Scotland: Global Cinema

The first book to explore filmmaking in Scotland (as distinct from Scottish film), 'Scotland: Global Cinema' provides a fascinating account of ten key genres of filmmaking. Wonderfully concrete, engaging, and detailed, this study patiently and systematically explores the fascinating phenomenon of global films shot in Scotland. David Martin-Jones helps us to see what the much-used term 'global cinema' might actually mean. -- Professor Mette Hjort, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Scottish cinema is extremely fortunate in having chroniclers as gifted as Colin MacArthur, John Caughie and Duncan Petrie. To these must now be added David Martin-Jones, who considerably broadens and deepens the debate by taking as his subject film-making in Scotland as opposed to Scottish cinema. In so doing he draws on a remarkably diverse range of films to produce an absolutely fascinating account of the many and varied ways in which Scotland has been imagined in contemporary cinema. -- Professor Julian Petley, Brunel University In this timely new book David Martin-Jones advances the serious study of Scottish cinema in a number of extremely illuminating and productive ways. By focusing on the question of the global he locates Scottish production firmly within current issues in transnational cinema studies. By foregrounding the issue of popular genres he emphasises a key way in which film-making has been organised and has sought to connect with audiences. And by highlighting a number of films that have been neglected or simply ignored in other recent accounts he broadens and enriches the very category of 'Scottish cinema'. This is a welcome and valuable contribution that helps us to understand the sheer complexity of the term 'Scottish film' - as simultaneously a process of artistic collaboration, a mode of cultural expression and a vibrant creative industry - and its wider location within a changing world. -- Professor Duncan Petrie, University of York It offers a thoughtful and refreshing approach to the many and different ways Scotland has been either represented or imagined on screen and contributes to our understanding of the term 'Scottish film'... Martin-Jones' book will have instant appeal to scholars, not only of film but of cultural studies. The brevity and focus of each chapter renders it extremely readable and its overall investigation into different ways of interpreting Scottish filmic images is both bold and enlivening. -- Annie Morgan James Visual Culture in Britain Martin-Jones provides a set of eloquent, trenchantly argued and provocative chapters on films that have for the most part been completely overlooked in Scottish cinema historiography. As such, the book does indeed begin a mapping of the 'lost continent' of Scottish cinema, thereby greatly augmenting the corpus of 'significant' Scottish films. Furthermore, Martin-Jones is ultimately successful in locating these films in larger transnational contexts and shows that the film culture of a country as small as Scotland is nevertheless a player in the global media industries, being shaped by transnational movements of capital and people and helping in turn to shape those flows. -- Reviewed by Christopher Meir, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Transnational Cinemas Many of the old debates are still present - particularly the role of Scotland as a frontier wilderness on which outsiders can build their fantasy representations - but they are reconceptualised by Martin-Jones to try to move beyond the unproductive dead-end of simplistic condemnation. Of particular interest is the idea - borrowed from travel writing criticism - of 'autoethnography' ... Martin-Jones debates the concept before formulating some necessary correctives when measured against Scotland's output. ... All in all, essential reading for anyone concerned about Scotland's cinematic past, present and future. -- Douglas Allen, Motherwell College Media Education Journal Martin-Jones's expansive conception of what counts as Scottish cinema is matched by his coverage of a broad range of persons and companies... Thankfully, Martin-Jones's ambitious scope does not come at the expense of careful analysis. All of Scotland: global cinema's 10 chapters effectively achieve the author's goal of 'exploring the different identities on offer in the various fantasy Scotlands created by filmmakers from around the world' (p. 1). While there is much to recommend the entire text, individual chapters could effectively stand alone. -- Jesse Schlotterbeck, University of Iowa Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television David Martin-Jones's book, now published in paperback, breaks decisively with the implicit cultural nationalism of the national cinema paradigm ! This productive approach both broadens the range of films under discussion to include hitherto neglected cinematic 'traditions', such as low budget genre movies and popular Indian productions, alongside art-house cinema, costume drama, and the 'woman's film', and widens the academic discussion of filmmaking in Scotland beyond its usual discursive limits. Focusing on films made in the 1990s and 2000s, each of the book's chapters maps the transnational economic and cultural forces that both shape the films' production and are reflected by the plurality of Scotland's, real or imagined, produced by their narratives. ! Future filmmaking in Scotland will take place in an economic and cultural territory that is both local and global, a space his excellent book has productively mapped. -- Richard Butt International Journal of Scottish Theatre and Screen Martin-Jones provides a set of eloquent, trenchantly