Jason Gendler

Jason Gendler is a Part-Time Lecturer in the Department of Cinematic Arts at California State University, Long Beach. He received his Ph.D. (2014) and M.A. (2007) in Film and Television from UCLA, along with a B.A. (2004) in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (graduated with Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa).

• Education
  • Ph.D. & M.A., Film and Television, UCLA
  • B.A., Communication Arts – Radio, Television, Film, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Dr. Gendler’s research focuses on narrative structures, aesthetics, and audience cognition in film/television. His work examines normative patterns in classical cinema, serialized television (e.g., Mad Men), and Hong Kong action cinema. He combines formal analysis with empirical cognitive psychology to explore media’s storytelling principles and audience comprehension processes.

His publications include articles in Projections and Nebula, a book chapter on colorization aesthetics in Casablanca, and a forthcoming book In the Beginning: The Narration of Beginnings in Classical Cinema. His work addresses the interplay between narrative structure and viewer psychology.

• Scientific Awards
  • Fellow, Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image
  • British Society of Aesthetics Early-Career Award (2015)
  • UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship (2013-2014)
  • Kemp R. Niver Scholarship (2013)
  • Christopher Neal Heinlein Scholarship (2003)