Intervals, rhythms and waves : relations of affect in case studies of subjective documentary from 1980s and 1990s

• Main Author: Robertson, Imogen Laura
• Published: Lancaster University 2012
• Subjects: 791.45
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.658218

Ceontextualising subjective documentary in relation to the cultural and political shifts during the 1980s and 1990s, this thesis examines how the three case studies discussed explore issues of gender, race and sexuality in terms of affect. The thesis's theoretical framework draws on cultural theories of affect and scholarship in the area of documentary film studies to investigate how intervals, waves and rhythms prompt viewers to think about the ways in which affect shapes subjectivity as a process of becoming. The study includes detailed case studies of the films Tongues Untied (1989) , Sink or Swim (1990) and Obsessive Becoming (1995) that employ a method of close audio-visual analysis. It is suggested that the formal organisation of the films encourages subjectivity to be conceptualised as a process of becoming. In arguing that these films require viewers to approach the intervals, waves and rhythms as relations, this thesis examines how these works critically examine the relationship between subjectivity and culture.