Places on my Mind: Exploring Contextuality in Film in Between the Global and the Local

Abstract

Studying film contexts can inform us about places as experienced by viewers, raising questions of how films paint a sense of place. This paper considers these aspects in relation to the contexts of “place” depicted in films, how streets, quarters, landscapes and countries are portrayed and projected. Consequently, film is considered as a lens through which places can be studied. Furthermore, this study of places through film is situated in the context of global and local networks of influence on viewers. The way these places are “read” by different audiences is explored. The findings indicate that film viewers differ in their relation to the places depicted in films resulting in a variety of meanings attributed to (aspects of) these places and a variety of experiences. Furthermore, there is the hybrid nature that most “populations” have, and the need, consequently, in the study of places through film, to recognize the ambiguous circumstances that most cultural/sub-cultural “peoples” experience.