From the inception of cinema to today's franchise era, remaking has always been a motor of ongoing film production.
Hollywood Remaking challenges the categorical dismissal in film criticism of remakes, sequels, and franchises by probing what these formats really
do when they revisit familiar stories. Kathleen Loock argues that movies from Hollywood's large-scale system of remaking use serial repetition and variation to constantly negotiate past and present, explore stability and change, and actively shape how the film industry, cinema, and audiences imagine themselves. Far from a simple profit-making exercise, remaking is an inherently dynamic practice situated between the film industry's economic logic and the cultural imagination. Although remaking developed as a business practice in the United States, this book shows that it also shapes cinematic aesthetics and cultural debates, fosters film-historical knowledge, and promotes feelings of generational belonging among audiences.
About the AuthorKathleen Loock is Professor of American Studies and Media Studies at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, where she also directs the Emmy Noether Research Group "Hollywood Memories: Cinematic Remaking and the Construction of Global Movie Generations" (https://hollywood-memories.com/).
Book InformationISBN 9780520375772
Author Kathleen LoockFormat Paperback
Page Count 305
Imprint University of California PressPublisher University of California Press