Abstract

Afterimages is Laura Mulvey's fourth collection of essays covering her distinguished career in film studies, each one (Visual and Other Pleasures, 1989; Fetishism and Curiosity, 1996; and Death 24x a Second: Stillness in the Moving Image, 2006) a compilation of essays published (or written) since the previous collection, although the first two have been reissued (2009 and 2013) with new retrospective introductory essays. Like her earlier collections, Mulvey's latest compilation does not quite constitute a unified body of material, although the essays are rewritten with some mutual inter-referencing, and there is a measure of internal coherence within each of the three divisions into which she slots them. The first and second parts do constitute a collective unity of sorts. And like her earlier collections, Afterimages does reflect some unity of concerns that have exercised Mulvey in the decade of her career (roughly speaking) during which they were written. They also trace some common threads over her entire career.