Research Guides: Film and Media Arts: Find Articles

Search these Best Bet Databases for Articles on Film and Media Arts Topics

These are your best-bet databases to use to search for articles on film and media studies topics.

Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text contains articles from magazine for film, television and cinema reviews. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
MLA International Bibliography is a database of citations to critical documents on folklore, language, linguistics, and literature, including articles from journals, monographs, collections & reference works.
Screen Studies Collection (formerly Film Indexes Online) This link opens in a new window
Screen Studies Collection combines Film Index International and AFI Catalog together in one site. It also includes the British Film Institute (BFI), American Film Institute (AFI), Film Index International and AFI Catalog as online resources for research in film.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC) contains databases in the fields of communication and mass media studies. It includes CommSearch and Mass Media Articles Index.
Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Performing Arts Periodicals Database (formerly International Index) provides indexing, abstracts and full text journals on dance, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater and performance art.

Search Tips

When you search these databases for articles, you can try several strategies.

Search for the title of a specific film.
Search for the name of a filmmaker or actor.
Search for a geographic region (e.g. "asia" or "united states" or "paris"), a film genre (e.g. "comedy" or "horror"), or a time period (e.g., "post-war" or "fifties" or "1940s").
Search for concepts related to how the film is made (e.g., "lighting," "music or soundtrack or score," etc.)
Search for concepts related to your topic. For example, you might search for "immigrants or immigration or migrants or migration," or "women or gender," or "trauma or PTSD or war"
Search for different combinations of everything above!

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