Refocus: The Films of Barbara Kopple - (Refocus: The American Directors) by Jeff Jaeckle & Susan Ryan (Paperback)

About the Book

In ReFocus: The Films of Barbara Kopple, a range of international scholars trace Kopple's career to date, analysing her contributions in the contexts of funding, style, production and reception, and examining her films' interrogations of social class using the lenses of gender, sexuality and race.

Book Synopsis

As the first woman to win two Best Documentary Oscars and the recipient of numerous lifetime achievement awards, Barbara Kopple deserves scholarly attention. Two of her early documentaries, Harlan County USA and American Dream, not only won Academy Awards but are foundational within the study of documentary as a whole.
In ReFocus: The Films of Barbara Kopple, a range of international scholars trace Kopple's career to date, analysing her contributions in the contexts of funding, style, production and reception, and examining her films' interrogations of social class using the lenses of gender, sexuality and race. In a shifting digital media landscape, Kopple's critical reputation is also assessed, alongside her enduring influence on contemporary filmmakers.

From the Back Cover

ReFocus: The Films of Barbara Kopple By Jeff Jaeckle and Susan Ryan As the first woman to win two Best Documentary Oscars and the recipient of numerous lifetime achievement awards, Barbara Kopple deserves scholarly attention. Two of her early documentaries, Harlan County USA and American Dream, not only won Academy Awards but are foundational within the study of documentary as a whole. In ReFocus: The Films of Barbara Kopple, a range of international scholars trace Kopple's career to date, analysing her contributions in the contexts of funding, style, production and reception, and examining her films' interrogations of social class using the lenses of gender, sexuality and race. In a shifting digital media landscape, Kopple's critical reputation is also assessed, alongside her enduring influence on contemporary filmmakers. Jeff Jaeckle holds a doctorate from the University of Texas-Austin and teaches at Portland Community College. Susan Ryan worked with Barbara Kopple for several years as a producer and archival researcher. She teaches documentary production and film studies at The College of New Jersey.

Review Quotes

The Films of Barbara Kopple offers a thorough dissection of this formative figure in documentary filmmaking, while assessing Kopple's embrace of other genres and storytelling modes. [...] In turn, The Films of Barbara Kopple is a balanced and well-researched addition to the ReFocus series and cements Kopple's stature as one of film's more versatile and persistent documentarians.--Kate Elora Rogers, University of Texas at Austin "Film International"

This exceptional and timely collection provides a perfect companion to the films of Barbara Kopple, one of the most accomplished documentary filmmakers of our time. The editors have done a superlative job drawing together a series of compelling and original essays from a range of international scholars in documentary film studies and beyond, resulting in a work that makes its mark as a key addition to the history of activist cinema. The Films of Barbara Kopple offers varied and in-depth contexts and analyses of one of the most politically engaged and passionate filmmakers of her generation.--Jeffrey Geiger, author of American Documentary Film: Projecting the Nation

With over a dozen contributors weighing in on Kopple's methodologies, influences and history, not to mention the history of documentary film itself, this volume has something for everyone...a welcome addition to the bookshelves of film schools, film scholars and film aficionados alike.--Tom Gianakopoulos "Documentary Magazine"

About the Author

Jeff Jaeckle is the editor of Film Dialogue (Wallflower Press, 2013) and co-editor (with Sarah Kozloff) of ReFocus: The Films of Preston Sturges (EUP, 2015). His scholarship on language in cinema, aesthetics and Hollywood film has also appeared in Film Quarterly, New Review of Film and Television Studies and Quarterly Review of Film and Video. He holds a doctorate from the University of Texas-Austin and teaches at Portland Community College.

Susan Ryan holds a doctorate in Cinema Studies from NYU and teaches documentary production and film studies at The College of New Jersey. She worked with Barbara Kopple for several years as a producer and archival researcher on Fallen Champ, Defending Our Daughters, My Generation, A Conversation with Gregory Peck, and several other documentaries. She is also the producer/director of From the 'Burg to the Barrio (2012).