Cult Television and Cinema

What is a Cult franchise?

What is the meaning of ‘Cult Cinema’? This has been the subject of heavy debates for as long as the concept has existed. In truth it cannot be strictly defined. Most academics that attempt to give it a definition end up writing lists on all the attributes associated with Cult Cinema such as “Cult cinema can be defined in various ways, through sociological approaches (Kinkade and Katovich 1992), reception-oriented work (Klinger 1994; Peary 1981), or textual-aesthetic analyses (Eco 1986; Grant 2000).” [2].

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Why is the concept of 'Cult' important? Cult franchise's have a unique ability to bring people from all walks of life together. People who would in normal social circles would never come together unite in their passion for a franchise unlike many major franchises, like the Star Wars franchise where the fanbase is constantly at war as to which trilogy is best. A 'Cult' franchise tends to be more like a family made unit where by everyone is caring of each other and respectful.

This shows there is multiple avenues of study when looking into 'Cult' cinema. “Numerous attempts have been made to define cult cinema. Many of these approach the topic from a vernacular angle, highlighting elements that cannot be caught in a description and – hence – remain intangible and very subjective.” [3]. So we must look to these lists to attempt to determine if a film or Television series is classified as 'Cult'. Though different lists may vary. The list that we will use in this study comes from the Bright Lights Film Journal which states the checklist for 'Cult' cinema as “1. Marginality” (“falls outside general cultural norms”), “2. Suppression” (“Subject to censor, ridicule, lawsuit, or exclusion”), “3. Economics" (“Box office flop”), “4. Transgression” (“Content breaks social, moral, or legal rules”), “5. Cult following” (“Generates devoted minority audience”), “6. Community” (“Audience is or becomes self-identified group”), “7. Quotation” (“Lines of dialog become common language”) and “8. Iconography” (“Establishes or revives cult icons”) [1].

This Blog will give multiple case studies to determine what makes a 'Cult' franchise through the voices of multiple writers. Each writer focuses on one work of fiction be it a Television series or Film to determine if they are 'Cult' fiction.

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Bibliography: 

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Bentley-Baker, D., 2010. What Is Cult Cinema? A Checklist. Bright Lights Film Journal. [1]

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Pavlov, A. and Khanova, P., 2016. Cult in everything but name? Transnational experiences of (Western) cult cinema in late soviet and early post-Soviet Russia. Transnational Cinemas, 8(1), pp.49-64. [2]

Mathijs, E, & Sexton, J 2011, Cult Cinema : An Introduction, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, Somerset. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [9 February 2021]. [3]