The cinema of David Mamet : Independent filmmaking in Hollywood.

This thesis examines the cinema of David Mamet with particular reference to the five films he made between 1987 and 1997. Its objectives are: to explore Mamet's distinct approach to filmmaking; to analyse the ways in which this approach shaped the formal organisation of his films; and to account for the specific aesthetic effects produced. The central argument advanced is that Mamet's filmmaking practice, which has, to a large extent, been influenced by practices he adopted during his long standing service to American theatre, is markedly different from dominant models of filmmaking in contemporary US cinema. As a result, his films have consistently demonstrated evidence of an idiosyncratic visual style, which has attracted considerable - mostly negative - criticism.This thesis also considers a number of institutional parameters that have impacted on Mamet's cinema. Particular emphasis has been placed on the role of independent distributors such as Orion Pictures and The Samuel Goldwyn Company who allowed the filmmaker to maintain his distinct aesthetic vision, despite his lack of success at the US box-office. Mamet's close association with the institutional apparatus of American Independent Cinema is examined throughout the thesis.My approach to Mamet's cinema takes place within a number of critical contexts that Film Studies uses to discuss both individual films and the work of a filmmaker as a whole. These contexts include: the classical/post-classical Hollywood cinema debate; auteur criticism; performance studies; film adaptation studies; and genre criticism. I use these frameworks to examine particular aspects of Mamet's cinema and also to establish fresh critical perspectives which will enhance our understanding of some of his films. One such perspective involves the proposal that Mamet utilises the generic form of the 'con-artist film,' a film genre previously unexplored within genre studies.This thesis challenges some of the established critical assumptions about David Mamet's cinema and bestows upon it the attention it deserves

Greek screen industries: From political economy to Media Industry Studies

This introductory article to the Special Issue ‘Greek Screen Industries’ of the Journal of Greek Media and Culture offers a critical overview of the recently emerging field of Media Industry Studies and situates existing work on Greek screen industries in its context. It argues that the current fragmentation and lack of dialogue between social sciences and arts and humanities approaches on the topic is particularly marked in the Greek context, a fact that can be explained by institutional and historical reasons. It calls for an expansion of the agendas privileged by political economy approaches to screen media towards the more pluralistic, empirical and culture-orientated perspectives facilitated by Media Industry Studies.</jats:p

Revisiting contemporary Greek film cultures: Weird Wave and beyond

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TEACHERS’ SELF-DETERMINED MOTIVATION IN RELATION TO NON-TEACHING WORK TASKS

The present article reports on two studies (pilot and main) aiming to examine the psychometric properties of two scales assessing (a) teachers’ work motivation and (b) their involvement in non-teaching work tasks, and to explore the associations between the two constructs under the theoretical framework of self-determination theory (SDT). A Greek version of Blais’ Work Motivation Inventory (BWMI-TGr) was adapted for teachers, and a new instrument measuring teacher behaviour relevant to non-teaching work tasks was developed. Rigorous analyses supported the construct validity and internal consistency of the scales used. The findings suggested that teachers’ intrinsic motivation presents the most optimal patterns of relationships with non-teaching work behaviours, such as preparation for teaching, professional training, education-related reading, collaboration with parents, and participation in the school’s cultural activities. Identified and introjected regulations exhibited positive relationships only with teacher involvement in cultural activities, whereas external regulation had no positive relationship with non-teaching work tasks. The findings are discussed through the lens of SDT and strategies are proposed for school climate improvements, which target the cultivation of teachers’ intrinsic motivation at work.  Article visualizations

CAPTURING TEACHER BASIC NEEDS SATISFACTION: VALIDATION EVIDENCE FOR THE GREEK SCALE MEASURING PE TEACHERS’ BNS

According to self-determination theory, teachers’ basic needs satisfaction is essential for the quality of their motivation, teaching, and work behavior. Considering the lack of valid and reliable instruments measuring teachers’ basic needs satisfaction (for autonomy, competence and relatedness) within the Greek context, we evaluated the factorial validity and internal consistency for the Greek version of the Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale for Teachers (BNSST; Longo et al., 2016). Standard back-translation procedures were followed. Focusing on Physical Education (PE) teachers, the validity of the measure was evaluated via two cross-sectional studies with samples of pre-service (n=109; study 1) and in-service (n=91; study 2) teachers. The psychometric properties of the instrument were established through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alphas, and latent variables’ associations with external criteria. In both studies, factor analyses results supported the construct validity of the 9-item, 3-correlated factors model, producing satisfactory goodness of fit indices, suggesting that the three needs are positively related with each other. Internal consistency analysis produced acceptable values for all the scales of the study. In line with theoretical assumptions and past research evidence, latent variables correlations with external criteria showed that basic needs satisfaction connects positively with their beneficence, cooperation willingness, intrinsic motivation and identified regulation. Furthermore, structural equation modeling revealed a positive connection between teachers’ general basic needs satisfaction and their autonomous motivation, work engagement, and work satisfaction, suggesting that the fulfillment of teacher basic needs can positively predict their well-being at work. The present findings suggest that the BNSST-GR has good psychometric properties and provide initial support for the instruments’ validity and reliability. Such measurements may prove useful in examining Greek teachers’ basic needs satisfaction in a variety of work-related contexts (e.g., teacher professional development).  Article visualizations

