Mixed Feelings in France
While multicultural comedies criticise hegemonic whiteness and outdated stances on race relations, they simultaneously perpetuate the colonial aesthetic register by deploying a 罈republican gaze竄 - an ironic meta-narrative perspective on ethnic minorities. Ewelina Pepiak analyses how gender and ethnicity are represented in seven contemporary French comedies (2008-2018) including mixed-race couples, focusing on a trope of m矇tissage (biological and cultural mixing) and white femininity. As analyses of ethnic and gender representations remain scarce due to the slow emergence of postcolonial studies in France, this study adds significant insights to the postcolonial debate.
African Energy Worlds in Film and Media
Can you imagine a post-petroleum world? African Energy Worlds in Film and Media joins energy humanists committed to undoing our deep dependence on fossil fuels and advancing equitable energy transitions by advancing this vision with a spotlight on African perspectives.African cinema is a rich and varied medium for investigating the entanglements and social embeddedness of energy with global modernity and for imagining a world that leaves fossil fuels behind for unrealized green energy futures. African Energy Worlds in Film and Media shows us how African cinema makes sensible the energetic aspects of life in the ecological mesh that is planet Earth and grounds us in the everyday of the postcolonial, bringing attention to the enduring legacies of racism and colonialism that unevenly distribute energy-related violence and risk and amplifying Africans' demands for access to the energy networks that undergird modernity. With a focus on feature, documentary, and arthouse films, including canonical films by Ousmane Semb癡ne and Djbril Diop Mambety and new work by emergent directors Nelson Makengo and Djo Tunda Wa Munga, author Carmela Garritano examines how these stories depict an array of energy sources from mineral extraction to wind and the by-products of these energy processes, like plastic and electronic waste.Situated at the intersection of film studies, African studies, and energy humanities, African Energy Worlds in Film and Media analyzes the political, social, and economic dimensions of global energy forms and systems as represented in African cinema.
Ingmar Bergman Out of Focus
Director Ingmar Bergman occupies a central place in the history of modern cinema. Credited with igniting a cinematic revolution, his ability to produce work which resonated with audiences globally has brought scholarly attention to the impact of Bergman's Swedish background on his oeuvre. Ingmar Bergman Out of Focus revises this question of Bergman's "familiarity" to produce a more expansive understanding of Bergman's cultural heritage. Considering the impact of Bergman's films on film festival organizers, critics, academics, and audiences all over the world, this volume illuminates how Bergman's film aesthetics simultaneously shaped modern culture and were themselves reshaped by the debates and concerns that preoccupied his viewers.
Rethinking the Cinematic Cold War
Historical consensus increasingly views the Cold War period as a multifaceted conflict which extended beyond the borders of the USSR and USA, encompassing both cultural and diplomatic history. Debate remains, however, about how best to balance the Cold War as a cultural event with the existence of Cold War culture. Rethinking the Cinematic Cold War provides a fresh reassessment of this period, highlighting how the convergence of geopolitical interests, cultural production and exchange, and technological and media history shaped a unique epoch. Consequently, this volume seeks to diagnose the role cinema played in expanding the ideological outlook of artists, audiences, and policymakers.
African Energy Worlds in Film and Media
Can you imagine a post-petroleum world? African Energy Worlds in Film and Media joins energy humanists committed to undoing our deep dependence on fossil fuels and advancing equitable energy transitions by advancing this vision with a spotlight on African perspectives.African cinema is a rich and varied medium for investigating the entanglements and social embeddedness of energy with global modernity and for imagining a world that leaves fossil fuels behind for unrealized green energy futures. African Energy Worlds in Film and Media shows us how African cinema makes sensible the energetic aspects of life in the ecological mesh that is planet Earth and grounds us in the everyday of the postcolonial, bringing attention to the enduring legacies of racism and colonialism that unevenly distribute energy-related violence and risk and amplifying Africans' demands for access to the energy networks that undergird modernity. With a focus on feature, documentary, and arthouse films, including canonical films by Ousmane Semb癡ne and Djbril Diop Mambety and new work by emergent directors Nelson Makengo and Djo Tunda Wa Munga, author Carmela Garritano examines how these stories depict an array of energy sources from mineral extraction to wind and the by-products of these energy processes, like plastic and electronic waste.Situated at the intersection of film studies, African studies, and energy humanities, African Energy Worlds in Film and Media analyzes the political, social, and economic dimensions of global energy forms and systems as represented in African cinema.
