Badfilm

Incompetence, Intention and Failure

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by Becky Bartlett

Type

Studies

Subject

Countries > United States

Keywords

badfilms, United States

Publishing date

2023

Publisher

Edinburgh University Press

Collection

Traditions in American Cinema

1st publishing

2021

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 192 pages
6 x 9 ¼ inches (15.5 x 23.5 cm)

ISBN

978-1-4744-5043-0

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Book Presentation:
This fascinating book examines badfilms; a subcategory of ‘bad cinema’ marked by incompetence, and typically exacerbated by material poverty and restrictive production conditions. It develops a framework through which the formal characteristics of failure are identified and analysed, and identifies intentionality as central to how badfilms are appreciated and valued as cult texts. Drawing on debates about cult cinema and film form, the book includes a series of case studies of classic ‘so bad they’re good’ films, like Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster and The Beast of Yucca Flats, investigating the impact of failures in post-production sound, recycled footage, performance and editing in American badfilms from the 1950s and 1960s. In doing so, it offers ways to consider how we identify and respond to failure, and how failure itself works.

About the Author:
Becky Bartlett is Associate Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of St Andrews.

Press Reviews:
Badfilm: Incompetence, Intention and Failure is a thorough and impressive consideration of the ‘badfilm’. Bartlett investigates technical and aesthetic factors underpinning such films, including editing, sound, acting, and the use of stock footage. She also interrogates the complex ways that such films are embraced by niche audiences through engaging with issues such as cultural value and taste. Clearly and engagingly written, this is by far the best work produced so far on this fascinating subject. ― Jamie Sexton, University of Northumbria

Badfilm: Incompetence, Intention and Failure is a thorough and impressive consideration of the ‘badfilm’. Bartlett investigates technical and aesthetic factors underpinning such films, including editing, sound, acting, and the use of stock footage. She also interrogates the complex ways that such films are embraced by niche audiences through engaging with issues such as cultural value and taste. Clearly and engagingly written, this is by far the best work produced so far on this fascinating subject. -- Jamie Sexton, University of Northumbria

See the publisher website: Edinburgh University Press