Textiles on Film

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Description

The imagined worlds of the cinematic mise-en-scne are rich with textiles: fabrics drape over sets, serve as props, and develop mood and character as dress and dcor. A much-needed examination of the cultural and emotional impact of textiles as mediated through cinematic technology, Textiles on Film broadens our understanding of the dynamic relationship between fabric and film.

Drawing on scholarship across multiple disciplines and exploring a wide range of filmsfrom lesser-known avant-garde films to big-budget Hollywood productionsthis book will inspire scholars and students of film, fashion, and textiles. Close readings of on-screen textiles redirect meaning to that which is often overlooked, including depictions of gender expression, behind-the-scenes labor, and architectural and bodily ornamentation. Attentive to the social nuances of fabrics from polyester to velvet, and to the physical qualities of the textiles themselves, Becky Peterson unearths new possibilities for reading media and textile cultures.

Reviews

This book is an excellent addition to film studies as well as costume, fashion, and interior design programs ... Highly recommended [for] all readership levels. * CHOICE *
With poetic projection, cinematic and textual interleaving, and metaphorically transgressive seduction, Peterson cross-stitches magic onto celluloid as she shimmers behind, between and before the membrane of textile and film this book transports us variously to merged worlds of satin, synthetic, glamour, grotesque and the fantastic. * Catherine Harper, The British University in Egypt, Egypt *
Building on the current materialist turn of film studies, Textiles on Film foregrounds the expressive importance of fabric in film. Bringing textile and film studies together, Peterson draws out the many ways in which it is textiles themselves that help to shape mood, meaning and feeling in the cinema. * Saige Walton, The University of South Australia, Australia *

Author Bio

Becky Peterson is a writer and scholar who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Her interdisciplinary work on textiles, dress, and material culture has appeared in various publications, including Textile: A Journal of Cloth and Culture and Habits of Being: Accessorizing the Body.