Exotic Cinema

Exoticism is not ‘bad’ by default, nor is it necessarily ‘colonialist’. Daniela Berghahn’s wide-ranging study of contemporary world cinema goes provocatively against the grain, arguing in favour of a ‘decentred’ exoticism that challenges ethnic essentialism, and that is attuned to the ethical complexities of a globalised world. – Graham Huggan, University of LeedsHow does one write about the exotic when the notion has been tainted by the legacy of colonialism? As Daniela Berghahn demonstrates in this fascinating book, by unpacking the notion’s discursive baggage and unveiling its contemporary manifestations. An original and refreshing take on the study of world cinema. – Song Hwee Lim, author of Taiwan Cinema as Soft Power

Daniela Berghahn is Professor of Film Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. She has published widely in the areas of migrant and diasporic cinema, transnational cinema and post-war German cinema and culture. Her books include Head On (2015), Far-Flung Families in Film: The Diasporic Family in Contemporary European Cinema (EUP 2013), European Cinema in Motion: Migrant and Diasporic Film in Contemporary Europe (2010) and Hollywood Behind the Wall: The Cinema of East Germany (2005).