Crossover cinema plays an increasingly important part in global media. In an industry that is overwhelmingly white and Eurocentric, transnational films and filmmakers offer a unique insight to different cultures, free from the influence of Orientalism and other imperialistic views. Crossover cinema differs to foreign films as it “crosses cultural borders at the stage of conceptualisation and production”. Crossover cinema is an important form of filmmaking; helping the recognition and consideration of migration and globalisation in a post-World War II world. (Khorana, 2014).
How I understand crossover cinema, after viewing the material for Week 5, in particular the article by Dr. Suhkmani Khorana, is that crossover cinema/ transnational cinema is a form of cinema that has multiple cultural roots, and is a hybrid of these. However, unlike the preoccupation of the previous articles, Dr. Khorana presents hybridity as not always being obvious, and can transcend the transnational label to become national to the adopted country.
This week’s presenters, Laura Jesson, Megan Gillman, and Rebecca Deacon simplified the definition of crossover cinema to “cinema that crosses cultural borders at any stage of its conception, production or reception” – a much easier definition to digest. The group went on to explore some interesting disadvantages of cross-cultural cinema stating that cross-cultural films can result in countries concluding they are knowledgeable of other culture’s characteristics. I find this most relevant to the Western culture portraying other cultures. They used the example of Slumdog Millionaire (2008) to further explore the characteristics of crossover cinema.
In the treatment of Slumdog Millionaire as the guest speakers and article explores, the film blurred the lines between the Indian and the American culture to form a film that had a resonance in both countries and not tied down to one. The film made it to Best Picture status at the Academy Awards, and not simply in the foreign film category. In this sense, it passed the boundaries of crossover cinema and indeed became a part of the national cinema.
This point is explored at depth in the article “Concepts of transnational cinema: Towards a critical transnationalism in film studies” by Will Higbee and Sogn Hwee Lim, as they look at the ways that a transnational film can be resonant for the home country and at the same time be reflective of the adopted home, say America, where the film might be set. It is key point they write about in relation to themes in transnational films like immigration, language and tradition, and the ways these characters attempt to sychronise these to an adopted land. In these ways it provides a coexistence or dual culture on screen and simultaneously addresses two different cultures, and how these are coordinated and explored in the adopted environment. From this, a transnational message is produced in that one film has separate parts that apply to two different cultures, but can, as a whole, be a hybrid experience that both cultures could relate to.
Dr. Khorana writes in her article that crossover film involves a negotiation in the politics of language, location, travel, and narrative style of all its cultural roots. In the Higbee and Lim article this is looked at in a more complex level, and it questions transnational cinema as separate to national cinema and advocates for ways to transcend the label into having national films that have a diverse voice but still remain distinctly national.
In conclusion, I believe Cross-over/ cross-cultural cinema can be a positive reflection of the globalisation of the international film industry, but must be undertaken with research and respect. I also believe that to get the most out of a cross-cultural film, writers and directors should work closely with the culture they wish to represent.
Reference List
Khorana, S 2014, ‘Crossover Cinema: A Genealogical and Conceptual Overview’, Part 1: Producing a Hybrid Grammar, p.2.
Jesson, L, Gillman M & Deacon R 2014, ‘Global Film: Towards Crossovers’, Week 5 Group Presentation, viewed 4.9.14