Biopics Past, Present, and Future: Erasure, Embellishment, and the Social Imaginary (PAMLA (Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association))
San Franciso
Organization: PAMLA
Event: PAMLA (Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association)
Biopics, as cinematic documents that fabricate a bildungsroman of an aspiring hero, often take considerable liberties with known facts about the protagonist, whether it is Harvey Milk, Shirley Muldowney, Bob Dylan, Ghandi, T.E. Lawrence, Desmond T. Doss, or James Brown. This panel will examine the methods by which a variety of biopics make use of hyper-subjectivity to generate the afterimage of historical interventions.
William Mohr