River Delta Futures
How are climate change, weather-related disasters, food and water insecurity, and energetic and infrastructural collapse narrated audiovisually in the most environmentally vulnerable areas of the Planet? This book addresses this and related questions by adopting a local and transdisciplinary perspective on river deltas from different areas of the world. River deltas have historically been hotspots for human civilizations, as populations settled in their fertile grounds seeking resources and opportunities for prosperity. Despite this, the terrains and livelihoods of those who rely on them are under threat from human exploitation, environmental degradation, and rapidly accelerating climate change. Inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, this book provides a range of focused audiovisual analyses of deltaic spaces. Ranging across a variety of media, including documentary filmmaking, animation, photography, collaborative comic making, participatory visual art practices, soundwalking, and film analysis, it examines the role that contemporary audiovisual media play in forging global environmental imaginaries. In doing so, it adopts a transdisciplinary approach to the Blue Humanities from countries across the world, including Canada, Bolivia, Brazil, Greece, Nigeria, Senegal, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Metamodern Slasher Film
It is commonly proposed that since the mid-2000s, the slasher subgenre has been dominated by unoriginal remakes of "classics". Consequently, most original slasher films have been ignored by academics (and critics), leaving the field with a limited understanding of this highly popular subgenre. This book corrects that mischaracterisation by analysing contemporary slasher films that sincerely attempt to innovate within the subgenre. I argue that these films reflect broader cultural turns towards sincerity, optimism in the face of crisis, and an emphasis on felt experience that are indicative of a metamodern sensibility. This is the first book to use metamodernism to analyse film in a sustained way, and the first academic work to use metamodernism to examine horror. The Metamodern Slasher offers readers new ways to understand the slasher film, the horror genre, and also the cultural moment we find ourselves in.
Martin Scorsese
Discover the genius of Martin Scorsese - one of cinema's greatest storytellers.For over 50 years, Martin Scorsese has been one of cinema's most celebrated directors. From a Catholic kid in Manhattan to a legendary filmmaker, he's shaped Hollywood with masterpieces such as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and The Irishman.But what makes a Scorsese film unique? His stories explore power, morality, and human nature, blending raw emotion with intellectual depth. Whether reinventing noir, musicals or crime dramas, his work captures the pulse of America and the Italian-American experience.This book dives into all 26 of his films, breaking down his signature themes, iconic collaborations with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, and his place in film history. A true movie fanatic and preservationist, Scorsese continues to push boundaries - proving that cinema isn't just entertainment, it's an art form.
Hollywood’s Unofficial Film Corps
It has long been known that Hollywood was actively involved in shaping US public opinion during World War II. Less well documented are the ways in which Washington sought to work behind the scenes, subtly obliterating the boundaries between "studio" and "government" films. Michael Berkowitz studies the contributions of humorist and best-selling author Leo Rosten (The Joys of Yiddish, The Education of H*Y*M*A*N* K*A*P*L*A*N) and writer, producer, and screenwriter Budd Schulberg (On the Waterfront, A Face in the Crowd) in order to examine the elusive story of Jewish Hollywood's role in World War II. Hollywood's Unofficial Film Corps shows that Rosten, Schulberg, and others--including Garson Kanin, George Cukor, Stanley Kramer, and Jules Buck--created movies that were both entertaining and politically expeditious for US war aims. At the same time, in an effort to unify the American public, they avoided focusing on the fate of European Jews, even while addressing racism and antisemitism in the United States. Jewish themes were often downplayed, and Jewish directors, writers, and other contributors frequently went uncredited. As Berkowitz writes, "Rosten's cohort changed feature films forever." Thanks to his research, we now have a better understanding of how and why.
Afrofuturism in Black Panther
This book examines Black Panther not only as a film grounded in Afro-futurism, but also as an invitation for viewers to think about relevant real-world social questions about identity, liberation, and racial justice, ultimately posing the question of how Black Panther invites a reimagining of Blackness.
