Dear friends and supporters of the Hollywood Memories research project,

We are delighted to share our newsletter with you. Hollywood Memories investigates how Hollywood remakes, sequels, and franchises create a shared cinematic repertoire that shapes memories, life experiences, and generational identities of film viewers in a globalized world. Based at Leibniz University Hannover in Germany, the project is led by Prof. Dr. Kathleen Loock and carried out by a research team consisting of:, Alejandra Bulla, Zhang Yining, Tina Pahnke, and Stefan Dierkes.

In today’s newsletter, we’ll bring you up to speed on our activities of the past months, highlight the latest progress in our national case studies, and share a preview of what lies ahead in the coming winter semester.

What’s new in our case studies? ­

Spotlight: US Case Study Launched!

We are thrilled to announce that the case study in the United States has officially begun! This means that we are currently looking for participants from the United States. If you would like to participate or know someone who would love to talk about Hollywood movies with us, please sign up on our website or share the link – https://hollywood-memories.com/en/register/ – and/or the call for participants we attach to this e-mail. Thank you!

Chinese Case Study

Yining is working on the second part of her dissertation, which examines the role that Hollywood movies – sequels and franchises in particular – play in shaping movie generations in China. This part draws on her analysis of the empirical research results. In light of the new trade war and threats of tariffs since Trump’s second term, she is also revising the chapter on the historical relationship between Hollywood and China.

Mexican Case Study

Over the summer, Alejandra shared the first draft of her dissertation’s theoretical framework at the research group colloquium. This work brought together anthropological, historical, and audience research carried out in Latin America, with a particular focus on Mexico. She is now working on an analytical section that looks at how audiences negotiate expressions of liking and disliking across both Hollywood and the Mexican film industry. Together with Kathleen, she also published the article “Hollywood Between Piracy and Subscription: The Curious Case of Mexico” in Rebeca, examining how Mexican audiences engage with Hollywood sequels and franchises in contexts shaped by both accessibility and legality.

German Case Study

During the summer term, Stefan presented the final analytical chapter of his dissertation in the group’s colloquium, for which he received valuable feedback. He is currently writing the theoretical framework for his dissertation, which combines audience research, memory studies, generational theory and a mixed-methods approach. Kathleen and Stefan also submitted an article on attitudes and memories of German audience members regarding Hollywood remakes. The article presents findings based on responses from the participants of our German case study and it is currently under review.

What else has happened since our last newsletter?

Guest Lecture at the University of Zurich

On May 20, Kathleen gave a guest lecture in the Advanced Research Colloquium at the University of Zurich’s English Department. She talked about her book Hollywood Remaking: How Film Remakes, Sequels, and Franchises Shape Industry and Culture.

Hollywood Memories at GAAS/DGfA Conference

At this year’s German Association of American Studies conference in Siegen (June 12–14), our team joined the panel “Digital Archives and American Studies.” We presented on “The Video Essay as Digital Archive” and screened our video essay “Between Magic and Realism,” which explores global audience memories of Disney classics and their live-action remakes.

HoMER 2025 Conference “Cinema and Conflict”

Galatasaray University in Istanbul, Turkey, hosted an excellent HoMER Conference from July 8–11, centered on the theme “Cinema and Conflict.” Our team contributed to the event with the panel “Borders and Transgressions: Global Conflict in Hollywood Exhibition and Reception,” with our associate member Ana Rosas Mantecón serving as panel chair. The local organizing team also did a wonderful job documenting the event—visit our Instagram page to see more photos from the conference!

Publication: Article on Piracy in Rebeca

Kathleen and Alejandra have published the article “Hollywood Between Piracy and Subscription: The Curious Case of Mexico” in the Brazilian journal Rebeca: Revista Brasileira de Estudos de Cinema e Audiovisual. The article explores the multiple ways of accessing and viewing Hollywood sequels and franchises in Mexico, many of them marked by tensions between legality and accessibility. Drawing on responses from Mexican participants to this study, the paper shows that the desire to follow stories that offer narrative continuity drives audiences to actively seek out such content. While streaming platforms have acquired the rights to major Hollywood franchises, piracy remains a relevant alternative due to social inequality and the instability of the catalog on multiple platforms.

If you are interested in reading this article (Spanish version only), you can find it here.

Interviews on the Summer’s Remake Boom

Kathleen’s research on Hollywood remaking received wide media attention this summer. A dpa article was picked up by numerous newspapers and radio stations (click here for a selection of outlets and their links), highlighting her point that remaking has been central to Hollywood since the 1930s. She also spoke with France Info about this year’s “remake hype”—from Karate Kid to Superman—and with n-tv about Das Kanu des Manitu, discussing nostalgia and why studios increasingly turn to sequels and familiar formulas. In the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, she reflected on Hollywood’s reliance on proven material and the long history of remaking, while Brigitte featured her in a piece on why revisiting old stories can feel comforting in uncertain times.

Prof. Jason Mittell (Middlebury College) Visits Hannover

Jason Mittell, Professor of Film and Media Culture at Middlebury College, visited Hannover and the Hollywood Memories team during October 22–24. On October 23, Jason delivered a guest lecture titled “Complex TV … Continued.” Drawing upon his 2015 book, Complex Television, he analyzed the enduring trends and recent changes in complex serial storytelling. The following day featured a workshop hosted by Hollywood Memories, “Videographic Criticism: From Video Essay to Videographic Book,” where Jason gave a public lecture on “Videographic Criticism and Reflexive Objects & Practices.” The day concluded with our team’s closed work-in-progress session on a video essay focusing on movie piracy around the world.

What are our plans for the upcoming months?

PGF Conference in Leipzig

We’re delighted that Yining and Tina will represent our project at this year’s Postgraduate Forum (PGF) of the German Association for American Studies (DGfA), held from 6–8 November at Leipzig University. Yining will present a paper on “Post-COVID Hollywood in China: Market Decline, Shifting Policies, and Audience Critiques,” and Tina on “The Subject of Love, On a Very Cultural Level: Responding to Crises in the Hollywood Romantic Comedy”.

Hollywood Memories at “A Night Out with Science 2025”

We are excited to present at “A Night Out with Science 2025” at Leibniz University Hannover. If you are in Hannover, simply stop by and join us at our information stand in the atrium at Welfengarten 1 on Saturday, 8 November 2025, from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm. The event is open to public and free for everyone. We welcome everyone to share your own memories of Hollywood movies with us! For more information or the complete program, visit the University’s website.

We thank you for your continued support and for sharing these moments with us. To stay up-to-date with our progress and events, please visit our website, where you can find more information. Additionally, you can connect with us on social media by following our Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook accounts.

Greetings from Hannover!

Kathleen, Alejandra, Stefan, Yining & Tina