Film and Media

Our world is dominated by film and media. From the way we talk to each other and communicate, to how we create art and express ourselves, society is increasingly exposed to new ways of accessing media that can shape the way we view the world – and the media we create in response.

The technology used to access screen media is diversifying. With near-constant exposure through social media, smart phones, and streaming services, our culture is being shaped by the digital content we have access to around the clock.

So how does film and other forms of screen media shape societal attitudes and beliefs and how does it inform our daily lives?

Our Film and Media research is rich and diverse. Staff have specialisms in fandom and popular culture, history and theory of animation, Hollywood film, British film, digital content, horror, transmedia storytelling, adaptation, comics and film, Latin American film, transnational cinemas, gender and film, women's filmmaking, queer theory and film, and film and migration.

We're unpacking theories around how and why we communicate through media and film, how cinema became – and is continuing to be – a dominant form of artistic expression. We're also investigating how media can be used as a tool to fight injustice or temper public opinion against it.

Researchers in the film and media are extremely active, presenting conference papers across the world, delivering plenary and keynote addresses, publishing work to the Research Excellence Framework (REF), supervising PhD students, and acting as expert consultants.

Our work is recognised for its excellence too – 100% of the research we've submitted to the REF was rated as either as being outstanding (60%) or as having very considerable impacts (40), and 90% of research is internationally recognised and above.

In the Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF), 90% of our research was ranked as either world-leading (40%) or internationally excellent – with 20% of our outputs ranked world-leading (4*) and 55% as either world-leading or internationally excellent.

Explore our Film and Media areas of expertise

Find out more about the facilities and research methods that shape our research in the 3 areas of expertise below. Learn more about our recent projects, the academic and industrial partners with whom we collaborate, and the major funders who fund our work.