Description
Nora M. Alter argues that the essay film is a hybrid genre that fuses three major categories of film: feature, art, and documentary. Much like the written essay, its literary predecessor, the essay film draws on a variety of forms and approaches, fundamentally altering the shape of cinema. Alter traces the essay film's origins to early silent cinema, charting the genre's evolution with the advent of sound, its emergence as a recognized category of film in the postwar period, and the ways the genre developed in the later twentieth century. In addition to exploring the broader history of the essay film, Alter discusses the work of artists including Robert Smithson, Martha Rosler, Isaac Julien, John Akomfrah, Harun Farocki, and Hito Steyerl.
About the Author
Nora M. Alter is professor of comparative film and media studies in the School of Theater, Film, and Media Arts at Temple University. She is author of Vietnam Protest Theatre: The Television War on Stage (1996); Projecting History: German Nonfiction Cinema, 1967-2000 (2002); and Chris Marker (2006) and coeditor (with Timothy Corrigan) of Essays on the Essay Film (Columbia, 2017).
Reviews
For many years, Nora Alter has been our most brilliant advocate of the essay film as an open genre that floats between documentary, fiction, and the art film. The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction is the first comprehensive survey of this difficult and experimental genre in both its historical context and variable aesthetic manifestations. The depth and complexity of Alter's account of the essay film's critical force and aesthetic innovations will not soon be surpassed. -- D. N. Rodowick, Glen A. Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago
This magisterial study marks a milestone in scholarship on the most intellectually expansive and unpredictable film genre of the last half-century. Global in scope, Alter's book displays the essay film's astonishing richness of forms and functions from its beginnings in the 1920s to contemporary art installations. Both a reliable history and a sharp-eyed investigation, The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction is indispensable for anyone interested in the past and future of nonfiction cinema. -- Anton Kaes, University of California, Berkeley
The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction is unfailingly lucid, balanced, and informed. Alter provides generous and illuminating analyses of specific films, filmmakers, and decisive shifts in the arts and media history. Her book is a definitive guide to the multiple modes of production and global contexts of a vital tradition that continues to enrich contemporary culture and nurture critical thought. -- Edward Dimendberg, University of California, Irvine
The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction deepens the reader's understanding of the history, aesthetics, and politics of its subject. -- Josh Guilford * Film Quarterly *
This book is invaluable for its scope and depth; the sheer number of films and filmmakers considered makes it an indispensable resource. * Choice *
Book Information
ISBN 9780231178211
Author Nora M. Alter
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
Series Film and Culture Series
About the Author
Nora M. Alter is professor of comparative film and media studies in the School of Theater, Film, and Media Arts at Temple University. She is author of Vietnam Protest Theatre: The Television War on Stage (1996); Projecting History: German Nonfiction Cinema, 1967-2000 (2002); and Chris Marker (2006) and coeditor (with Timothy Corrigan) of Essays on the Essay Film (Columbia, 2017).
Reviews
For many years, Nora Alter has been our most brilliant advocate of the essay film as an open genre that floats between documentary, fiction, and the art film. The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction is the first comprehensive survey of this difficult and experimental genre in both its historical context and variable aesthetic manifestations. The depth and complexity of Alter's account of the essay film's critical force and aesthetic innovations will not soon be surpassed. -- D. N. Rodowick, Glen A. Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago
This magisterial study marks a milestone in scholarship on the most intellectually expansive and unpredictable film genre of the last half-century. Global in scope, Alter's book displays the essay film's astonishing richness of forms and functions from its beginnings in the 1920s to contemporary art installations. Both a reliable history and a sharp-eyed investigation, The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction is indispensable for anyone interested in the past and future of nonfiction cinema. -- Anton Kaes, University of California, Berkeley
The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction is unfailingly lucid, balanced, and informed. Alter provides generous and illuminating analyses of specific films, filmmakers, and decisive shifts in the arts and media history. Her book is a definitive guide to the multiple modes of production and global contexts of a vital tradition that continues to enrich contemporary culture and nurture critical thought. -- Edward Dimendberg, University of California, Irvine
The Essay Film After Fact and Fiction deepens the reader's understanding of the history, aesthetics, and politics of its subject. -- Josh Guilford * Film Quarterly *
This book is invaluable for its scope and depth; the sheer number of films and filmmakers considered makes it an indispensable resource. * Choice *
Book Information
ISBN 9780231178211
Author Nora M. Alter
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
Series Film and Culture Series