I Walked With a Zombie
I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Val Lewton's second feature for RKO Radio Pictures, was described by critic Robin Wood as 'perhaps the most delicate poetic fantasy in the American Cinema.' Following immediately in the wake of the groundbreaking Cat People (1942), Zombie pioneered an even more radical narrative approach yet proved to be the critical and commercial equal of its predecessor, cementing the reputation of both Lewton and his director, Jacques Tourneur.Despite the lurid, studio-imposed title, I Walked with a Zombie is a subtle and ambiguous visual poem that advanced a daring condemnation of slavery and colonialism at a time when such themes were being actively suppressed by government censors. Clive Dawson charts the complex development and production of the project, essential to understanding the concerns of the filmmakers in the context of wartime Hollywood, then analyses the film in detail, referencing a broad range of academic studies of the audio-visual text and distilling new insight into its layers of meaning. Finally, he explores the film's reception, and the influence it exerted on the horror genre and beyond. Extensive primary research has uncovered a wealth of previously unpublished new material that solves many unanswered questions and dispels various myths about this utterly unique film.
Nomadic Cinema
From In Borneo, the Land of the Head-Hunters to The Epic of Everest to Camping Among the Indians, the early twentieth century was the heyday of expedition filmmaking. As new technologies transformed global transportation and opened new avenues for documentation, and as imperialism and capitalism expanded their reach, Western filmmakers embarked on journeys to places they saw as exotic, seeking to capture both the monumental and the mundane. Their films portrayed far-flung locales, the hardships of travel, and the day-to-day lives of Indigenous people through a deeply colonial lens. Nomadic Cinema is a groundbreaking history of these films, analyzing them as visual records of colonialism that also offer new possibilities for recognizing Indigenous histories. Alison Griffiths examines expedition films made in Borneo, Central Asia, Tibet, Polynesia, and the American Southwest, reinterpreting them from decolonial perspectives to provide alternative accounts of exploration. She considers the individuals and institutions--including the American Museum of Natural History--responsible for creating the films, the spectators who sought them out, and the Indigenous intermediaries whose roles white explorers minimized. Ambitious and interdisciplinary, Nomadic Cinema ranges widely, from the roots of expedition films in medieval cartography and travel writing to still-emerging technologies of virtual and augmented reality. Highlighting the material conditions of filmmaking and the environmental footprint left by exploration, this book recovers Indigenous memory and sovereignty from within long-buried sources.
Nomadic Cinema
From In Borneo, the Land of the Head-Hunters to The Epic of Everest to Camping Among the Indians, the early twentieth century was the heyday of expedition filmmaking. As new technologies transformed global transportation and opened new avenues for documentation, and as imperialism and capitalism expanded their reach, Western filmmakers embarked on journeys to places they saw as exotic, seeking to capture both the monumental and the mundane. Their films portrayed far-flung locales, the hardships of travel, and the day-to-day lives of Indigenous people through a deeply colonial lens. Nomadic Cinema is a groundbreaking history of these films, analyzing them as visual records of colonialism that also offer new possibilities for recognizing Indigenous histories. Alison Griffiths examines expedition films made in Borneo, Central Asia, Tibet, Polynesia, and the American Southwest, reinterpreting them from decolonial perspectives to provide alternative accounts of exploration. She considers the individuals and institutions--including the American Museum of Natural History--responsible for creating the films, the spectators who sought them out, and the Indigenous intermediaries whose roles white explorers minimized. Ambitious and interdisciplinary, Nomadic Cinema ranges widely, from the roots of expedition films in medieval cartography and travel writing to still-emerging technologies of virtual and augmented reality. Highlighting the material conditions of filmmaking and the environmental footprint left by exploration, this book recovers Indigenous memory and sovereignty from within long-buried sources.
Sixties Shockers
This comprehensive filmography provides critical analyses and behind-the-scenes stories for 600 horror, science fiction and fantasy films from the 1960s. During those tumultuous years horror cinema flourished, proving as innovative and unpredictable as the decade itself. Representative titles include Night of the Living Dead, The Haunting, Carnival of Souls, Repulsion, The Masque of the Red Death, Targets and The Conqueror Worm. An historical overview chronicles the explosive growth of horror films during this era, as well as the emergence of such dynamic directorial talents as Roman Polanski, George Romero, Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich.
Movies and the Church of Baseball
Christian religious imagery and symbolism has a long history in American baseball cinema, from The Busher (1919) to Angels in the Outfield(1994) and present-day movies. This book examines The Natural, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham and other films, exploring the frequency of Christian imagery and themes in the American baseball movie. From Babe Ruth's performance of a miracle to help a disabled boy walk again in The Babe Ruth Story to Shoeless Joe Jackson's question to Ray Kinsella--"Is this heaven?"--in Field of Dreams, Christian themes and American baseball film are inextricably linked. This discussion encompasses symbolic imagery in mainstream film, Christian baseball movies directed by Christian filmmakers promoting their faith messages and images of America as a prelapsarian paradise before "The Fall."
