Dr. Karen Thornton

Biography

My area of research is within factual production and issues of realism and representation. My PhD research explored the role of remediation, simulation and spectacle within contemporary BBC television documentary practices, in relation to public service broadcasting, and in October 2022 took part in a panel discussion exploring the future of the BBC on the Radio 4 series Inside Science https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001d591 

 

In 2019 as part of community engagement and outreach I developed a project with Schools of Sanctuary, exploring issues of representation in under-represented, local communities.  Collaborating with young refugee and asylum seekers This Is Me was an exhibition-based photography project which facilitated the young people telling their story through a series of chosen artefacts https://refugeeweek.org.uk/this-is-me-exhibition-by-bradford-school-students/

 

In 2022 I collaborated with Dr Mark Goodall in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the BBC, re-working the J B Priestley WWII Postscripts. Commissioning six artists who have a connection to Bradford, their stories were developed into a series of aural soundscapes (or contemporary postscripts) which are published on the BBC Website: https://canvas-story.bbcrewind.co.uk/postscripts/ 

 

In 2023 I applied and was awarded seed-funding to develop a series of workshops at Bradford's Theatre in The Mill, exploring a range of different arts-based practices and their role in activism. These included screen printing, photography, 'zine-making and cookery in a nine-week long programme of activities. 

 

In 2024 I was part of a Leeds University Bradford Impact Collaboration Fund project which explored the use of pragmatic language with young people from local theatre groups Speakers Corner and Commonwealth Theatre. I delivered a series of workshops training the young people to use film cameras and edit their work. 

Research

My main research interest focuses on discourses of power and representation in contemporary film and television. More specifically, I am interested in exploring the representation of (working) class in British factual series, examining the link between neoliberal politics and austerity measures. In addition, I am interested in precarity and how this is represented within British cinema. 

Other areas of interest include examining the relationship between public service broadcasting and the role of spectacle in contemporary documentary, using a media archaeological approach to draw parallels with early cinema and contemporary practices. 

I am also interested in collaborative projects, working with film, photography and sound to explore issues of self-representation and identity.