argued and provocative chapters on films that have for the most part been completely overlooked in Scottish cinema historiography. As such, the book does indeed begin a mapping of the 'lost continent' of Scottish cinema, thereby greatly augmenting the corpus of 'significant' Scottish films. Furthermore, Martin-Jones is ultimately successful in locating these films in larger transnational contexts and shows that the film culture of a country as small as Scotland is nevertheless a player in the global media industries, being shaped by transnational movements of capital and people and helping in turn to shape those flows. The first book to explore filmmaking in Scotland (as distinct from Scottish film), 'Scotland: Global Cinema' provides a fascinating account of ten key genres of filmmaking. Wonderfully concrete, engaging, and detailed, this study patiently and systematically explores the fascinating phenomenon of global films shot in Scotland. David Martin-Jones helps us to see what the much-used term 'global cinema' might actually mean. Scottish cinema is extremely fortunate in having chroniclers as gifted as Colin MacArthur, John Caughie and Duncan Petrie. To these must now be added David Martin-Jones, who considerably broadens and deepens the debate by taking as his subject film-making in Scotland as opposed to Scottish cinema. In so doing he draws on a remarkably diverse range of films to produce an absolutely fascinating account of the many and varied ways in which Scotland has been imagined in contemporary cinema. In this timely new book David Martin-Jones advances the serious study of Scottish cinema in a number of extremely illuminating and productive ways. By focusing on the question of the global he locates Scottish production firmly within current issues in transnational cinema studies. By foregrounding the issue of popular genres he emphasises a key way in which film-making has been organised and has sought to connect with audiences. And by highlighting a number of films that have been neglected or simply ignored in other recent accounts he broadens and enriches the very category of 'Scottish cinema'. This is a welcome and valuable contribution that helps us to understand the sheer complexity of the term 'Scottish film' - as simultaneously a process of artistic collaboration, a mode of cultural expression and a vibrant creative industry - and its wider location within a changing world. It offers a thoughtful and refreshing approach to the many and different ways Scotland has been either represented or imagined on screen and contributes to our understanding of the term 'Scottish film'... Martin-Jones' book will have instant appeal to scholars, not only of film but of cultural studies. The brevity and focus of each chapter renders it extremely readable and its overall investigation into different ways of interpreting Scottish filmic images is both bold and enlivening. Martin-Jones provides a set of eloquent, trenchantly argued and provocative chapters on films that have for the most part been completely overlooked in Scottish cinema historiography. As such, the book does indeed begin a mapping of the 'lost continent' of Scottish cinema, thereby greatly augmenting the corpus of 'significant' Scottish films. Furthermore, Martin-Jones is ultimately successful in locating these films in larger transnational contexts and shows that the film culture of a country as small as Scotland is nevertheless a player in the global media industries, being shaped by transnational movements of capital and people and helping in turn to shape those flows. Many of the old debates are still present - particularly the role of Scotland as a frontier wilderness on which outsiders can build their fantasy representations - but they are reconceptualised by Martin-Jones to try to move beyond the unproductive dead-end of simplistic condemnation. Of particular interest is the idea - borrowed from travel writing criticism - of 'autoethnography' ... Martin-Jones debates the concept before formulating some necessary correctives when measured against Scotland's output. ... All in all, essential reading for anyone concerned about Scotland's cinematic past, present and future. Martin-Jones's expansive conception of what counts as Scottish cinema is matched by his coverage of a broad range of persons and companies... Thankfully, Martin-Jones's ambitious scope does not come at the expense of careful analysis. All of Scotland: global cinema's 10 chapters effectively achieve the author's goal of 'exploring the different identities on offer in the various fantasy Scotlands created by filmmakers from around the world' (p. 1). While there is much to recommend the entire text, individual chapters could effectively stand alone. David Martin-Jones's book, now published in paperback, breaks decisively with the implicit cultural nationalism of the national cinema paradigm ! This productive approach both broadens the range of films under discussion to include hitherto neglected cinematic 'traditions', such as low budget genre movies and popular Indian productions, alongside art-house cinema, costume drama, and the 'woman's film', and widens the academic discussion of filmmaking in Scotland beyond its usual discursive limits. Focusing on films made in the 1990s and 2000s, each of the book's chapters maps the transnational economic and cultural forces that both shape the films' production and are reflected by the plurality of Scotland's, real or imagined, produced by their narratives. ! Future filmmaking in Scotland will take place in an economic and cultural territory that is both local and global, a space his excellent book has productively mapped.