The Third Sex
Winner of the 2022 Peter Lang Emerging Scholars Competition in Media & Communication. Thailand, the "land of smiles," is often seen as a "gay paradise." But how does Thai culture understand sexuality? This book moves beyond Western frameworks to explore non-normative genders like kathoey, gay, tom, and dee. Through historical context and film analysis, it challenges assumptions, embraces Thai nuances, and offers a deeper understanding of the "third sex" concept. Examining historical texts and contemporary films, the book sheds light on the experiences of individuals with non-normative genders--their challenges, triumphs, and contributions to Thai society. This book offers critical insights into the complexities of gender and sexuality in Thai cultures, challenging readers to broaden their perspectives. Essential reading for anyone interested in gender studies, sexuality, queer studies, film, and Thai culture.
The Prop
What are film props? What do they do? This book answers these questions by a close attention to those material objects that are used to construct cinematic worlds. The term "prop" is short for property. This truncated term's etymology belies the expansiveness of the concept and indicates the micro and macro scales at which the prop operates. Props are the material--often literal--furniture of cinema's diegetic reality. Props are also narrative agents: think of the animacy of objects in Jean Epstein's account of photog矇nie, the crystal egg in Risky Business, or the domestic bric-?-brac of Sirk's melodramas. The prop is central to production design and the construction of mise-en-sc癡ne. And yet, the prop has rarely--almost never--been taken as an object of analysis and theorization in its own right. This book begins by tracing the prop's curious but unacknowledged role in film theory, before proceeding to a series of theoretical speculations and close readings that bring the prop into focus. Analyses of scenes of "prop mastery" demonstrate the labor that props perform and enable, as well as the interpretive work they make possible. Across a variety of genres, modes, and historical contexts--studio filmmaking, art cinema, adult and avant-garde films--The Prop introduces readers to the notion of "prop value," a quality that puts the prop in proximity to the capitalist commodity, but also provides an ironic distance from the commodity's subjection to exchange value. Gorfinkel and Rhodes argue that the prop is nothing less than a condensation of how labor, subjection, value, and instrumentality underwrite the very conditions of cinema.
The Prop
What are film props? What do they do? This book answers these questions by a close attention to those material objects that are used to construct cinematic worlds. The term "prop" is short for property. This truncated term's etymology belies the expansiveness of the concept and indicates the micro and macro scales at which the prop operates. Props are the material--often literal--furniture of cinema's diegetic reality. Props are also narrative agents: think of the animacy of objects in Jean Epstein's account of photog矇nie, the crystal egg in Risky Business, or the domestic bric-?-brac of Sirk's melodramas. The prop is central to production design and the construction of mise-en-sc癡ne. And yet, the prop has rarely--almost never--been taken as an object of analysis and theorization in its own right. This book begins by tracing the prop's curious but unacknowledged role in film theory, before proceeding to a series of theoretical speculations and close readings that bring the prop into focus. Analyses of scenes of "prop mastery" demonstrate the labor that props perform and enable, as well as the interpretive work they make possible. Across a variety of genres, modes, and historical contexts--studio filmmaking, art cinema, adult and avant-garde films--The Prop introduces readers to the notion of "prop value," a quality that puts the prop in proximity to the capitalist commodity, but also provides an ironic distance from the commodity's subjection to exchange value. Gorfinkel and Rhodes argue that the prop is nothing less than a condensation of how labor, subjection, value, and instrumentality underwrite the very conditions of cinema.
Hollywood Blackout
A Hollywood history told from the perspective of those that fought for diversity, inclusion and acknowledgement On 29 February 1940, African American actor Hattie McDaniel became the first person of color, and the first Black woman, to win an Academy Award. The moment marked the beginning of Hollywood's reluctant move toward diversity and inclusion. Since then, minorities and women have struggled to attain Academy Awards recognition within a system designed to discriminate against them. For the first time, Hollywood Blackout reveals the untold story of their tumultuous journey from exclusion to inclusion; from segregation to celebration. Author Ben Arogundade interweaves the experiences of Black actors and filmmakers with those of Asians, Latinos, South Asians, indigenous peoples and women. Throughout the decades their progression to the Oscars podium has been galvanized by defiant boycotts, civil rights protests and social media activism such as #OscarsSoWhite. Whether you are a film fan, history lover or diversity advocate, Hollywood Blackout is the quintessential choice for all those who wish to know the real story of Hollywood, the Oscars and the talents who fought to make change.
