No Help! needed for Stephanie’s Beatles study to gain international attention

A passion for The Beatles has led a one of our lecturers to contribute to an encyclopedia about the world’s best known band.

Media Studies lecturer Stephanie Piotrowski’s PhD research focused on how the image and performance style of The Beatles evolved during their five feature films, from Hard Day’s Night to Let It Be.

Her research into the ‘fab four’ came to the attention of Professor Joerg Helbig, from the Alps Adriatic University in Austria, who was seeking academics to help compile an encyclopedia focusing on The Beatles films – and Stephanie’s research has now been included.

Stephanie, 28, who is originally from Michigan, USA, first visited the UK seven years ago as a student on a semester abroad scheme, which took her to Exeter University.

She said: 'After completing a term I went back to Michigan to finish my degree, but later returned to Exeter to do my PhD. I really loved being in England, so when a job came up at Teesside I was really pleased to start working here.'

Now living in Middlesbrough, she said: 'When I was 14 I saw the film Backbeat, which focuses on the early years of The Beatles and the time they spent in Hamburg. Their music became a great interest of mine, along with their films.

Always been a bit of an Anglophile 'They represented Britain at a very interesting time. When I was growing up I saw it as a very glamorous view of England. I’ve always been a bit of an Anglophile.

'When I came to do my PhD I was looking at the cinema of the 1960s, so decided to focus on the Beatles films, with each of their five films as different chapters, looking in depth at issues such as image and performance and promotional video.

'The Beatles were the pioneers of promotional video, which at the time was something very new, as bands usually performed live or on Top of the Pops. The Beatles saw these promotional videos as a way of freeing themselves from having to perform live, while also allowing them to claim some ownership on their work.'

She added: 'A lot of their image change was due to it being a time when pop music was very manufactured. They saw their films and videos as a way of taking control of their output, while also incorporating their interests in art and philosophy.

'It’s surreal to think that my involvement in the book is likely to be read by Beatles fans all over the world. I can only say that I’ve been blessed to be able to do this. If I had stayed in Michigan I would probably have gone into High School teaching. It has been an incredible journey and it’s an interesting time for this type of research.'

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