New article on Huddersfield’s James Mason and Transatlantic ident
Tue, 14 Jan 2014 15:18:00 GMT
Professor of Modern British History Paul Ward (School of Music Humanities and Media) has recently published an article examining the connections between Transatlantic and local identities, with a focus on Huddersfield-born actor, James Mason. The article entitled ‘Did you see James Mason in town today? A case study in transatlantic and local identities in British stardom’ will be published in the Journal of Transatlantic Studies in December 2013. American films have often been seen as agents of Americanisation. James Mason’s long career as an actor seems to support such a trajectory, from inhabitant of a locality to transatlantic star. Likewise audiences have been considered as following a similar journey, as they transported themselves to America via seats in the cinema and their living rooms. Ward’s article examines James Mason’s relationship with his home town of Huddersfield in order to explore the development of his sense of place, as he first distanced himself from the town and then, as he got older, adopted a Yorkshire identity. In response, audiences in Huddersfield used Mason’s stardom to express their civic identities. The journal’s website can be accessed here.