Reclaiming Independence: American Independent Cinema Distribution and Exhibition Practices beyond Indiewood

En 2008, le secteur du film indépendant américain a connu pas moins de trois fermetures de “specialty film divisions” par leur compagnie mère, alors que deux ans plus tard la puissante Miramax était vendue par Disney. Cette consolidation a créé un secteur aujourd’hui contrôlé par une poignée de filiales de majors et quelques compagnies diversifiées isolées. Ces compagnies investissent de façon croissante dans des films indépendants comme Juno (2007) et Sideways (2006) dont les résultats commerciaux sont presque comparables à ceux des films des grands studios, provoquant en retour des réactions vives de critiques s’interrogeant sur leur statut même d’indépendants. Alors que la production “indie” semble converger vers les productions des majors (et leurs pratiques marketing), la partie « basse » du spectre des indépendants a vu se développer des modèles qui passent outre la distribution traditionnelle en salles. Ces modèles visent à établir un lien direct avec le spectateur qui consomme des films à domicile et sont caractérisés par des pratiques telles que la vente de DVD sur les propres sites internet des réalisateurs ainsi qu’une utilisation innovante et extensive des réseaux sociaux. Le faible coût de ces pratiques permet à certains de ces films d’atteindre une rentabilité permettant aux auteurs de poursuivre leur œuvre sans compromis. Cet article montre que, en dépit de l’institutionnalisation croissante du secteur indépendant et la cooptation du secteur « indie » par les conglomérats hollywoodiens au cours de ces dernières années, l’introduction de nouveaux modèles économiques dans une partie du secteur indépendant a permis à ces compagnies de se régénérer et de continuer à proposer une voie alternative à la production hollywoodienne.In 2008 the American “indie” film sector saw no fewer than three “specialty film divisions” being closed by their parent companies, while two years later the once mighty Miramax was sold by Disney. This consolidation created a sector that is now controlled by a handful of major conglomerate subsidiaries and a few diversified stand-alone companies. These companies have been investing increasingly in commercial properties, with films like Juno (2007) and Sideways (2006) achieving commercial success almost on a par with studio pictures and provoking reactions from critics who have questioned their independent status.While “indie” film seems to be on a convergence course with studio filmmaking (and marketing), the “lower end” of the independent spectrum has seen developments that seem to be driven by models that increasingly bypass theatrical distribution and exhibition. Such models aim to link the film producer with an audience who consume films at home, and are characterised by practices such as the sale of DVDs from the filmmakers’ own websites to a substantial clientele; and an extensive and innovative use of social networking media. The low cost of these practices allows some of these films to achieve profitability, which enables their filmmakers to continue working without compromises. In this respect, the essay argues that despite the increasing institutionalisation of American independent and the cooptation of “indie” film from the Hollywood conglomerates in recent years, the introduction of new film business models at the low end of the sector has once again allowed independent cinema to regenerate and to continue to provide an alternative to Hollywood

The Hollywood Renaissance: Revisiting American Cinema's Most Celebrated Era

This is a large edited collection (255+xxvii pp). My own contributions comprise a jointly written introduction and one chapter: Krämer, Peter, and Tzioumakis, Yannis (2018), Introduction, pp. xiii-xxvii. Krämer, Peter (2018). ’A Triumph of Aura over Appearance’: Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl (1968) and the Hollywood Renaissance“, pp. 53-69.In December 1967, Time magazine put Bonnie and Clyde on its cover and proudly declared that Hollywood cinema was undergoing a ‘renaissance’. For the next few years, a wide range of formally and thematically challenging films were produced at the very centre of the American film industry, often combining success at the box office with huge critical acclaim, both then and later. This collection brings together acknowledged experts on American cinema to examine thirteen key films from the years 1966 to 1974, starting with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a major studio release which was in effect exempted from Hollywood’s Production Code and thus helped to liberate American filmmaking from (self-)censorship. Long-standing taboos to do with sex, violence, race relations, drugs, politics, religion and much else could now be broken, often in conjunction with extensive stylistic experimentation. Whereas most previous scholarship has examined these developments through the prism of auteurism, with its tight focus on film directors and their oeuvres, the contributors to this collection also carefully examine production histories and processes. They pay particular attention to the economic underpinnings and collaborative nature of filmmaking, the influence of European art cinema as well as of exploitation, experimental and underground films, and the connections between cinema and other media. Several chapters show how the innovations of the Hollywood Renaissance relate to further changes in American cinema from the mid-1970s onwards