Part I: A2 Film Studies Small Scale Research Project - Ken Russell (2009-2010)

As part of my A level Film Studies study I undertook in my A2 year some original research. This was part of my FM3 coursework. The project consisted of an annotated catalogue, which included evaluations of our sources, and a power point presentation (although the presentation was not marked).

The small scale research project was to apply learning from other areas of study within the course and develop work around a pre-existing interest from your studies in film.

The contexts of our structured research included: Star/performer; Genre; Auteur (in the broadest sense); Social, political and cultural studies; Gender Issues; Ethnicity; Institution; Technology.

I chose the auteur project context as my area of investigation. I had the opportunity to expand my understanding and knowledge of the film director, Ken Russell. I chose Russell, as it would be original for a piece of A' Level coursework because there is little knowledge of his work within my age group.

As part of the research we had to make notes on both focus (and related) films and research resources (specific libraries and archives, books, magazines, websites and people). I made several trips to Staffordshire University Library but there was little information in texts regarding Russell so I had to purchase those I eventually used. A bibliography of these texts is included at the end of the slideshow.

Further texts I would suggest about Russell, because I have since read them, are Keith Barry Grant’s 'The Body Politic: Ken Russell in the Eighties' (1993) and P. Church Gibson & A. Hill’s 'Tutte e marchio!': Excess, Masquerade and Performativity in 70s Cinema’.

I have posted this to demonstrate my research skills and self-motivation. Hopefully, this shows my engagement with film as an academic subject. I really enjoy doing research and hope that I will be able to do something of a bigger scale when I attend an undergraduate degree course in the future.

Bibliography

Casey Benyahia, Sarah. Gaffney, Freddie and White, .John., 2009. A2 Film Studies: The Essential Introduction. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge

Church, Gibson P.  & Hill A.  'Tutte e marchio!': Excess, Masquerade and Performativity in 70s Cinema’ in Robert Murphy (ed.) The British Cinema Book. 3^rd ed. (London: BFI, 2009).

Grant, Barry Keith, 'The Body Politic: Ken Russell in the Eighties', in Lester Friedman (ed.) Fires were started: British Cinema and Thatcherism (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993).