B.A., Film Studies (York University); M.A, Cinema Studies (University of Toronto)
Tentative title of dissertation: "Reviving the Cinema of Attractions: Contemplative Spectacle in the Post-1975 Hollywood Blockbuster and Beyond"
Committee: Dr. Ihor Junyk (Supervisor), Dr. Kelly Egan (Committee Member), Dr. James Penney (Committee Member)
David Hollands is currently completing his Ph.D. in Cultural Studies (specializing in film) at Trent University in Peterborough, ON, Canada. David studies cinematic narratives, media technologies, and genre (mostly horror, science fiction, and Gothic cinema).
His dissertation is a contribution to the study of the attractions of moving-image media; David explores the contemplative dimensions of spectacle in the context of the post-1975 Hollywood blockbuster. David's dissertation also considers how attraction has transformed in our current context, a time when film production and exhibition is digital rather than photochemical.
Outside of academe, David is an independent filmmaker. His work can be viewed on his production company's YouTube and Vimeo pages.
You may reach David at davidhollands@trentu.ca or david.hollands@alumni.utoronto.ca.
PUBLISHED PAPERS
"The Warnings of Nietzsche's Works: Rhetorical Persuasion in Triumph of the Will (1935) and Death of a Nation (2018)." In Nietzsche and the Politics of Reaction: Essays on Liberalism, Socialism, and Aristocratic Radicalism, edited by Matthew McManus, 353-379. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.
"Hillary's America, Bowling for Columbine, and Post-Modern Conservative Cinema Aesthetics." In What is Post-Modern Conservatism? Essays on Our Hugely Tremendous Times, edited by Matthew McManus, 205-213. Zero Books, 2020.
"Midnight Special (Nichols US 2015)." Vector: The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association 285 (2017): 16-17.
"Toward a New Category of Remake: A First Analysis of the Reboot." Film Matters 1, no.3 (2010): 9-13.
BOOK REVIEWS
"Review: Giving the Devil His Due: Satan and Cinema." Aeternum: The Journal of Contemporary Gothic Studies 8, no. 2 (2021): 86-88.
"Review: Monstrously Readable." Science Fiction Studies 46, no. 3 (2019): 623-627.
"Review: Contradictory Encounters." Science Fiction Studies 45, no. 3 (2018): 629-632.
CONFERENCE PAPERS [A SELECTION]
"How They Used to Be?: AI Restorations, Media Formats, and Cinematic Hermeneutics." Paper presented at the Gothic Selves/Artificial Others Conference, International Gothic Association, University of Hull, Kingston upon Hull, UK, July 29, 2026.
"Trapped in Nostalgia: The Anisotropic Horror of the Backrooms." Paper presented at the Gothic Trans/Iterations Conference, International Gothic Association, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, August 2, 2024.
"Gothic Monstration: Pandemic Dread, Host (2020), and Quar-Horror." Paper presented at the Gothic Interruptions Conference, International Gothic Association, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin, IE, July 29, 2022.
"Grindhouse Gothic: The Frenzied Ballyhoo of James Wan's Malignant (2021)." Paper presented at the Gothic Trajectories Online Interim Conference, Gothic Association of New Zealand and Australia, January 28, 2022.
"The Fun Side of Discipline: Cinema, Foucault, and Attraction." Paper presented at the Culture and Criticism: A Look at Contemporary Critical Theory in Cinema, Gender Studies and Philosophy Conference, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City, MX, May 3, 2018.
"Hollywood Spectacle in the Digital Age." Paper presented at the Symons Seminar Series, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, February 3, 2016.
"Hollywood's Modern Science Fiction as a Challenge to Monstration and Attraction." Paper presented at the Current Research in Speculative Fiction Graduate Conference, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, June 8, 2015.
"Attraction as Boredom in Gus Van Sant's Cinematic Tone Poems." Paper presentated at the Engaging Boredom Graduate Symposium, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, April 26, 2015.
David's publications and conference papers can be accessed through his Academia.edu page.