How to Score in Hollywood
How to Score in Hollywood reveals the secrets to a movie's success and profitability. Entertainment research expert Kevin Goetz shares how smart, data-driven decisions--from development to release--help filmmakers minimize risks and maximize returns. How to Score in Hollywood reveals the secrets to a movie's success and profitability. Entertainment research expert Kevin Goetz, founder and CEO of Screen Engine, draws on almost four decades of experience to show how strategic decisions--from development to release--help minimize risks and maximize returns. Armed with audience insights and data-driven strategies, Goetz demonstrates how every film should make money when made and marketed for the right price. Key insights include: - Recognizing what constitutes a big idea and developing it thoughtfully to set the foundation for success. - Identifying the reason why a movie should exist and what it uniquely brings to the marketplace that will inspire interest and excitement to see it. - Crafting films with a specific audience in mind and aligning production and marketing budgets to fit the size of its potential. - Understanding how digital entertainment has reshaped audience behavior and perceptions of what makes a movie "theater-worthy." - Elevating both the concept and execution to ensure a film stands out in a crowded and competitive marketplace. - Understand and embrace the challenges of genre-blending films, or "feathered fish," with a clear-eyed approach, tackling complexities head-on instead of avoiding them. - Using test audience feedback to guide the film's development all the way through postproduction, identifying danger signs along the way, and increasing the chances of success. - And much more! For industry executives, filmmakers, film students, and film enthusiasts, How to Score in Hollywood offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the important processes that shape what consumers are offered to watch. From the initial greenlight to the final cut, Goetz explores the critical balance between creativity and commerce in filmmaking, highlighting the vital role of research at every stage to create films that resonate with audiences while also turning a profit. Filled with entertaining personal experiences, industry stories, and actionable advice, Goetz illustrates how research, budget, and marketability influence a film's financial outcome. Whether discussing low-budget indie hits or big-budget blockbusters, How to Score in Hollywood is an invaluable resource for those seeking to understand the art, science, and business of how movies are made, marketed, and released.
The Seduction of Space
A bold and far-reaching new study of French queer cinema reimagines the relationship between sexuality and space Spatiality has long been a crucial and potent lens for understanding French culture and aesthetics. While canonical greats of French cinema such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agn癡s Varda, and Louis Malle invoked the notion of fl璽nerie to explore ideas of modernism, spatial exploration, and urban sociality, Jules O'Dwyer demonstrates how a more recent generation of French queer filmmakers continues to engage with--and contest--this legacy by focusing attention on the cognate practice of cruising. Through the work of Jacques Nolot, S矇bastien Lifshitz, Christophe Honor矇, Vincent Dieutre, Alain Guiraudie, and others, The Seduction of Space draws film theory, queer studies, and spatial inquiry into close proximity to examine the politics of cruising and the gendering of space. Making the case that cinema not only documents the queer spaces of the past but continues to produce them, O'Dwyer maps the relationships between sex and spatiality as he takes up such varied topics as public sex in the porn theater, racial eroticization in the banlieue, and the ecocritical valences of rural cruising. Foregrounding the crucial role that spatiality plays in shaping the parameters of France's visual cultures and political imaginary, The Seduction of Space is both an urgent queer reconceptualization of this tradition and a clarion call for film scholars to tarry with the politics of sexuality in all its messiness. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.
The Seduction of Space
A bold and far-reaching new study of French queer cinema reimagines the relationship between sexuality and space Spatiality has long been a crucial and potent lens for understanding French culture and aesthetics. While canonical greats of French cinema such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agn癡s Varda, and Louis Malle invoked the notion of fl璽nerie to explore ideas of modernism, spatial exploration, and urban sociality, Jules O'Dwyer demonstrates how a more recent generation of French queer filmmakers continues to engage with--and contest--this legacy by focusing attention on the cognate practice of cruising. Through the work of Jacques Nolot, S矇bastien Lifshitz, Christophe Honor矇, Vincent Dieutre, Alain Guiraudie, and others, The Seduction of Space draws film theory, queer studies, and spatial inquiry into close proximity to examine the politics of cruising and the gendering of space. Making the case that cinema not only documents the queer spaces of the past but continues to produce them, O'Dwyer maps the relationships between sex and spatiality as he takes up such varied topics as public sex in the porn theater, racial eroticization in the banlieue, and the ecocritical valences of rural cruising. Foregrounding the crucial role that spatiality plays in shaping the parameters of France's visual cultures and political imaginary, The Seduction of Space is both an urgent queer reconceptualization of this tradition and a clarion call for film scholars to tarry with the politics of sexuality in all its messiness. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.
