Running late: The Silent Serial, the Clihanger, and the Exigencies of Time, 1914–1920

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Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Silent Cinema
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages618-638
Number of pages20
ISBN (electronic)9780190496715
ISBN (print)9780190496692
Publication statusPublished - 22 Feb 2024

Abstract

This chapter explores the temporal dimensions of serial storytelling in the silent film serial both on a structural level and as a plot contrivance. It approaches the silent serial as a unique cinematic mode with its very own conventions and practices, rather than a mere preparation for feature-film storytelling, and it focuses on the paradigmatically serial device of the cliffhanger. The chapter investigates the "pre-cliffhanger" serial The Hazards of Helen (1914-1917), in comparison to the cliffhanger serial A Woman in Grey (1920). Both serials revolve around "serial queens" and both draw heavily on temporally inflected narrative formulas such as the "last-minute rescue" or the chase, and they do so in ways that differ from the practices of the feature film. At the same time, these serials participate in a more pervasive cultural renegotiation of time and temporality, taking issue with the time politics of industrial modernity at large.

Keywords

    Cliffhangers, Film serials, Modernity, Serial queens, Temporality

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Running late: The Silent Serial, the Clihanger, and the Exigencies of Time, 1914–1920. / Mayer, Ruth.
The Oxford Handbook of Silent Cinema. Oxford University Press, 2024. p. 618-638.

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingContribution to book/anthologyResearchpeer review

Mayer R. Running late: The Silent Serial, the Clihanger, and the Exigencies of Time, 1914–1920. In The Oxford Handbook of Silent Cinema. Oxford University Press. 2024. p. 618-638 doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190496692.013.28
Mayer, Ruth. / Running late : The Silent Serial, the Clihanger, and the Exigencies of Time, 1914–1920. The Oxford Handbook of Silent Cinema. Oxford University Press, 2024. pp. 618-638
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