Transnational Cinema: The Film Reader, Elizabeth Ezra and Terry Rowden, Ny: Routledge, 2006 (Book Review)

Abstract

Transnational cinema: The film reader (Ezra & Rowden, 2006) is an anthology of papers on transnational cinema from the two earlier decades. It introduces the emerging debates of the transnational scene. It discusses transnational cinema as the most transportable art form as integration of digital technology has caused the rapid disappearance of permeable national media borders. Transnational cinema is characterized by awareness and diversity, and a speed capable of linking people across nations in minimum possible time. It affects the global economy and the cinematic literacy of its audiences and becomes the source of anxiety worldwide. Such themes draw on much discussed worldwide naturalization of Hollywood by taking the space of national cinemas in different countries. Transnational cinema: The film reader discusses the cultural repercussions of a global shift from multiple national cinemas to a diverse transnational cinema; the movement of Hollywood into the era of the multiplex; multicultural and diasporic interventions; and the ethics and aesthetics of Hollywood mis-èn-scene.

Keywords: Vietnam war, international communication, cross-cultural communication, war media

JEL Classification: Z19