Women and Global Documentary
In what innovative ways are women documentary filmmakers seeking to prioritize and promote political awareness, alternative modes of allyship, and advocacy for those most marginalized by patriarchy and global capitalism? Women and Global Documentary answers the urgent need to re-evaluate the significance of women's documentary practices, their contributions to feminist world-building, and to the state of documentary studies as a whole.Bringing together a range of diverse practitioners and authors, the volume analyzes alternative and emergent networks of documentary production and collaboration within a global context. The chapters investigate filmmaking practices from regions such as East Africa, Latin America, South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. They also examine decolonial practices in the Global North based on Indigenous filmmaking and feminist documentary institutions such as Women Make Movies. In doing so, they assess the global, institutional, political, and artistic factors that have shaped women's documentary practices in the 21st century, and their implications for scholarly debates regarding women's authorship, political subjectivity, and documentary representation.
Bad Sex
Bad Sex traces the evolution of representations of sex on screen, from earlier portrayals of sex as glamorous or taboo, to more complex depictions of often awkward or painful experiences and feelings. Jacqueline Gibbs, Billy Holzberg, and Aura Lehtonen examine the representation of sex and sexuality in contemporary English language drama and 'dramedy' shows like Fleabag (2016, 2019), Sex Education (2019-23), I May Destroy You (2020) and Euphoria (2019-), arguing that TV is where the politics of sexuality and gender is negotiated under the contemporary conditions of neoliberalism. Through a cultural analysis of key television shows, they identify this shift as driven by the diversification of representations of sex and sexuality, as women, trans and non-binary, Black and minority ethnic, working-class and disabled TV professionals carve some space in a traditionally white, middle-class, cis male dominated industry. In doing so, they explore the affective potential and limits of 'bad' sex on our screens and what these representations can tell us about sexual politics and gender cultures today.
The Exhibitor as Producer
This open access book seeks answers to a series of questions about the little studied subject of prologues or theatrical presentations in American movie theaters from the late 1910s to the mid-1920s. How did prologues emerge out of prior practices? Who were the exhibitors most involved? What characteristics would come to define prologues? How widespread did they become not only in metropolitan palace cinemas but also in movie theaters in mid-sized cities and even small towns? If they generally created an atmosphere that complimented or harmonized with the feature films, could they also be what at the time was called "contrastive"? Who were the performers in these theatrical presentations? Were prologues ever described, in ads and audience responses, as a program's main attraction and to what effect? The book comprises five chapters and up to a hundred photographs of prologue stage settings. Moreover, supplementing each chapter is one or more relevant trade press documents. Overall, the chapters construct a set of practices and typologies that came to define the theatrical presentations that typically preceded the feature films. They also advance this argument: the variety format of combined stage and screen performance in movie theaters has a longer and unexpectedly revealing history than usually assumed. In short, an exhibitor would have a certain degree of creativity in his/her programming, which in turn could strongly impact an audience's movie-going experience.
Passage Works
Passage Works is the first book-length English language critical analysis of the transdisciplinary work of the Austrian film-maker, writer, and artist Ruth Beckermann (b. 1952, Vienna). Beckermann's works interrogate identity and geography as formations of the intersections between the past and the contemporary. Taking as her central topics Austria and its history and politics, her own identity as a Jewish woman, and the contemporary global geopolitics of migration and displacement, Beckermann develops wider meditations in film, art, and writing on the persistence of European memory, and the meanings of Europe itself; on borders, migrations, and identities; on memories, traumas, and traditions; on the image as marker of presence and absence, repository of the traces of historical violence; and on the passage as metaphor for a range of physical, psychological, and ideological movements defining the complexities of contemporary cosmopolitan identities.
