Our friends over at the Melodrama Research Group are continuing to explore pre-Code Hollywood cinema this term, starting with a screening of Female this coming Tuesday. Because of this, we had a look at what the fan magazines had to say about this film and about its central star, Ruth Chatterton. Three reviews, from Photoplay, Picture Play and Motion Picture, took quite different stances…
“Yeah, I’m a tramp, and who’s to blame?”: Baby Face (Green, 1933)
Hi all! Since one of our sister groups, the Melodrama Research Group at the University of Kent, is screening Baby Face (Green, 1933) tomorrow, we here at NoRMMA thought we’d have a look at the magazine coverage on the movie at the time of its release. Baby Face was released in July of 1933 and was a controversial movie at the…
Women’s War Work is Never Done!
Women’s War Work Is Never Done: Representation of women in The War Illustrated Are you interested in history, the Great War, magazines, the representation of women, or in being part of a research project organised and run locally? If so, NoRMMA needs you! NoRMMA (Network of Researchers: Movies, Magazines, Audiences http://www.normmanetwork.com/) is an international research group founded at the University…
Reviewing Reviewing the Fan Mags…
Exciting news! Recently, founding NoRMMA member Dr Tamar Jeffers McDonald published the article “Reviewing Reviewing the Fan Mags” in Film History – it can be found in Vol. 28, no. 4 of the journal, or using the following link: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/647242 Congratulations, Tamar! The abstract reads as follows: On June 2, 1933, trade daily the Hollywood Reporter announced it was inaugurating a…
Publication announcement: “Lasting Screen Stars: Images that Fade and Personas that Endure”.
Just a brief post today, dear NoRMMAs, to flag up the recent publication of Lasting Screen Stars: Images that Fade and Personas that Endure, edited by Lucy Bolton and Julie Lobalzo Wright, for Palgrave Macmillan. More information can be found here: http://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9781137407320 The book promises to examine “the issue of stardom and longevity and investigates the many reasons for the persistence…
Exciting NoRMMA news + Photoplay covers, 1912-1980
Things have been a little quiet on the NoRMMA blog of late, partially due to the PhD thesis of the NoRMMA blogkeeper reaching its final stages – but we return with a bit of exciting news. We’re very happy to announce that, following the “Turning The Page”-conference in November, we recently signed a contract with the University of Iowa Press to work on an…
The Ayes Have IT! (The New Movie Magazine, December 1929)
Dear NoRMMAs – can you identify the following 1929 stars from their eyes & descriptions alone? I scored a rather unimpressive two out of eight… who does better? And here’s the solution – do let us know how you did!
The Romanian magazine “Cinema”, 1924-48.
Today, our blog features a guest post by Oana-Maria Mazilu (University of Kent), one of our conference presenters who is currently working on her PhD on Romanian movie magazine culture. Hello NoRMMAs, Following my presentation on Nicolae Ceausescu’s image in the Romanian film magazine Cinema for our Ghent conference, I thought I would take this opportunity to show and discuss…
NAPS: the Network of American Periodical Studies
Here’s a new and exciting network for those of us interested in American periodicals of all kinds! Thanks to a call for registration for their exciting upcoming symposium at the British Library, NoRMMA recently found out about NAPS, the Network of American Periodical Studies. Do have a look at their website, which can be found at https://periodicalstudies.wordpress.com/. For more information about…
Turning the Page: Digitalization, Movie Magazines, and Historical Audience Studies
With only four days to go until our conference in Ghent, Belgium, we just wanted to draw your attention once again to what we hope will be a phenomenal event. Do stop by if you happen to find yourself in the vicinity on Thursday, Friday or Saturday – the programme can be found here, and we’re very excited to be…