About

I am an academic and lecturer working in the College of Arts, Humanities and Education. My research specialism is the British biopic, and I am interested in representations of British history across visual culture more broadly. I undertook my doctoral research on the subject of British biopics at the University of West of England (UWE), completing my thesis in 2016. I lectured at Nottingham Trent University and UWE on a part-time basis before becoming a lecturer in Design and Media at the University of Derby.

Teaching responsibilities

I am involved in various modules in Media and Design, including: 

• Design, Culture and Curiosity and Design
• Design: Theory, Making and Meaning
• Critical Voice: Research and Professional Development
• Critical Approaches to Animation
• Researching Animation and CGI
• Independent Research Project in Animation

My involvement includes lecturing, seminar leadership and supervising dissertations.

I particularly enjoy helping students to appreciate the historical and theoretical dimensions of their disciplines.

Research interests

My primary research focus is the representation of history on film, and particularly the representation of British history in the British biopic. I have had essays published in numerous academic journals on this subject, including studies which examine themes ranging from professional wrestling and British pornography to celebrity culture and capital punishment. My research has appeared in the Journal of Popular Film and Television, Celebrity Studies, New Review of Film and Television Studies and the Journal of War and Culture Studies, among others.

I have spoken at various conferences and given research talks which take the biopic genre as their focus. I have recently presented at the “Authenticity and Adaptation” conference, held at the University of Birmingham in 2023, and I participated in the 2019/20 lecture series held at the Centre for Film, Media, Discourse and Culture at the University of Wolverhampton (my participation at both events was supported by bursary funding provided by the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies). My current research explores the representation of British illustration history in the British biopic, and I have a second interest which focuses on the representation of women’s voices in contemporary biopics.

My doctoral thesis examined the evolution of the British biopic film from its earliest days to 2016. I demonstrated how film has a dialectical relationship with broader cultural and social developments, such as the changing treatment of such themes as royalty, crime, sport, and popular music. During this time I also organised “Life through the Lens: The British Biopic in Focus” symposium, a one-day symposium held at the Watershed Media Centre in Bristol in 2014. 

Membership of professional bodies

• Fellow of Advance HE (Higher Education Academy)

Qualifications

• 2016 Ph.D. in Film Studies, University of the West of England
• 2010 M.A. in Cinema Studies, University of Bristol (Distinction)
• 2009 B.A. in Film Studies, University of the West of England (First Class)

Recent conferences

• 2023 ‘“A Unique Situation in the History of Cinema”: Crowhurst (2018), The Mercy (2018) and Preserving Authenticity in the British Biopic.’ Authenticity and Adaptation, University of Birmingham
• 2019 ‘That Emotional Moment: The Execution of Ruth Ellis in Pierrepoint (2005).’ Centre for Film, Media, Discourse and Culture 2019/20 lecture series, University of Wolverhampton

Additional interests and activities

Awards

• Awarded bursary through BAFTSS travel scheme to present at the ‘Authenticity and Adaptation’ conference, University of Birmingham 2023
• Awarded bursary through BAFTSS ‘New Connections’ scheme to present in the ‘Centre for Film, Media, Discourse and Culture 2019/20 lecture series’, University of Wolverhampton 2019

Recent publications

• Robinson, M. ‘You’re really going to be fine’: Celebrity cameos, Toast (2010) and the British biopic. Celebrity Studies. Accepted May 2024
• Robinson, M. ‘A Unique Situation in the History of Cinema’: Crowhurst (2018), The Mercy (2018) and the Biopic Too Much.’ Quarterly Review of Film and Video. Accepted February 2023
• Robinson, M. (2024) ‘This is my House Now!’ Fighting with My Family, the Female Underdog and Constructing a Public History of WWE. New Review of Film and Television Studies. 22 (1), pp. 135–160
• Robinson, M. (2023) ‘Skip the Warts’: Personal Branding and Pornification in The Look of Love (2013). Journal of British Cinema and Television. 20 (2), pp. 177–199
• Robinson, M. (2020) ‘That Emotional Moment’: The Execution of Ruth Ellis in Pierrepoint (2005). Journal of Popular Film and Television. 48 (2), pp. 90–102
• Robinson, M. (2020) ‘Sometime the Hating Has to Stop’: Liberation and Reconciliation in The Railway Man (Teplitzky, 2013). Journal of War and Culture Studies. 13 (3), pp. 298–317
• Robinson, M. (2019) ‘It’s Spiritual Man’: Eddie the Eagle (2016) and English Amateurism. Journal of British Cinema and Television. 16 (2), pp. 170–190
• Robinson, M. (2019) ‘Mother Says I’m Just an Odd Duck’: Alan Turing, The Imitation Game (2014) and the Gay Boffin. Journal of Science and Popular Culture. 2 (1), pp. 21–36
• Robinson, M. (2018) ‘Make Do and Mend’: Crafting a Scottish Underdog in The Flying Scotsman (2006). Open Screens. 1(1): 6, pp. 1–26