Beschreibung
In 1968, Argentinean Filmmakers Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino first
articulated the theory of a “Third Cinema” – a revolutionary genre of
cinema that would counter oppression on a global scale. Intended to be a
“guerilla cinema” geared at contesting the overwhelming dominance of
Western cinema, Solana and Getino distinguished Third Cinema from other
forms of cinema, classifying these other types as First Cinema (commercial
cinema epitomized by Hollywood) and Second Cinema. “Third Cinema” was
supposed to be a liberationary tool – particularly for the bulk of the
world that was subject to European imperialism, such as Latin America,
Africa and Asia.
Spanning a wide geographical spread of cinemas ranging from Latin America,
North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, this book addresses
the following questions: how can we rethink the concept of “Third Cinema”
for today? How do new national cinemas – and their accompanying media
industries – reflect the concerns of societies that are struggling with
the implications of accelerated modernization – and how are these concerns
configured in new genres of aesthetics? Is there still a “Third Cinema”
component in contemporary cinemas, and if so, how can it be understood?
Adeline Koh is a postdoctoral fellow in English Literature
at the National University of Singapore.
Frieda Ekotto is Associate Professor of Francophone Studies and
Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan.
