Contemporary British Film

The course looks at key British films from the 1990s to the present. Through the critical study of key films, the course examines the way that these films both emerge from and transform the earlier British cinema tradition and provide accounts of key British genres and film-making tropes. By taking examples from British cinema, the course also introduces the language and process of film criticism and think about what can be learned or gained from looking at films.

Readings focus on the critical reception of British films and the manner in which they have been absorbed into the canon and, in the case of more recent films that have not yet established a place in the critical literature, survey reviews and reception. There is also a particular focus on the political and social context of the films.