Marsha Kinder
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Marsha Kinder (born 1940) is an American film scholar and Professor of Critical Studies at the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
.


Background

Kinder began her career as a scholar of eighteenth-century
English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
before moving to the study of transmedia relations among various
narrative art Narrative art is art that tells a story, either as a moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time. Some of the earliest evidence of human art suggests that people told stories with pictures. Although there are so ...
forms. From 1965 through 1980 she taught at
Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...
in the Dept. of English and
Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...
. With her colleague,
William Moritz William Moritz (May 6, 1941 – March 12, 2004) was an American film historian who specialized in visual music and experimental animation. His principal published works concerned abstract filmmaker and painter Oskar Fischinger. He also wrote exte ...
, Kinder introduced
film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...
into their curriculum. In 1980 she joined USC as a Professor of Critical Studies in the School of Cinematic Arts where she taught until 2012; Kinder's specialties included
Spanish cinema The art of motion-picture making within Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema. Only a small portion of box office sales in Spain are generated by domestic films. The different Spanish governments have t ...
,
narrative theory A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc.). N ...
, children's media culture, database documentaries, and
digital culture Internet culture refers to culture developed and maintained among frequent and active users of the Internet (also known as netizens) who primarily communicate with one another as members of online communities; that is, a culture whose influence ...
.


Published works

Kinder has published more than one hundred essays and ten books (including
monographs A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
and
anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...
). Her first essay, titled, "Antonioni in Transit," on the 1966 film ''
Blow-up ''Blowup'' (also styled ''Blow-Up'') is a 1966 psychological mystery film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, co-written by Antonioni, Tonino Guerra and Edward Bond and produced by Carlo Ponti. It is Antonioni's first entirely English-language ...
'' and its relationship to
Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...
's earlier films made in Italy, was published in the British film journal ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...
'' in 1967. Kinder first two books, ''Close Up: A Critical Perspective on Film'' (1972) and ''Self and Cinema: A Transformalist Perspective'' (1980), were written in collaboration with Beverle Houston. She is best known for her works on Spanish cinema and culture, which include ''Blood Cinema: The Reconstruction of National Identity in Spain'' (1993), with a companion CD (the first interactive scholarly work in English language film studies), ''Refiguring Spain: Cinema, Media, Representation'' (1997), and ''
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
's
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' () is a 1972 surrealist satirical black comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel, who wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Jean-Claude Carrière. The narrative concerns a group of French bourgeoisie an ...
'' (1998). Kinder's works on children's media culture include ''Playing with Power in Movies, Television and
Video Games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
: From Muppet Babies to
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
'' (1991), and ''Kids' Media Culture'' (1999). Kinder was founding editor of the journal ''Dreamworks'' (1980–87), a winner of a
Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...
, and a contributor to ''The Spectator'' (1982–present). Since 1977, she has served on the editorial board of ''
Film Quarterly ''Film Quarterly'' (FQ), published by University of California Press, is a journal devoted to the study of film, television, and visual media. When FQ was launched in 1945 (then called ''Hollywood Quarterly''), it was considered "the first serious ...
''. In 1995 Kinder received the USC Associates Award for Creativity in Scholarship, and in 2001 was named a University Professor for her innovative interdisciplinary research.


