Issue 8 - 2021 (2)
In Tecmerin. Journal of Audiovisual Essays we close the year 2021 with the eighth issue of our journal. On the second anniversary of this publication, we feature works that transport us to the relationships between cinema and the Buddhist substrate of the film Her (Spike Jonze, 2013), a reflection on the filmmakers’ position as a producer in terms of class struggle, the question of materiality within the Prague zines subcultural scene and, finally, the politics of representation of migration processes in Latin American comedy series.
In 2022, Tecmerin. Journal of Audiovisual Essays will continue selecting the best academic audiovisual essays in our Call for Papers, open throughout the year.
Spike Jonze’s Her (2013): Buddhist Stories for a Postmodern World
Jesse Barker (University of Aberdeen) – 15:50
Most people who see Spike Jonze’s film Her (2013) do not notice any particular connection to Buddhism. The film’s existential themes come into sharper focus, however, when we discover the Buddhist framework beneath the surface of this futuristic indie romance.
Keywords: Spike Jonze; Buddhism; Her; Modernism; Philosophy
Piola
Andrés Sanjurjo García (Universitat Pompeu Fabra/Universidade da Coruña) – 11:52
Navigating between the film and domestic archives, Piola reflects on the place of the filmmaker as a producer in terms of class struggle.
Keywords:Poor, pay, relations of production, archive, Marx
Scissors, glue and other machines: The materiality of the Prague zine scene in the post-digital era
Miloš Hroch & Nico Carpentier (Charles University) – 12:06
This video essay studies the role of the material in four Prague-based zines; alternative media produced using scissors, glue and other machines. The study of subcultures (and zines) has been traditionally focused on their meanings, but this video essay argues for paying more attention to the material as material. The argument finds support in the concept of post-digital and the model of the discursive-material knot.
Keywords: Prague, Zines, Material, Post-digital, Discursive
Citizens May Laugh: Latinx Comedy and the Politics of Documented Migration
Juan Llamas-Rodriguez (University of Texas at Dallas) – 13:46
What is funny about immigration applications? This audiovisual essay looks into the politics of representing the bureaucratic process of migration in three U.S. Latinx comedy series.
Keywords: Televisión; Comedy; Immigration; TV Genres
From the Archive
Unidentified Animated Cinema: Pablo Llorens’ Pioneering Clay Work
Spain has historically been a pioneer country in developing certain animation techniques. Claymation, one of the most handcrafted arts, consists of animating clay characters. Pablo Llorens, born in Alcoy (Alicante) in 1967 is, without a doubt, one of the most important clay animators.
Section curated by Mercedes Álvarez-San Román (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
Tecmerin. Revista de Ensayos Audiovisuales
ISSN: 2659-4269
© Grupo de Investigación Tecmerin
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
