World Cinema through Global Genres offers a new response to recent trends in internationalism that shape the increasingly global character of movies. Costanzo is able to render the complex forces of global filmmaking accessible to students; instead of tracing the long histories of cinema country by country, this innovative textbook uses engaging, recent films like Hero (China), Monsoon Wedding (India), and Central Station (Brazil) as entry points, linking them to comparable American and European films. The book’s cluster-based organization allows students to acquire a progressively sharper understanding of core issues about genre, aesthetics, industry, culture, history, film theory, and representation that apply to all films around the world.
Students are empowered to look through the lens of genre for reasons behind the similarities and differences among movies made at home and abroad. They come to understand how today’s films are part of a dynamic world phenomenon, drawing on local traditions and foreign influences to meet the needs and desires of an increasingly multicultural, globally conscious audience. By studying the cultural flows and cross-currents shaping global genres, readers form a deeper appreciation not only of the films and their stories, but also of the people, societies, and beliefs behind these films.
Online resources for instructors, including sample syllabi, lesson plans, student assignments and filmographies, can be found at www.wiley.com/go/costanzo.
