Aino Isojärvi

MA
University Teacher
Film and Creative Medias

Languages and Literature
Faculty of Humanities

I am a doctoral researcher and a teacher of Film and Creative Medias, and an alumna of University of Kent, UK. I have specialized in the intersections of children's fiction, popular culture and gender research, and my most important research interests include animation and adaptation.

In my thesis I examine Walt Disney animated feature films and their representations of family structures and ideologies, concentrating on the contemporary and historicized portrayals of parenthood, paternity, gender and masculinities. Because of the company's pioneer position and influential connections to the Hollywood film industry, a comprehensive narrative and aesthetic, contextualized analysis of 'Disney paternity' concentrating on illustrations of motion, space, and characterization simultaneously reveals various issues concerning the narrative role of fatherhood in the history of Western cinema.

I am fascinated by film history and films as historical artefacts; both as discourses of power and as sociocultural reflections. I have also explored the global commercial context of blockbuster film, the concept of (target) audience, medium specificity, streaming services, merchandising, remakes and fan culture.

I will defend my thesis Animated Paternity: The History of Disney Fatherhood 29.11.2024 at 12 noon (GMT+2) at L6 OP-Pohjola auditorium (in Finnish only).
The event will also be streamed: https://oulu.zoom.us/j/61987274488

Research interests

  • Animation (Hand-drawn, Stop-motion, Digital...)
  • Adaptation and Remakes
  • Walt Disney
  • Children's and YA Literature
  • Picture Books and Visual Expression
  • Children's and YA Film
  • Fairy-tales, Fairy-tale and Fantasy Films
  • Anthropomorphism, Animals
  • US/Hollywood Film
  • Film History, Film Canons
  • Popular Culture
  • Mainstream Film, Blockbuster Film
  • Vampires in Horror Films
  • Cultural Studies
  • Gender Studies
  • Feminist Film Criticism and Literary Criticism
  • Masculinities, Paternity
  • Media Education, Media Literacy
  • Film Education and Analysis
  • Film Technology, Digital Platforms, Streaming Services
  • Representation and Medium Specificity
  • Fandom, Merchandise, Consumption Culture

Researcher information

Researcher profiles

Contact information

E-mail

Aino.Isojarvi@oulu.fi

Visiting address

Room GF317 (by appointment).

Postal address

Film and Creative Medias
Faculty of Humanities
PL 8000
90014 Oulun yliopisto
Finland