Instant Throw-Away Europe: Producing Space and Value on Screen
Research Question
How does the screen industry situate itself comfortably, function in, and give a dynamic image to zones of economic and political dilapidation? Why are sites in ruins highly demanded production sites?
Project Description
This project examines film and television’s rapport with real estate speculation. It challenges the widespread assumption that “pretty” or “dreamy” screen images augment the value of a production location. It argues that images of and image-making in urban sites in ruins, such as decrepit former factories, make way for real estate speculation. Based on an analysis of screen trade magazines and interviews with film commissions, urban development agencies, and screen media professionals in Athens, Belfast, Istanbul, and Paris it examines the process and impact of screen production in zones of economic crisis, and social and political conflict in the heart of Europe’s diverse media capitals.
Selected Publications
Celik Rappas, Ipek and Maria Boletsi, “Introduction: Ruins in Contemporary Greek Literature, Art, Cinema, and Public Space,” Journal of Modern Greek Studies 38/ 2 (2020): vii-xxv.,
Celik Rappas, Ipek,“From Titanic to Game of Thrones: Promoting Belfast as a Global Media Capital,” Media, Culture and Society 41/4 (2019): 539-556.
Celik, Ipek A. In Permanent Crisis: Ethnicity in Contemporary European Media and Cinema (University of Michigan Press, 2015)