CALL FOR PAPERS “Old Money: The Economics of the Ancient World on Film” An area of multiple panels for the 2013 Film & History Conference on Making Movie$: The Figure of Money On and Off the Screen, November 20-24 Madison Concourse Hotel (Madison, WI) www.filmandhistory.org/The2013FilmHistoryConference.php DEADLINE for abstracts: July 1, 2013 AREA: “Old Money: The Economics of the Ancient World on Film” The splendors of Greece, the glories of Rome, and the riches of Egypt have long captured the imaginations of artists, scholars, and fans. And the representation of wealth, money, and prosperity has been a critical feature of film and television recreations of the ancient world from their earliest inceptions (The Last Days of Pompeii, 1913) to their more recent incarnations (HBO’s Rome, 2005-07). How have on-screen visions of the ancient world used wealth or poverty as a tool for thinking about social inequality (Intolerance, 1917), the construction of power and authority (Troy, 2004), or ancient regimes themselves (Caligula, 1979)? How have Hollywood studios used cinematic representations of the ancient world to shape the audience’s own sense of wealth and prosperity? To what extent does Hollywood see itself as Old Money? How, for example, is the size of the cast and set (Land of the Pharaohs, 1955) or the deployment of new technologies—Technicolor (Quo Vadis, 1951), CinemaScope (The Robe, 1953), MGM Camera 65 (Ben Hur, 1959), and CGI (Gladiator, 2000)—connected to our economic perceptions of the ancient world, to its class structures or its racial and gender divisions? When and how is money, whether as medium or message, a lesson in ancient history? This area, comprising multiple panels, will treat all aspects of money, wealth, and prosperity in films and television programs about the ancient world. Papers may explore the representation of wealth in antiquity, or the economics of representing antiquity in film and television. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: • Cinematic depictions of wealth/money/prosperity in antiquity • Economies of money/power/authority in the ancient world in cinema and television • The wealth/money/prosperity of antiquity represented in films set in the present day • The wealth/money/prosperity of the studio systems in representing antiquity • Economies of modern cinematic/televisual productions about the ancient world Please send your 200-word proposal by e-mail to the Area Chair by July 1, 2013: Lorenzo F. Garcia Jr., Area Chair Old Money: The Economics of the Ancient World on Film University of New Mexico Email: [log in to unmask] Proposals for complete panels (three related presentations) are also welcome, but they must include an abstract and contact information, including an e-mail address, for each presenter. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (www. filmandhistory.org). ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu