A CRITICAL COMPANION TO TIM BURTON (Abstr. by 30 September)
http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/node/63040
full name / name of organization: Prof. Adam Barkman and Dr. Antonio Sanna
contact email: adam_barkman@hotmail.com isonisanna@hotmail.com
Tim Burton is certainly one of the most popular directors of contemporary Hollywood. His oeuvre includes blockbuster films such as Batman (1989), Planet of the Apes (2001) and Alice in Wonderland (2010) as well as less profitable– but still highly recognizable - films such as Ed Wood (1994). His work with stop motion, evident in Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005) and the recent Frankenweenie (2013) has further popularized and updated a technique that has been fundamental in cinema since the silent era. His distinctive and personal touch, a visionary style that is now referred to as “Burtonesque”, and his frequent collaborations with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Danny Elfman (to mention merely a few) has contributed to establish a unique and identifiable brand. All of his achievements have offered (and still offer) an incredibly fertile ground for critical examination, analysis and discussion. Indeed, in recent years the scholarship on Burton has proliferated and a number of distinct theoretical approaches that analyze the director’s visual texts and their philosophical and cultural weight have emerged.
This anthology will explore Burton’s multi-medial oeuvre from multidisciplinary perspectives. This volume seeks previously-unpublished essays that explore the American director’s heterogeneous career, from short films such as Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984) and his direction of commercials and music videos to his drawings, paintings and photographs. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches to the subject that can illuminate the diverse facets of the director’s work and his unique visual style. We do not yet have a publisher, but are very confident in finding one soon.
There are several themes worth exploring when analyzing Burton’s works, utilizing any number of theoretical frameworks of your choosing. We request that chapters based on formal analysis cover a maximum of three films to allow for reasonably close readings. Contributions may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:
- Burton and philosophy
- Burton and the visual arts
- Humour, Black Humour and the Macabre
- Burton and fairy tales
- Gender and queer readings
- Neo-Victorian art
- Exploration of dreams and the subconscious
- Fascination with machines and ecocriticism
- Mob mentality
- Alienation and misperception, conformity/nonconformity
- Disfigurement, deformity and (dis)ability
- Death and the afterlife
- Intertextuality
- Adaptations, Remakes and Appropriations
- Music and Danny Elfman
- Tim Burton in/and translation
- Evil Clowns
- Fan practice and fan communities
The anthology will be organized into thematic sections around these topics and others that emerge from submissions. We are open to works that focus on other topics as well and authors interested in pursuing other related lines of inquiry. Feel free to contact the editors with any questions you may have about the project and please share this announcement with colleagues whose work aligns with the focus of this volume.
Submit a 300-500 word abstract of your proposed chapter contribution, a brief CV and complete contact information to Prof. Adam Barkam (adam_barkman@hotmail.com) and Dr. Antonio Sanna (isonisanna@hotmail.com) by 30 September, 2015. Full chapters of 5000-7000 words would be due by 1 January, 2016. Note: all full chapters submitted will be included subject to review.
By web submission at 07/18/2015 - 10:29