Russ Meyer
Russ Meyer: Interviews offers a detailed look into the mind, life, and successful career of the maverick filmmaker Russ Meyer. Known for his audacious visual style and boundary-pushing content, Meyer (1922-2004) carved out a unique niche in the film industry with his provocative and often controversial works, including Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!; Beyond the Valley of the Dolls; and Vixen! In this volume, Meyer talks over the course of eighteen newspaper and magazine interviews--conducted between the late 1960s and early 1990s--about assignments in still- and motion-picture combat photography during World War II, learning all aspects of the filmmaking craft when he was shooting industrial films after the war, later stumbling into the business of photographing pin-up girls for magazines, and how that segued into his first forays in what would become the sexploitation movie market. Working with small budgets and small crews, Meyer became a skilled director and pitchman for his own work, hitting the road with reels of film in his car, going from town to town, getting them shown in small moviehouses, building an audience, making big profits, then using them to make his next film. The films were expertly photographed, inventively edited, and featured intriguing (and violent, carnal, and funny) storylines, and ticket sales numbers eventually caught the eyes of the Hollywood studio system, for which Meyer briefly worked, before once again striking out on his own with ever-more violent, sexual, and cartoonish features. Meyer made fortunes, he lost fortunes, then he made them again, and he was always game for getting involved in controversy, which was easy due to the content of his films. After his final theatrical feature--Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens--in 1979, Meyer reinvented himself as an entrepreneur by making his films available on the burgeoning home video market, leaving him a celebrated and very wealthy man.
The Afterlife of Palestinian Images
The Afterlife of Palestinian Images is a groundbreaking study of how colonial violence alters and changes visual objects - which in turn affects how a society and culture relates to its own images. Based on the practice-based creative methodology of Palestinian filmmaker and researcher Azza El Hassan, this book explores the re-use and re-appropriation of photos, film and media equipment that have survived looting and destruction, objects which become a constant reminder of what was and what has been lost. El Hassan goes beyond using these visual remains as simple evidence, demonstrating how artistic engagement can reconfigure them into new narratives and establish a renewed sense of cultural identity. While previous research has explored why colonial structures practice native archive plundering, as well as into how a culture reckons with the absence of archival records, this book uniquely addresses how plundered cultures relate to the actual remains of their archives. As a scholar and an artist, El Hassan reconciles a problematic past and present in the search for a new visual experience emerging out of the ruins, finding ways to move forward after destruction. Additional video content for this book is available through the SN More Media App.
Bad Sex
Bad Sex traces the evolution of representations of sex on screen, from earlier portrayals of sex as glamorous or taboo, to more complex depictions of often awkward or painful experiences and feelings. Jacqueline Gibbs, Billy Holzberg, and Aura Lehtonen examine the representation of sex and sexuality in contemporary English language drama and 'dramedy' shows like Fleabag (2016, 2019), Sex Education (2019-23), I May Destroy You (2020) and Euphoria (2019-), arguing that TV is where the politics of sexuality and gender is negotiated under the contemporary conditions of neoliberalism. Through a cultural analysis of key television shows, they identify this shift as driven by the diversification of representations of sex and sexuality, as women, trans and non-binary, Black and minority ethnic, working-class and disabled TV professionals carve some space in a traditionally white, middle-class, cis male dominated industry. In doing so, they explore the affective potential and limits of 'bad' sex on our screens and what these representations can tell us about sexual politics and gender cultures today.
Russ Meyer
Russ Meyer: Interviews offers a detailed look into the mind, life, and successful career of the maverick filmmaker Russ Meyer. Known for his audacious visual style and boundary-pushing content, Meyer (1922-2004) carved out a unique niche in the film industry with his provocative and often controversial works, including Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!; Beyond the Valley of the Dolls; and Vixen! In this volume, Meyer talks over the course of eighteen newspaper and magazine interviews--conducted between the late 1960s and early 1990s--about assignments in still- and motion-picture combat photography during World War II, learning all aspects of the filmmaking craft when he was shooting industrial films after the war, later stumbling into the business of photographing pin-up girls for magazines, and how that segued into his first forays in what would become the sexploitation movie market. Working with small budgets and small crews, Meyer became a skilled director and pitchman for his own work, hitting the road with reels of film in his car, going from town to town, getting them shown in small moviehouses, building an audience, making big profits, then using them to make his next film. The films were expertly photographed, inventively edited, and featured intriguing (and violent, carnal, and funny) storylines, and ticket sales numbers eventually caught the eyes of the Hollywood studio system, for which Meyer briefly worked, before once again striking out on his own with ever-more violent, sexual, and cartoonish features. Meyer made fortunes, he lost fortunes, then he made them again, and he was always game for getting involved in controversy, which was easy due to the content of his films. After his final theatrical feature--Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens--in 1979, Meyer reinvented himself as an entrepreneur by making his films available on the burgeoning home video market, leaving him a celebrated and very wealthy man.
