplinary issues while also taking a look at how current theoretical constraints limit the consideration of geography. The authors successfully argue that critical perspectives on film often overlook the geographic concern; instead, the interest in geographies of film begins and ends with whether or not the geography of a particular film is realistic. One thing that is not considered in this sort of treatment is whether or not the geography of the film produces movie. One film that comes to mind is the 1959 French new wave pioneer Hiroshima mon amour. This film almost shreds the traditional sense of geography, blending scenes from France and Japan seamlessly, pointing out that it is one’s sense of memory that is more important than one’s precise physical place. This allows the geography of the film to speak eloquently toward the film’s central question, which involves whether or not one should try to forget one’s tragic past or accept it and try to find closure. Even in more realistic film, though, geography can produce meaning, and some of the most effective parts of this article are the arguments for film geographies that are more critical in nature. The authors take such basic templates as mobilities, landscapes and spaces in movies and appraise them anew with an eye toward evaluating what the geographies could mean. The implications are considerable for those looking for new realms within the study of film as a whole.
Works Cited
Aitken, Stuart C. and Dixon, Deborah P. (2006). Imagining geographies of film. Erdkunde 60:
326-336.
