Topic: The Allure of the Image

 

 

Call for Submissions for the cinemedia journal:

cinemedia is the online, student-run journal of the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University.  We seek innovative critical essays, films and other media (including new media, videographic essays, and other works that challenges media boundaries), focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on student work.

 

Topic: The Allure of the Image

 

Submission Deadline:  April 24, 2020

For Submission Details, see below

Send Submissions (or a Description) to:  cinemedia@sfsu.edu

 

Images, whether static or moving, have often been seen as alluring for viewers, evincing a power to attract and fascinate.  Cinema, photography, and other image-based media depend on ideas of allure to draw us to certain films, to certain stars, to moments or images that somehow capture our attention.  Allure overlaps with notions of visual attraction, with startling or haunting imagery, with an eroticism that is often as much visceral as visual.  Yet, at the same time, allure never seems entirely separate from the idea of the lure, with its suggestion that viewers might somehow be caught by a mysterious attraction from which they cannot escape.  Can allure ever be entirely separated from spectacle and the exotic?  What is the relation of allure to fetishism, including commodity fetishism?  How do we explain the appeal that the trainwreck, the horrific, and the grotesque exert for us?  Or our inability to turn away from the addictive allures of pop culture, games, or social media?

Cinemedia invites essays, films, or other media forms that examine, critique, or simply explore ideas or examples of allure occurring not only in cinema, but all media. 

 

Topics may include:   

  • The Cinema of Attractions
  • The Haunting Image, The Startling Image
  • Fetishism of/and the Image
  • Allure and Gender
  • Celebrities, Influencers, and Celebrity Culture
  • Allure and Eroticism
  • The Allure of the Auteur
  • The Fascination of Genre(s)
  • Cult (Film) Allure/The Allure of the Cult
  • Meme Culture
  • The Allure of Anonymity
  • Insatiable Viewing, Binge Watching, Addictive Media and Games
  • The Allure of the Bad, Failed Media
  • Cursed Images
  • The Lure of the Trailer
  • The Allure of Nostalgia and Retro
  • Politics, Allure, and Fascination
  • The Allure of Realism
  • Style as Allure
    • Lighting and Allure
    • The Fascination of Cinematography
    • The Allure of Slow Motion
    • Costume, Makeup, and Allure

Submission Guidelines

 

Permissions
Please be prepared to demonstrate that any material you use is “fair use” or “public domain” or that you have permission to use it.

Written Submissions
1. All papers must be submitted electronically – cinemedia@sfsu.edu.
2. No more than one submission per person per issue.
3. All submissions must consist of previously unpublished and original material (papers written for classes are acceptable).
4. All accepted submissions must provide an abstract, approximately 100 words in length.
5. All submissions must be submitted in English All paper submissions should be between 2,000 and 5,000 words MLA Format.

Video Submissions
1. Suggested Length: up to 10 minutes with credits.
2. All accepted submissions must provide a short description (100 words maximum).
3. Please send a link with your film (youtube or vimeo) and a short abstract to cinemedia@sfsu.edu. If the link is protected, please send us a preview password.
4. Technical specifications – please check the vimeo guidelines for video submissions: https://vimeo.com/help/compression. We are looking for the same specs.

Still Image Submissions
1. We support a variety of formats, including next-gen image formats, but .png is generally preferred.
2. All accepted submissions must provide a short description (100 words maximum).
3. Please send your images with a short abstract to cinemedia@sfsu.edu.
4. Technical specifications: please check information below to choose the appropriate resolution. This is the minimum resolution for full-size/half-size or quarter-size images. FULL PAGE: 2055 x 2882 pixels (174x 244 mm @ 300dpi) HALF PAGE: 1441 x 2055 pixels (122 x 174 mm @ 300dpi) QUARTER PAGE: 1031 x 1441 pixels (87.25 x 122 mm @ 300dpi)