Introduction

Abstract

It is the contention of this book that the theories of the Russian linguist, literary critic and philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin (1895–1975), though highly suggestive for helping to understand the processes and meanings of cinema, have yet to be fully articulated in relation to the key debates of film studies. It will be demonstrated that a richer engagement with the Bakhtinian matrix of ideas (incorporating the works of others in what has become known as the ‘Bakhtin Circle’) will enhance the field of film studies. This is the first full-length study to apply the major Bakhtinian categories to the formal strategies of Hollywood film, and also the first publication solely dedicated to Mikhail Bakhtin and the cinema in over 15 years.¹ Through providing detailed analytical case studies of key films, I hope to afford stimulating evidence that the Bakhtinian approach can provide new points of access into some of the key questions of cinema study.