Pitch Deadline: 30 April 2010
Final Deadline: 31 May 2010
Contact: Stuart Henderson, Robert Moore and Sarah Zupko
Email: henderson at popmatters dot com, moore at popmatters dot com, editor at popmatters dot com
With this week-long special feature, PopMatters is excited to provide a platform for cinema scholars, film historians and/or social theorists of all varieties to help us and our readership reconsider the significance of iconic film director Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
Alfred Hitchcock managed to achieve a degree of popular success and critical acclaim that is rare in any serious artist. None of his films illustrates this better than Psycho, which was released 50 years ago this June. This film not only birthed the modern horror movie but also produced a host of iconic images from which acolytes continue to draw. (Janet Leigh’s unfortunate shower is regarded by many as the single most memorable scene in the history of cinema, for example.)
To celebrate both Psycho and the unparalleled brilliance of Hitchcock’s career, PopMatters invites film scholars, cultural theorists, and commentators from related fields to offer their insights on any aspect of the Master of Suspense’s career in general and Psycho in particular, as well as other major films such as Rear Window, Vertigo and more. The week-long celebration will appear in June to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the film’s release.
We will offer an incisive exploration of the genius (and/or the limitations, quirks, failings, idiosyncrasies) of Hitchcock. Essays between 1,000 and 3,500 words will be due by 17 May 2010, though earlier submissions will be greatly appreciated. Shorter mini-essays of some 500 words will populate the Hitchcock 101 to offer a comprehensive overview of the Maestro’s filmography. Because these essays will be read by students and fans of Hitchcock’s work the world over, the highest standards will be anticipated. The challenge in writing about Hitchcock, of course, is the extensive prior analysis of his work by veritable armies of scholars. We are especially interested in pieces that explore the ways class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and identity are explored in Hitch’s oeuvre.
Submissions should be directed to fall under one of the following topic headings:
Hitchcock 101 – The Canon: Exploring Hitchcock’s Filmography (At least 500 incisive words on each film forming mini essays in a section similar to this previous example).
The Innocent Man and the Triumph of Good
Duality and Pairing
Gender, (homo)Sexuality, and Performativity
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Hitch on TV
Hitchcock’s (a)Politics
Voyeurism and the Gaze
Monstrous Mothers
Innocence, Victimhood and Sadism
All correspondence should be addressed to: Stuart Henderson, Robert Moore and Sarah Zupko, henderson AT popmatters.com, moore AT popmatters.com AND editor AT popmatters.com.