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Dr James MacDowell

portrait
Associate Professor in Film & Television Studies

Departmental Examinations Secretary

Email: James dot MacDowell at warwick dot ac dot uk

Room 1.22 - Floor 1, Faculty of Arts Building

Tel: +44 2476 573041

Research interests

My research primarily explores the aesthetic strategies of popular film and media, with a particular focus on the narrative conventions and stylistic properties of mainstream and indie American cinema, as well as (most recently) YouTube. My approach is influenced by philosophical aesthetics, and by traditions in art criticism dedicated to acknowledging the interdependence of style and meaning. I have written books about the nature of irony in film and the Hollywood 'happy ending'. Current research interests include the aesthetics of YouTube, the role of intention in film interpretation, and the critical possibilities of audiovisual essays. I also make video essays on my YouTube channel, The Lesser Feat.

 

Selected publications

Monographs:

 

Audiovisual essays [see all here]:

 

Selected articles/chapters:

 

Teaching and supervision

I teach subjects covering classical and contemporary Hollywood cinema, ‘indie’ cinema, and - most pervasively - questions of film style and aesthetics.

Modules taught include 'Film Aesthetics', ‘Film Criticism’, 'Hollywood Cinema', 'Postclassical Hollywood Cinema', 'Romantic Comedy', 'Film Criticism, Film Style' and 'Screen Cultures and Methods'.

I am currently co-supervising two Phd research projects: Danielle Childs' doctoral thesis on the aesthetic and cultural significance of the motel in American cinema; and Henrique Bolzan Quaioti's thesis on the poetics of Wes Anderson's cinema.

I am interested in supervising postgraduate projects related to my research interests - including YouTube, irony in film, intention and interpretation, the aesthetics/conventions of Hollywood/American independent cinema, and more broadly candidates who wish to pursue the detailed investigation of audiovisual style and meaning, and/or apply traditional questions in the philosophy of aesthetics to film and screen media.

 

National roles and professional associations

I am co-director of CRPLA, the Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and the Arts at Warwick. I am a member of BAFTSS (British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies) and SCMS (Society of Cinema and Media Studies).

Teaching

Undergraduate modules

FI107 Film Criticism

FI 301 Film Aesthetics

FI351 Post-Classical Hollywood

Postgraduate modules

Film Criticism, Film Style

Feedback & Advice hours

 irony in film

happy endings in hollywood cinema cover