Film Journal Thematic Issue Proposal: First Films and Early Style

Co-editors: Omid Bagherli and Charline Jao

We are seeking prospective contributers for a special issue of Film Journal on the topic of early style.

In On Late Style, Edward Said declares that an artist’s late style can express “alternative and unregimented modes of subjectivity” while making use of “a lifetime of technical effort and preparation.” Building on Theodor Adorno’s discussion of Beethoven’s late style, Said develops his theory through considerations of the late works of musicians, writers, and directors. In response to the sophisticated approaches to the form and potential of “late style” by Said, Adorno, and others, this issue wishes to develop a counter-theory: we propose to examine the first works of Anglophone filmmakers to understand the qualities of “early style.”

If late style is typically read as a maturation of artistic sensibility and technical expertise, then early style is, by extension, naive, rough, low-budget, and adolescent. But is this opposition fair? Are these “early” qualities necessarily sophomoric or immature? Isn’t it true that “late” can also evoke, in today’s culture industry, decline, selling out, overpolished aesthetics, or some out-of-touch tone? Rather than deferring to the common notion that one’s filmography grows more refined and sophisticated over time, this issue is interested in reading bodies of work in their earliest stages: as primal scenes, as manifestos, as resourceful enterprises, or more simply, as independent features that do more than anticipate incorporation into a studio system. In proposing to look at the imprint of first films and early work, we hope to open up questions regarding the formation of auteurist style, the anxiety of influence, the pressure of negotiating industry standards, and how to identify and interpret origins in retrospect.

Before Martin Scorsese directed his most famous films, he directed the western Boxcar Bertha with Roger Corman looking over his shoulder. Before his name became synonymous with the Fast and Furious franchise, Justin Lin directed the Asian-American indie classic, Better Luck Tomorrow. Before Mary Harron created one of the most iconic literary adaptations in American Psycho, she captured the monologuing disaffection of Valerie Solanas in I Shot Andy Warhol. Though best known for his collaborations with Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze’s first films were skateboarding videos. The concept of “early style” allows us to track the development of directors’ signature styles and themes, and in equal measure, helps us see what is dropped, reattempted, forgotten, or shed away in the course of a career.

By editing an issue on first films and early style, we ask: What role does anticipation and retrospection play in reading early style? What do we learn when we study the inauguration of a new artistic voice? Thus, we are interested in first films, whether they be feature debuts, student films, or early entries in other media (music videos, video art, online videos, etc.). We are interested in articles that explore prominent auteurs with distinctive styles, filmmakers who have gone on to make blockbuster and franchise films, and the ways that directors dramatize the struggle to produce and platform their work. 

300 word abstracts and a brief bio should be submitted to Omid Bagherli (omid.bagherli@tufts.edu) and Charline Jao (cj422@cornell.edu) by April 30, 2025. Queries and questions are also welcome. Abstracts will be part of a larger issue proposal to Film Journal. Please note that Film Journal is dedicated to the study of Anglophone film.