Zoinks!
This is Zoinks!, the critically-acclaimed book all about Scooby-Doo by acclaimed folklorist and podcaster Mark Norman. Recognised internationally for his expertise in folklore and known by many for his Folklore Podcast, Mark is the perfect guide for a tour through the myths and legends that have inspired the iconic cartoon.For over half a century, a gang of teens - Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy - and their dog, Scooby, have captivated audiences with their super-natural sleuthing, operated under the banner of their company Mystery Incorporated. Yet the stories that have inspired the gang's adventures are often much, much older. In this book, Mark Norman extensively explores the various myths and legends that the show's writers have drawn on to deliver the wealth of memorable villains we've seen over the years. With insights from a number of these writers as well as producers and other contributors, we learn how real-world folklore has influenced the show's portrayals of ghosts, witches, monsters, and more.The combination of both popular culture and the author's extensive knowledge of the kind of tales whispered about on dark nights is not only hugely entertaining but also utterly fascinating and will appeal to fans of the cartoon as well as anyone with an interest in the strange, the odd, the perplexing and the paranormal.
The New Russian Documentary
Over the last three decades, Russian filmmakers and audiences have engaged with documentary cinema with an intensity unseen since the 1920s, when Soviet documentarians helped pioneer the mode. What started as a trickle of artistically minded films in the 1990s, expanded in the 2000s to include a broad range of works, chief among them films seeking to re-evaluate the country's past and take stock of its present. This efflorescence went hand in hand with the creation of new institutions--film schools, festivals, and online platforms. The rise of YouTube, in particular, helped propel documentary into the cultural mainstream. Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and the Kremlin's subsequent crackdown on independent media put an end to all this. The New Russian Documentary thus seeks to introduce readers to the key figures, institutions, and practices involved in this vibrant, if ultimately doomed, oppositionary movement.
Theology, Religion, and The Office
This book explores the profound and enduring impact of The Office, and delves beyond its humor to uncover deeper philosophical, religious, and theological insights. It will be a compelling read for academics interested in the intersections of religion, theology, and popular culture.
Decoding Disney’s Arab and Muslim Narratives
This book examines the depiction of Arabs and Muslims in Disney animated films through innovative mixed-methods analyses. The authors provide key insights for scholars and media professionals by demonstrating how biased representations influence public perceptions.
Show and Biz: The Market Economy in TV Series and Popular Culture(2000-2020)
How is capitalism represented in popular culture today? Are profits seen as a legitimate reward of entrepreneurship? Are thrift and effort still considered a cornerstone of a healthy society? Or is it that inequalities are eliciting scandal and reproach? How is the ecosystem portrayed, vis-?-vis profit seeking companies? Are they irreconcilable, or maybe not? Are there any established trends with respect to the presentation of entrepreneurship, and that complex legal artefact that is the modern limited liability company? These are questions that will be at the core of this book. But they are not examined through the usual theoretical point of references, but looking at TV series produced in 2000-2020. Each chapter of this book is a case studies, covering some of the most popular, successful and engaging TV shows of the last 20 years. And showing how deep economic ideas and biases lie, at the roots of some of our times' most successful entertainment products.
Return of the Western
Transmitting the crisis that Frederick Jackson Turner and Theodore Roosevelt feared when the frontier closed, the Western has returned to reveal a cultural watershed at work in twenty-first century America, revitalized with horror, terror and the peccant. Darkened and dystopic, contemporary Westerns point to a national bankruptcy, upending the notion that regenerative, civilizing impulses direct nation-building. Exploring films like Open Range (2003), Yahşi Batı (2010), The Keeping Room (2015), Little Woods (2018), and First Cow (2019), as well as television series like Justified (2010-1015), Longmire (2012-2017), Westworld (2016-2022), and Yellowstone (2020 -), this thought-provoking collection examines re-constituted masculinities, feminine re-fashioning and new directions in Western filmmaking. Covering a wide range of aesthetic and thematic concerns, Return of the Western: Refracting Genre, Representing Gender in the Twenty-First Century reminds us how deeply this versatile genre is grounded in the American psyche.
