Paddy Whannel
Encyclopedia
Atholl Douglas Whannel (born in October, 1922 in Pitlochry
, Perthshire; died July 8, 1980 in London
), was a key figure in the British Film Institute
's educational work throughout the 1960s. He went on to teach at Northwestern University
, Illinois
until his death in 1980.
Whannel was hired by the BFI in 1957, having taught history, art, social studies and mass media at various London schools for nine years. His first task as Education Officer was to lecture about film up and down the country; his teaching became an inspiration for a whole generation of film educators. In 1964, he co-authored The Popular Arts with Stuart Hall
, in which he showed his interest in popular (particularly Hollywood) film as a serious subject of study, at a time when this kind of cinema was still neglected by traditional British film criticism (including the BFI’s own Sight and Sound) .
Although Whannel hardly ever published about film again, it was under his leadership that the BFI Education Department adopted a new, dynamic policy towards film criticism and film studies that provided a platform for emergent film theory. As Alan Lovell put it, “a grasp of the overall context and an attention to detail combined with democratic inclinations enabled him to create a framework that released other people’s energies and talents while making sure they were used to their best effect”. In the mid-1960s Whannel brought into the Department a new generation of film teachers, theorists and writers, including Alan Lovell, Jim Kitses, Peter Wollen
and Victor Perkins, who played a prominent role in shaping the development of film studies and film theory (in particular semiotics and structuralism) in Britain. But the intellectual challenge provided by this new current of thought made Whannel a controversial figure within the BFI. In August 1971, he and five of his colleagues from the Education Department resigned after a Sub-Committee of the BFI Governors had delivered a report which proposed “scaling down the Department’s activity, reducing it to a support and advisory role, and cutting the umbilical cord that linked it to the Society for Education in Film and Television, then publisher of Screen.”
Pitlochry
Pitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....
, Perthshire; died July 8, 1980 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
), was a key figure in the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's educational work throughout the 1960s. He went on to teach at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
until his death in 1980.
Whannel was hired by the BFI in 1957, having taught history, art, social studies and mass media at various London schools for nine years. His first task as Education Officer was to lecture about film up and down the country; his teaching became an inspiration for a whole generation of film educators. In 1964, he co-authored The Popular Arts with Stuart Hall
Stuart Hall (cultural theorist)
Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1951. Hall, along with Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams, was one of the founding figures of the school of thought that is now known as British Cultural Studies or The Birmingham School of...
, in which he showed his interest in popular (particularly Hollywood) film as a serious subject of study, at a time when this kind of cinema was still neglected by traditional British film criticism (including the BFI’s own Sight and Sound) .
Although Whannel hardly ever published about film again, it was under his leadership that the BFI Education Department adopted a new, dynamic policy towards film criticism and film studies that provided a platform for emergent film theory. As Alan Lovell put it, “a grasp of the overall context and an attention to detail combined with democratic inclinations enabled him to create a framework that released other people’s energies and talents while making sure they were used to their best effect”. In the mid-1960s Whannel brought into the Department a new generation of film teachers, theorists and writers, including Alan Lovell, Jim Kitses, Peter Wollen
Peter Wollen
Peter Wollen is a film theorist and writer. He studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. Both political journalist and film theorist, Wollen's Signs and Meaning in the Cinema , helped to transform the discipline of film studies by incorporating the methodology of structuralism and...
and Victor Perkins, who played a prominent role in shaping the development of film studies and film theory (in particular semiotics and structuralism) in Britain. But the intellectual challenge provided by this new current of thought made Whannel a controversial figure within the BFI. In August 1971, he and five of his colleagues from the Education Department resigned after a Sub-Committee of the BFI Governors had delivered a report which proposed “scaling down the Department’s activity, reducing it to a support and advisory role, and cutting the umbilical cord that linked it to the Society for Education in Film and Television, then publisher of Screen.”