66th BARCELONA World Congress on Film studies, Sexuality & Eroticism: BFSSE-26
Call for papers/Topics
Full Articles/ Reviews/ Shorts Papers/ Abstracts are welcomed in the following research fields:
1. Theoretical Frameworks & Spectatorship
This area focuses on how the audience views the film and how the camera “looks” at the body.
The Male Gaze and Feminist Film Theory: * Laura Mulvey’s “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.”
Objectification and the “to-be-looked-at-ness” of the female form.
The Female Gaze: * Subverting traditional power dynamics.
Female desire and agency in contemporary cinema.
Queer Theory & Spectatorship: * The “Queer Gaze” and reading against the grain.
Subtext and “coding” in Classical Hollywood.
The Oppositional Gaze: * Race, sexuality, and the intersectional experience of the viewer (bell hooks).
Psychoanalysis in Film: * Freudian and Lacanian perspectives on voyeurism, fetishism, and scopophilia.
2. History, Censorship, and Industry Standards
How institutional rules have shaped the depiction of eroticism over time.
The Pre-Code Era (1930–1934): * Early depictions of promiscuity, “fallen women,” and suggestive themes.
The Hays Code (Motion Picture Production Code): * The era of “suggested” eroticism and symbolic metaphors.
Bans on “sexual perversion” (homosexuality) and interracial romance.
The Breakdown of the Code and the Rating System: * The rise of the “X” and “NC-17” ratings.
The 1960s/70s sexual revolution in cinema.
The Rise of Intimacy Coordinators: * Contemporary industry standards for safety and consent on set.
3. Genres of Eroticism
Specific categories that utilize sexuality as a primary narrative driver.
The Erotic Thriller: * The “Femme Fatale” archetype.
The intersection of sex, danger, and noir aesthetics (e.g., Basic Instinct, Body Heat).
The Sexploitation Film: * Grindhouse cinema and the commercialization of the “taboo.”
New Queer Cinema: * Independent film movements of the 1990s focusing on non-normative identities.
Body Horror: * Sexuality linked to biological dread, mutation, and the “monstrous-feminine.”
Adult Cinema vs. Arthouse Erotica: * The thin line between pornography and high-art eroticism (e.g., films by Catherine Breillat or Gaspar Noé).
4. Representations of Identity and Orientation
How specific sexualities are constructed and portrayed on screen.
Masculinity and the Eroticized Male Body: * The “beefcake” era and the evolution of the male pin-up.
Fragile masculinity vs. hyper-masculinity.
Lesbian and Bisexual Visibility: * From the “predatory lesbian” trope to authentic romance.
Transgender and Non-Binary Eroticism: * Moving beyond the “medicalized” or “tragic” lens.
BDSM and Kink in Narrative Cinema: * Power dynamics, fetishism, and the mainstreaming of alternative sexualities.
5. Aesthetics and Formal Elements
The technical “language” used to convey desire.
The Haptic Visual: * Cinematography that evokes the sense of touch (textures, close-ups of skin).
Lighting and Shadow: * Chiaroscuro in erotic noir vs. the clinical high-key lighting of modern erotica.
Soundscapes of Desire: * The role of non-diegetic music and diegetic sound (breathing, silence) in building tension.
Editing and Pacing: * Montage techniques used to convey climax or psychological longing.
6. Cultural and Global Perspectives
How different cultures approach sexuality through film.
European Art Cinema: * The “uninhibited” reputation of French, Italian, and Scandinavian cinema.
Asian Cinema and Sexuality: * The aesthetics of suppression vs. the “Pink Film” (Pinku eiga) in Japan.
Post-Colonial Sexuality: * Hyper-sexualization of the “other” and the reclamation of the erotic by Global South filmmakers.