About Me

Young man with glasses and beard smiling outdoors on a sunny day.

Jason Gendler

Credentials

Ph.D. in Film and Television (UCLA)
10+ years of writing film and television criticism
10+ years of teaching film and television studies
15+ years of academic writing
16+ years of peer review for scholarly journals, academic publishers (Routledge, Projections, , Mediascape)

Services Offered

Expert witness: providing an objective analysis of whether two works are substantially similar based on the extrinsic test
Film and television criticism: recaps and reviews of movies and TV programs/episodes
Screenplay consultation: providing detailed feedback on character, plot, dialogue, theme, mood, pacing, and more
Manuscript review: providing feedback on argumentation, organization, example use, and copyediting

Areas of Exptertise

Narrative and narration
Serialized and episodic television
Film style and genres
Documentary
Action cinema

Publications

Journal Articles

“Better Call Saul and the Cognitive Effects of Prequel Television Series.” Projections Special Issue on Serial Television. Volume 19, No. 2. (Winter 2025)

“The Rich Inferential World of Mad Men: Serialized Television and Character Interiority,” Projections. Volume 10, No. 1 (Summer/Winter 2016).
“Where Does the Beginning End? Cognition, Form, and Classical Narrative Beginnings.” Projections. Volume 6, No. 2. (Winter, 2012).
“Primer: The Perils and Paradoxes of Restricted Time Travel Narration.” Nebula Volume 3, No. 4, December 2006/January 2007.

Book Chapters

“‘I Can’ Keep Track of Any of It Anymore’: Cognitive Challenge and Other Aesthetic Appeals in Community.” Solicited for Puzzling Stories: The Aesthetic Appeal of Cognitive Challenge in Literature and Film (New York: Berghahn, forthcoming)

“Are My Eyes Really Brown? The Aesthetics of Colorization in Casablanca.” Solicited for the Routledge AFI Reader Color and the Moving Image (New York: Routledge, 2013).

Book Reviews

“Impossible Puzzle Films.” Projections. Volume 13, No. 1 (2019).