You can use the MLA International Bibliography (MLAIB) to search for scholarly research on topics other than a specific author or literary work, film, etc. As an expression of culture, literature and film are the subject of cultural analysis, so think of searching for the name of a state or region and a keyword from your larger topic:
For research on the broad topic of this class, you can search the MLAIB for the Genre terms creative nonfiction, memoir, and literary journalism can be searched as a Genre (from the pull-down menu in the Select a field box. Some of the additional genre terms can be found by clicking the Advanced Search link under the search entry boxes.
Provides a subject, author, and title index for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. MLA indexers review books, journals, and Web sites for material that relates to all forms of human communication. Coverage includes literature from all over the world--Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Folklore is represented by folk literature, music, art, rituals, and belief systems. Linguistics and language materials range from history and theory of linguistics, comparative linguistics, semantics, stylistics, and syntax to translation. Other topics include literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts (film, radio, television, theater), and history of printing and publishing. EBSCOhost.