Towards a holistic approach to geographic research on film

Abstract

Geographers' interest in film has increased during the last 20 years. Methodological and theoretical perspectives tend, however, to be bipolar and reflect either cognitive or social approaches. Work reflecting these approaches is reviewed with geographic research grounded in transactionalism and postmodernism as examples. A geographic view of film that recognizes the importance of more than one theoretical framework, positions the cognitive and social in a continuum reaching from the individual to the societal, and makes traditional notions of scale antiquated is recommended. Research by geographers contesting the assumed objectivity in documentaries is reviewed as are geographers' contributions to understanding the construction of meaning of urban and natural settings in films. Suggestions for future directions in film research are made.

Film tourism – Evolution, progress and prospects

“…Edensor (2001) (1996), which raises issues of the complexities of branding contemporary places and new products to different markets. These "bipolar frameworks" (Kennedy and Lukinbeal 1997: 34) (i.e. rural/urban, pristine countryside/urban wasteland) in the mediation of place, dominated much of the research in film geography until recently, with anti-urban sentiments notably coming to the fore and 'urban' used as a metaphor in films for all things 'bad', and we have already noted this in relation to Scottish film.…”

Samfunnsgeografi

“…Bruken av ikoniske bygninger som Eiffeltårnet, Empire State Building eller Taj Mahal, er enkle måter en film kan fortelle hvor handlingen er lagt, mens filmen kan vaere tatt opp et helt annet sted. Kennedy og Lukinbeal (1997) omtaler dette humoristisk som 'crimes against geography' , men dette er i seg selv ikke noe som undergraver en representasjon eller gjør den mindre viktig for stedets ideologiske dimensjon. En film skaper representasjoner av steder uten å vise dem frem i det hele tatt.…”

Visuelle Geographien – ein Editorial

“…In den letzten Jahren hat sich daneben eine " Geographie des Films" als eigenes Forschungsfeld formiert (Aitken/Dixon, 2006), wobei die frühesten Publikationen aus der Disziplin heraus wiederum maßgeblich aus dem englischen Sprachbereich stammen (Kennedy/Lukinbeal, 1997;Cresswell/Dixon, 2002;vgl. zusammenfassend auch Matless, 1997 Bourdieu, 1974;Husserl, [1904Husserl, [ /05]1980Luhmann, [1995Luhmann, [ ]1999Merleau-Ponty, 1966 …”