what is transnationality?
Transnationality is a word with multiple meanings and can be taken in a number of ways. ‘Transnational cinema’ is seen as an answer to the problem that is ‘National cinema’ a phrase which in itself has struggled to stick to one singular definition. If we see ‘National cinema’ as films which are made using actors, locations from one sole country while also being produced, directed and funded in that self same country then ‘Transnational cinema’ is the opposite.
Andrew Higson believes “the concept of ‘transnational’ may be a subtler means of describing cultural and economic formations that are rarely contained by national boundaries”, meaning films made using multiple production and distribution companies as well as receiving funding from various countries and such films are considered as examples of ‘Transnationality’ within film.
Higson is quoted in “Transnational cinema: the film reader” as saying; “First there is a level of production and the activities of the film-makers. Since at least the 1920’s, films have been made as a co-production, bringing together resources and experiences from different nation-states… The second way… is in terms of the distribution and reception of films… A third possibility is that the foreign commodity will not be treated as exotic by the local audience, but will be interpreted according to an ‘indigenous’ frame of reference: that is, it will be metaphorically translated into a local idiom” (2006, p. 19)
While Elizabeth Ezra defines it as a mixture of both the integration of world cultures and the critiques of world powers such as the US and the UK. "The transnational comprises of both globalization - in cinematic terms, Hollywood's domination of world film markets - and the counterhegemonic responses of filmmakers from former colonial and Third World countries. The concept of transnationalism enables us to better understand the changing ways in which the contemporary world is being imagined by an increasing number of filmmakers across genres as a global system rather than as a collection of more or less autonomous nations."
Three prime examples of transnational cinema which I will be delving into include Slumdog Millionaire (2008), which received funding from all over the world, while being adapted from an Indian novel and directed by a British director, Inarittu’s Babel (2006) and the recent release Cloud Atlas (2013) which was written, produced and contains actors from all many different countries.
Andrew Higson believes “the concept of ‘transnational’ may be a subtler means of describing cultural and economic formations that are rarely contained by national boundaries”, meaning films made using multiple production and distribution companies as well as receiving funding from various countries and such films are considered as examples of ‘Transnationality’ within film.
Higson is quoted in “Transnational cinema: the film reader” as saying; “First there is a level of production and the activities of the film-makers. Since at least the 1920’s, films have been made as a co-production, bringing together resources and experiences from different nation-states… The second way… is in terms of the distribution and reception of films… A third possibility is that the foreign commodity will not be treated as exotic by the local audience, but will be interpreted according to an ‘indigenous’ frame of reference: that is, it will be metaphorically translated into a local idiom” (2006, p. 19)
While Elizabeth Ezra defines it as a mixture of both the integration of world cultures and the critiques of world powers such as the US and the UK. "The transnational comprises of both globalization - in cinematic terms, Hollywood's domination of world film markets - and the counterhegemonic responses of filmmakers from former colonial and Third World countries. The concept of transnationalism enables us to better understand the changing ways in which the contemporary world is being imagined by an increasing number of filmmakers across genres as a global system rather than as a collection of more or less autonomous nations."
Three prime examples of transnational cinema which I will be delving into include Slumdog Millionaire (2008), which received funding from all over the world, while being adapted from an Indian novel and directed by a British director, Inarittu’s Babel (2006) and the recent release Cloud Atlas (2013) which was written, produced and contains actors from all many different countries.