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World Cinema and Cultural Memory

By: I. Hedges

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eBook | 24 May 2016

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Cinema has long played a crucial role in the way that societies remember and represent themselves. In the last quarter century, film has been an important medium in the public debate around the memory of the Holocaust and of Hiroshima; of the Algerian war for independence and of the Spanish Civil War; of the Allende legacy in Chile, the utopian dreams of 1968, and the aborted project of the German Democratic Republic; in identity formation in Palestine and in the African diaspora. Hedges discusses the role of cinema within a global perspective that spans five continents, and proposes an original typology of cultural memory. In the process, she re-evaluates the contributions of major directors and uncovers hitherto neglected yet important works. The author develops her arguments in an approachable style that will encourage readers to rethink their own memories of films and to reflect on the way that cinema contributes to collective and cultural memory. The book's innovative approach should transform the way that we think of film and its social effects.

Industry Reviews

"Inez Hedges' book is a fascinating excursion on the multiple oppositional uses of memory in world cinema. It shows, in a lively and insightful way, how movies bring the memory of past struggles forward into the present, to serve as an inspiration for the future. The spirit of Surrealism - the movement that according to Walter Benjamin was able to "win the energies of intoxication for the revolution" - haunts the pages of this beautiful essay." - Michael Lowy, Emeritus Research Director, CNRS, France. "With memory and memorialization shaping a range of struggles for personal and collective self-definition, this book's focus on global oppositional cinema as a repository and shaper of memory makes a unique contribution to both memory and cinema studies. Its generously inclusive sweep lays out a useful comparative overview that illuminates cinema's powerful ability to shape collective awareness with far-reaching consequences." - Linda Dittmar, Professor Emerita of Literature and Film Studies and author of From Hanoi to Hollywood and Multiple Voices in Feminist Film Criticism.