• Colour drawing of a staged theatrical scene framed by two symmetrical classical structures with niches containing gilded statues, flanked by trees. At the centre, a painted backdrop shows an island within an archipelago, with a visible settlement; in the foreground, a vessel approaches the shore. Four figures stand before the backdrop holding branches and other objects. The composition is enclosed within a thin rectangular gold border.

Carol

Lesbian Cinema after Queer Theory

In 1998, the celebrated lesbian film scholar B. Ruby Rich wrote: ‘I don’t want to make the mistake of falling into that comfortable old victim box, complaining of absence in the midst of presence. We’re not invisible anymore’ (58). In…

Doing History in the Age of Downton Abbey

Julie Anne Taddeo As the most watched period drama in television history, Downton Abbey has met with popular success but not always critical acclaim. Historians in particular have criticized what they see as the series’ conservative politics and nostalgic view…

Afghanistan – Themes and Variations

As it enters its second year of publication, Warwick Ball reflects on the emerging themes and (accidental) article pairings in both the October 2018 and April 2019 issue of Afghanistan, the new journal of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies.…

A history of American horror film in 10 images

In his new book, The Birth of the American Horror Film, Gary D. Rhodes delves into the archives to focus on 10 key horror genres prominent in American cinema between 1895 and 1915. From ghosts and witches to mad scientists…

British Youth Cultures and the Wider World

Pop music and youth culture are known to be among the great British exports of the late twentieth century. Be it teddy boys/girls or The Beatles, mods or the Sex Pistols, football hooligans or the Spice Girls, the seemingly rapid…