Labyrinth projects

In 1997, Kinder founded The Labyrinth Project at USC, a research initiative on database narrative (a concept she introduced). At Labyrinth she produced database documentaries, archival cultural histories and other new models of
digital scholarship Digital scholarship is the use of digital evidence, methods of inquiry, research, publication and preservation to achieve scholarly and research goals. Digital scholarship can encompass both scholarly communication using digital media and research ...
in collaboration with media artists,
filmmakers Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwritin ...
, writers,
scholars A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a terminal ...
, scientists, archivists, and cultural institutions. Combining cultural history and theory with the sensory language of the cinematic arts, these database documentaries are presented as transmedia networks ( museum installations, DVD,
digital archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organi ...
s, on-line courseware, print catalogues, books). One of Kinder's first projects was with filmmaker
Nina Menkes Nina Menkes , , is an independent filmmaker. Her films include ''The Great Sadness of Zohara'' (1983), ''Magdalena Viraga'' (1986), '' Queen of Diamonds'' (1991), ''The Bloody Child'' (1996), "Massacre (Massaker)" (2005), ''Phantom Love'' (2007 ...
, entitled ''THE CRAZY BLOODY FEMALE CENTER''. Menkes was allegedly unhappy that Kinder took liberties with her work, for example, adding shots to her work without her permission. Menkes' CD-ROM premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
. Many Labyrinth projects have been featured at
museums A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...
, film and new media festivals, and conferences worldwide and have won prestigious awards, including: the New Media Envision Award for best design; the
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
Award for best interactive project in the learning category; and the Jury Award at Sundance for New Narrative Forms. Three Labyrinth projects were featured in
Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe The ZKM , Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (until March 2016: ZKM Center for Art and Media Technology), a cultural institution, was founded in 1989 and, since 1997, is located in a former munitions factory in Karlsruhe, Germany. The ZKM (Germa ...
's "Future Cinema" exhibition in Germany in 2002: ''Tracing the Decay of Fiction: Encounters with a Film by Pat O’Neill'' (2002); ''Bleeding Through Layers of Los Angeles, 1920 – 1986'' (2002); and ''The
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
Exodus: The Rippling Currents of the River'' (2002). The latter work was an installation made in collaboration with Hungarian artist
Péter Forgács Péter Forgács (born 10 September 1950) is a Hungarian media artist and independent filmmaker. He is best known for his "Private Hungary" series of award winning films based on home movies from the 1930s and 1960s, which document ordinary lives ...
, which premiered at the Los Angeles
Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, United States, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997, and is well known for its architecture, garde ...
in 2002 and is still touring worldwide. Others projects have focused on science and
health education Health education is a profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health, as well as sexual and r ...
: ''Three Winters in the Sun:
Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
in California'' (2005), which was exhibited at the
Skirball Cultural Center The Skirball Cultural Center, founded in 1996, is a Jewish educational institution in Los Angeles, California. The center, named after philanthropist couple Jack H. Skirball and Audrey Skirball-Kenis, has a museum with regularly changing exhi ...
in Los Angeles, and ''A Tale of Two MAO Genes: Exploring the
Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
and Culture of
Aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...
and
Anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
'', a project produced in collaboration with noted
molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
Professor Jean Chen Shih. Labyrinth's most recent work is ''
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Homegrown History: Immigration, Identity and Intermarriage'', which is a presented both as an on-line archive where users can upload stories and images of their family and a museum installation featuring large-scale projections of
home movies A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...
. This installation had its premiere run at the Skirball Cultural Center (March 29 – September 2, 2012). Kinder is also a co-investigator with
Mark Jonathan Harris Mark Jonathan Harris (born October 28, 1941) is an American documentary filmmaker, writer, and educator known for his award-winning work in the documentary genre. Over the course of his career, Harris has earned three Academy Awards and numerous ...
on ''Interacting with
Autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
'', a translational health-education website. These Labyrinth projects have been supported by grants from the
Annenberg Foundation The Annenberg Foundation is a foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations. Overview The Annenberg Foundation was established by Walter H. Annenberg in 1989 with $1.2 billion, one-third of the assets from the sale o ...
, the
Alan Casden Alan I. Casden (born 1945) is an American real estate developer, investor and philanthropist. His real estate companies have developed over 90,000 multi-family apartments since the 1980s. He also owns 3,100 luxury apartments in Los Angeles. Ear ...
Foundation, the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
, the
Getty Foundation The Getty Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California, at the Getty Center, awards grants for "the understanding and preservation of the visual arts".Getty FoundationAbout the Foundation. Retrieved September 18, 2008. In the past, it funded the ...
, the Haas Foundation, the
James Irvine Foundation The James Irvine Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit organization that provides grants to other organizations in California. The foundation was created in 1937 by James Harvey Irvine Sr. (1867–1947), as a charitable organization to hold cont ...
, the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the
Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
, and the Skirball Foundation; and from AHRQ (
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; pronounced "ark" by initiates and often "A-H-R-Q" by the public) is one of twelve agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency is headquartered in North ...
).


Bibliography

* Blood Cinema: The Reconstruction of National Identity in Spain * The Power of Adaptation in "Apocalypse Now" * Face to Face: facial close-ups and joint attention in Science and the Visual Arts * Music Video and the Spectator: Television, Ideology and Dream * Re-Wiring Baltimore: The Emotive Power of Systemics, Seriality, and the City * Review: Out of the Past: Spanish Cinema after Franco by John Hopewell * Refiguring Spain: Cinema/Media/Representation * Hot spots, avatars and narrative fields for ever: Buñuel's legacy for new digital media and interactive database narrative * The Art of Dreaming in "Three Women" and "Providence": Structures of the Self * Restoring Broken Embraces


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinder, Marsha Living people 1940 births University of Southern California faculty