Background Literature Resources
Why use background or tertiary resources?
- Learn important terms, notable scholars or works, and more information about a topic.
- Bibliographies, further reading, and works cited sections can lead you to secondary sources you can use in your research.
- It's a quick overview of a theme, work, author, or other topic, which can save you time!
- Oxford Bibliographies: Cinema and Media Studies
Peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on film history, television studies, media studies, and other related fields.
Critical Dictionary of Film and Television TheoryIncludes cross-references, bibliographies, and index. Available online and in-print. In English.International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers
Biographies, filmographies, comprehensive credits, production information, major awards and bibliographies. Available online and in print.
The Routledge Encyclopedia of FilmsCall Number: Oversize PN1995 .R6857 2015 +200 essays by leading film scholars. In-print only.
Other helpful guides
Secondary Resources - Databases for Literature Research
- MLA International Bibliography
Citations, abstracts, and full text materials. Includes articles and books. Does not include book reviews. - Humanities International Index
Citations and abstracts for articles, books, reviews, and reference sources in the humanities. Many links to full text articles. - JSTOR
Journal articles. Most items are older than five years. - Project Muse
Journal articles. Most items are recent publications (less than five years old). - Communication & mass media complete
Index of over 700 titles. Contains abstracts, full-text articles, and citations. - Performing arts periodicals database
Covers arts and entertainment (dance, film, television, drama, etc.). Each full text in the file contains an abstract.
Library Catalog Searching - Subject Headings
- Film Criticism: Subject Heading BrowseSee all the subject headings under the Film Criticism umbrella.
- "Culture in motion pictures."Searches the catalog for all materials that are catalogued with this subject heading.
- "Alienation (Social psychology) in motion pictures."Searches the catalog for all materials that are catalogued with this subject heading.
- "City and town life in motion pictures."Searches the catalog for all materials that are catalogued with this subject heading.
- "Cities and towns in motion pictures."Searches the catalog for all materials that are catalogued with this subject heading.
Helpful handouts and links
- Bookmark PasskeyBookmark link that reloads a page with your Cornell credentials, when available.
- Scan RequestsRequest a scan of an article or chapter of book. This can be of items Cornell owns, or items that we do not own!
Other Research Resources
- filmarchives online
"filmarchives online provides easy and free access to catalogue information of film archives from all over Europe." - International Movie Database (IMDb)
Online databases of films, television, and more. Includes case and production crew information, plot synopsis, trivia, and reviews. - Film Museum
Public film library in Austria. - Deutsche Kinemathek
Library at the German film archive in Berlin. - la Bibliothèque du film
French library of cinema that includes the French Film Archives, and the Cinémathèque française (historic French movie theatre). - European Film Gateway
"Access to hundreds of thousands of film historical documents as preserved in European film archives and cinémathèques."
Land Acknowledgement
Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.
This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' leadership.
