Dr Gemma King
Areas of expertise
- Cinema Studies 190201
- French Language 200306
- Postcolonial Studies 200211
- Museum Studies 210204
- Cultural Studies 2002
- Screen And Media Culture 200212
Research interests
French cinema; contemporary French culture and society; multilingualism and codeswitching; museum studies; immigration; language, power and violence in film; (post/de)colonialism and cultural representation; transnational film studies
Biography
My research focuses on language, culture, violence and power in francophone cinemas and cultures. I investigate the representation of linguistic and cultural difference in French film, and the relationship between national and transnational cinemas. I also work on deafness and sign language in cinema, Quebec film, and the (non-)representation of multiculturalism and colonialism in French museums.
I am Editor of Publications for the Australian Society for French Studies, Convenor of the SLLL Education Reference Group and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I received a 2018 ANU Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence and a 2020 Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning from the Australian Awards for University Teaching, and taught in French, English and Cinema studies at the University of Melbourne, the Université Paris 3: Sorbonne Nouvelle and the Université Paris-Est Créteil before joining the ANU as a Lecturer in 2016. My work has been published in Contemporary French Civilization, L'Esprit Créateur, the Australian Journal of French Studies, Francosphères, Linguistica Antverpiensia, French Cultural Studies, The Conversation and numerous edited volumes, and I run Les Musées de Paris, a blog about the lesser-known museums of Paris. My first book Decentring France: Multilingualism and Power in Contemporary French Cinema was published with Manchester University Press in 2017 and my second book, Jacques Audiard, is in press for Manchester's French Film Directors series.
Researcher's projects
Decentring France: Multilingualism and Power in Contemporary French Cinema (Manchester University Press 2017)
In a world defined by the flow of people, goods, and cultures, many contemporary French films explore the multicultural nature of today’s France through language. From rival lingua francas such as English to socio-politically marginalised languages such as Arabic or Kurdish, multilingual characters in these films exploit their knowledge of multiple languages, and offer counter-perspectives to dominant ideologies of the role of linguistic diversity in society. Decentring France is the first substantial study of multilingual film in France. It argues that many contemporary French films take a new approach to language and power, showing how even the most historically-maligned languages can empower their speakers. This book offers a unique insight to academics and students alike, into the place of language and power in French cinema today.
Jacques Audiard, in press with Manchester University Press, French Film Directors series
This volume of the French Film Directors series is the first book-length project on Jacques Audiard and uses the motif of border-crossing to analyse his oeuvre. Spanning traditional French contexts and transnational spaces, exploring gender and disability alongside language and violence, it defines Audiard as a key figure in contemporary French cinema.
Available student projects
I am available to supervise PhD, Masters and Honours students in any of my fields of expertise.
Past student projects
‘Discourses and Divergences: a critical exploration of climate change adaptation governance in New Caledonia.’ Thomas Overton-Skinner, 2020.
‘La langue qui agit: les cinémas de Tran, Villeneuve et Dolan.’ Esther Lee, 2017.
Publications
- King, G 2020, 'The Door of No Return: A Cinema of (Up)rooting and Decentring in Rachid Bouchareb's Little Senegal', in Michael Gott, Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp (ed.), ReFocus: The Films of Rachid Bouchareb, Edinburgh University Press Ltd., Edinburgh, pp. 166-180.
- King, G 2020, 'Le métro-maison et l'art de la transmédiation dans L'Écume des jours : de Vian à Gondry' ('The métro-maison and the art of transmediation in L'Écume des jours: From Vian to Gondry'), in Benjamin Andreo, Alistair Rolls, Clara Sitbon, Marie-Laure Vuaille-Barcan (ed.), Boris Vian: L'adaptateur adapté, Editions Hermann, Paris, France, pp. 69-88.
- Chaplin, F & King, G 2020, 'French Studies: Film Studies', The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies, vol. 80, no. 1, pp. 261-271.
- King, G 2019, 'Translingualism and Race Passing in Samba: On Fantasies of Migrant Identity in Contemporary France', Esprit Createur, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 84-108.
- King, G 2019, 'Denis Villeneuve's Multilingual Cinema: Decentring Space, Time and Language in Arrival', in Ralf Junkerjürgen and Gala Rebane (ed.), Multilingualism in Film, Peter Lang, Berlin, pp. 209-224.
- King, G 2019, 'Multiculturalism Obscured: Paris Museum Cultures and the Musée de l'Institut du monde arabe', Australian Journal of French Studies, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 156-169.
- Barnes, L, Collins, A & King, G 2019, 'Introduction: Truth and Representation in French and Francophone Studies', Australian Journal of French Studies, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 117-124.
- King, G 2018, 'In Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman, Language is Power', The Conversation, September 10.
- King, G 2018, 'No Laughing Matter? Navigating Political (In)correctness in Intouchables', Francosphères, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-14
- King, G 2018, 'Merry Christmas in No Man's Land: European Borders, Language Barriers and Front Lines in Christian Carion's Joyeux Noël', in Michael Gott and Thibaut Schilt (ed.), Cinéma-monde: Decentred Perspectives on Global Filmmaking in French, Edinburgh University Press, United Kingdom, pp. 175-191.
- King, G 2018, 'Contemporary French Cinema and the langue de passage: From Dheepan to Welcome', French Cultural Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 39-48.
- Edwards, N, Hogarth, C & King, G 2018, 'Introduction: Mobility across Media in the Francophone World', French Cultural Studies, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 3-7.
- King, G 2017, Decentring France: Multilingualism and Power in Contemporary French Cinema, Manchester University Press, Manchester, U.K.
- King, G 2017, '"En français, s’il te plaît": The Linguistic Battlegrounds of Entre les murs', Contemporary French Civilization, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 31-46.
- King, G 2016, 'Langues désancrées: le rôle du français dans London River (Rachid Bouchareb 2009)' (Unanchored languages: the role of French in London River (Rachid Bouchareb 2009)', in V. Duché, T. Do and A. Rizzi (ed.), Genre, Text and Language, Classiques Garnier, Paris France, pp. 317-326.
- King, G 2015, 'Code-switching as Power Strategy: Multilingualism and the Role of Arabic in Maïwenn’s Polisse (2011)', Australian Journal of French Studies, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 162-173.
- King, G 2015, 'Decentring France: Multilingualism and the French Language in Philippe Lioret's Welcome (2009)', in M. Abecassis and G. Ledegen (ed.), De la genèse de la langue à Internet, Peter Lang AG, Switzerland, pp. 221-241.
- King, G 2014, 'The Power of the Treacherous Interpreter: Multilingualism in Jacques Audiard's Un prophète', Linguistica Antverpiensia. New Series, vol. 13, pp. 78-92.