Assessment: essay due mid-way through term (1500 words) [40%], essay due after the end of term (2500 words) [60%]

This module analyses the phenomenon of cult film and television within the contexts of production, exhibition and reception. Through an engagement with a variety of cult media texts, it will present a framework to engage with wider debates around cultural value and oppositional taste. Primarily focused upon Anglo-American fandom, with a global selection of case studies, the module will consider recent work which attempts to engage with the tensions underlying the implicit distinction between ‘cult’ and ‘mainstream’. It explores the cultural politics of fandom while critically examining the various texts and contexts that play a part in the global dynamics of cult film and television.

*Course content subject to change