Saving Cinema

The Politics of Preservation

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by Caroline Frick

Type

Studies

Subject

Economics

Keywords

preservation

Publishing date

2011

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 232 pages
6 x 9 ¼ inches (15.5 x 23.5 cm)

ISBN

978-0-19-536811-6

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Book Presentation:
• Upends conventional thinking on film preservation: rethinks traditional heritage *preservation* as *access* to cultural heritage artifacts
• Contains new histories (based upon original, primary research) of film preservation organizations, including Hollywood studios as well as federal organizations
• Uncovers a series of "lost film' stories, such as the work of Melton Barke and kiddie films from the 1930s-70s

With the inception of cinema, discussions relating to the preservation of film emerged in countries around the globe. Early motion picture collectors, critics, and producers justified film preservation by appealing to cinema's role as art or artifact or through the medium's capacity to document historical events. In the mid to late twentieth century, however, film preservation advocates shifted to validating their work through re-defining and celebrating cinema as cultural heritage.

Saving Cinema investigates the evolution of the film preservation movement—from Hollywood studios and U.S. federal institutions, to influential international associations and small cinema collections in developing nations. Western preservation advocates have succeeded in solidifying a material, artifact-driven approach to how society approaches managing historical relics. But the digital era offers an unprecedented opportunity for change in which widespread access to historical media can, itself, be seen as moving image preservation.

Saving Cinema examines the significant influence of the film preservation movement upon what has been defined as 'American' film heritage for the scholar, practitioner, and audience. Although most movie enthusiasts around the globe think Hollywood films equate the nation's cinematic output, the popularity of all types of moving images on the internet evidence what film archives have known for years—that industrial and training films, and even videos of the family cat prove just as popular as the latest blockbuster. Saving Cinema illustrates that moving image archives have not merely preserved movie history, but have, instead, actively produced cinematic heritage.

About the Author:
Caroline Frick, University of Texas, Austin Caroline Frick is Founder and Executive Director of the Texas Archive of the Moving Image at the University of Texas at Austin.

Press Reviews:
"Saving Cinema is a valuable addition to our understanding of preservation issues surrounding film and moving image media. Frick makes a smart and timely contribution to the intellectual ferment taking place at the nexus of media studies and film archiving. She enriches the discussion of American film preservation as a national project, placing it within a much-needed global perspective." - Dan Streible, Orphan Film Symposium and New York University

"The author's impressive educational and professional background provides her with a unique perspective on the film archives community and its history.... Aimed at a wide audience, including film historians and media study students, Saving Cinema presents a cogent challenge to the archival community regarding the philosophy of regional film archives." - Amy M. Moorman, Archival Issues

See the publisher website: Oxford University Press