Henderson, Stuart (2011) The history and form of the Hollywood sequel, 1911-2010. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Whilst the prominence of the sequel in contemporary American cinema is inarguable,
little attempt has been made to identify its formal characteristics or to provide a
comprehensive account of its historical development over the past century. Offering
a corrective to this oversight, this thesis addresses three key research questions:
what are the formal characteristics of the sequel in all its variations in American
cinema?; to what extent have these formal characteristics changed over time?; and
how are these changes related to the shifts in the economic and industrial structures
of the American film industry?
Drawing on a wide range of sources, the first four chapters trace the historical
development of the sequel, from silent era features such as The Son of Sheik (1926)
through to contemporary franchises. Building upon this historical context, the second
half of the thesis is dedicated to an examination of the Hollywood sequel’s formal
characteristics. Initially concerned with the manner in which the sequel form differs
from and challenges the notions of closure which inform the Classical Hollywood
paradigm, these chapters progress to a consideration of the dynamic between
genre, stars, character and narrative as it plays out in sequels ranging from Bride Of
Frankenstein (1935) to Rooster Cogburn (1975) and Rambo (2008).
In placing equal emphasis on history and aesthetics, the thesis ultimately aims
to both develop a typology of the sequel form, and to build a more complete picture
of the many ways in which Hollywood has sought to repeat its previous successes,
the historically specific conditions which have governed these repetitions, and the
compositional norms which have resulted.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Film sequels -- United States -- History and criticism
Official Date:	April 2011
Dates:	Date Event April 2011 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Film and Television Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Burrows, Jon
Sponsors:	University of Warwick
Extent:	vii, 303 leaves : ill.
Language:	eng

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