So ‘foreign’ it’s good: the cultural politics of accented cult cinema

TY - JOUR

T1 - So ‘foreign’ it’s good

T2 - the cultural politics of accented cult cinema

AU - Smith, Iain Robert

PY - 2019/11/2

Y1 - 2019/11/2

N2 - While the canon of so-bad-it’s-good cinema has predominantly centred upon American films, it is notable that a significant number of recent entries–including Miami Connection, Troll 2, Samurai Cop, The Room and Birdemic: Shock and Terror–were directed by non-American filmmakers working in America. Building on Hamid Naficy’s use of the concept ‘accented cinema’ to describe exilic and diasporic filmmakers working in the West, this article explores the cultural politics of accented cult cinema and investigates to what extent the celebration of these low-budget exploitation films as so-bad-it’s-good relies upon a (largely disguised) perception of foreignness.

AB - While the canon of so-bad-it’s-good cinema has predominantly centred upon American films, it is notable that a significant number of recent entries–including Miami Connection, Troll 2, Samurai Cop, The Room and Birdemic: Shock and Terror–were directed by non-American filmmakers working in America. Building on Hamid Naficy’s use of the concept ‘accented cinema’ to describe exilic and diasporic filmmakers working in the West, this article explores the cultural politics of accented cult cinema and investigates to what extent the celebration of these low-budget exploitation films as so-bad-it’s-good relies upon a (largely disguised) perception of foreignness.

KW - accented cinema

KW - Cult cinema

KW - exploitation film

KW - foreignness

KW - transnational

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074368870&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/10304312.2019.1677983

DO - 10.1080/10304312.2019.1677983

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85074368870

SN - 1030-4312

VL - 33

SP - 705

EP - 716

JO - Continuum

JF - Continuum

IS - 6

ER -