Constructive Advanced Thinking (CAT) Programme project presentation
The role of audiovisual fiction – films and TV series in particular – in populist cultures remains to be fully explored. Given that narrative work is a crucial element of populist mobilization, especially through specific emotional discourses (anger, pride, fear), there is evidently great scope for audiovisual fiction to affect these cultures. As part of the ongoing “Screening European Populisms (2008-2020)” CAT project, our presentation aims to illustrate our criteria and methodological approaches for selecting and interpreting fictional media content from the five largest audiovisual markets in Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK). Through selected case studies, we aim to trace how narrative, representation and online reception work together in the circulation of populist affect: popular European films and TV series intervene in the digital attention economy through reappropriations, remediations and conversations in “third spaces”. We will discuss, for instance, how the logics of Brexit are worked through a historical drama such as "Darkest Hour" and in Benedict Cumberbatch’s evolving star image; or how the “everyday man” is constructed as an alternative to traditional politics in the Italian mediascape.
Learn more about the CAT program: https://ias.ceu.edu/about-constructive-advanced-thinking-cat-programme
Image: Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC series "Sherlock" (2010-17) and in the Channel 4 film "Brexit" (2019)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/91802517745?pwd=aVZZMjF6QXFaKzNVbVJyam5FaW15Zz09 - Meeting ID: 918 0251 7745 / Passcode: 585943