Abstract
Small Axe, directed by Steve McQueen for BBC / Amazon Studios, was released in the UK and US over Autumn-Wintser 2021/22. Across ve lms it acknowledges events and records experiences of African Caribbean populations in London during the 1970s and 1980s. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with members of the production team and mise-en-scène analysis, our aim is to understand how Small Axe contributes to the production of urban history by drawing upon archives and repurposing a cinematic archive for ture use. It is an example of what Hal Foster calls ‘archival art’. e rst part of our analysis, on poiesis, considers the archival work carried out in the production of Small Axe; the second, on aisthesis, contemplates the anthology’s con guration of a speci c space and its framing of
a particular sphere of experience. Our argument is that Small Axe constitutes a ‘versioning’ of London’s post-WWII black history, a recombination of archival elements into a new sensorial archive. e concept of ‘version’ is taken from dub reggae and refers to new takes
on, or versions of, pre-wri en and recorded tracks, involving innovative levels of modi cation and creative interpretation and/or translation for new audiences.
a particular sphere of experience. Our argument is that Small Axe constitutes a ‘versioning’ of London’s post-WWII black history, a recombination of archival elements into a new sensorial archive. e concept of ‘version’ is taken from dub reggae and refers to new takes
on, or versions of, pre-wri en and recorded tracks, involving innovative levels of modi cation and creative interpretation and/or translation for new audiences.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 659-680 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | City |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 5-6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Dec 2024 |
Bibliographical note
© 2024 The Author(s).Keywords
- London, Small Axe, Black British cinema, archives, African-Caribbean, inner city, urban crisis