Interpreting Films: Studies in the Historical Reception of American Cinema
@inproceedings{Staiger1992InterpretingFS, title={Interpreting Films: Studies in the Historical Reception of American Cinema}, author={Janet Staiger}, year={1992} }
Employing a wide range of examples from "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Birth of a Nation" to "Zelig" and "Personal Best", Janet Staiger argues that the historical examination of spectators' responses to films can make a valuable contribution to the history, criticism and philosophy of cultural products. She maintains that as artifacts, films do not contain immanent meanings, that differences among interpretations have historical bases, and that these variations are due to social, political and…
234 Citations
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