Popular culture Books

Book SynopsisWhat attracts girls to male-dominated youth subcultures like the punk movement? How do girls reconcile a subcultural identity that is deliberately coded masculine with the demands of femininity? This work is an insider's view of the ways punk girls resist gender roles and create strong identities.Trade ReviewIn this original work, LeBlanc explores how punk girls negotiate and resist hegemonic notions of femininity in the predominantly masculine punk subculture. She asks: What influences some teenage girls to become involved in the punk subculture? How do punk girls negotiate female gender norms within a masculine subculture? . . . LeBlanc's work is engaging. By combining a critical feminist perspective, sound qualitative methodology, and delightfully non-academic prose, she has written a book that is both informative and a pleasure to read. Her work should be appreciated by those who study genders, subcultures, identities, and deviance. * Ideology and Cultural Production *[LeBlanc] draws on her insider experiences and insights and on the field research and interviews she carried out with 40 self-identified punk girls in her travels to New Orleans, Atlanta, MontrTal and San Francisco. . . . As an æethnography of gender resistanceÆ and inside look at punk subculture, this very impressive study is of theoretical interest to sociologists, cultural researchers and feminist theorists while also sufficiently fascinating and accessible to appeal to a more general audience. * Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association *The author's first-person accounts of her life as a punk girl are particularly effective at bringing her analysis of punk girls to life. . . . Original and very insightful. -- Kathleen Blee * professor of sociology and director of women's studies University of Pittsburgh *Pretty in Punk is cutting-edge feminist and cultural studies research. . . . .The stories [Leblanc] relates offer inspirational evidence of rebellion against stereotypical gender arrangementsùof girls empowering themselves in unique ways. -- Wendy Simonds * author of Abortion at Work: Ideology and Practice in a Feminist Clinic and Women *The girls and women that Leblanc portrays in Pretty in Punk are very nearly as original, spirited, and delightful as Leblanc's prose itself. . . . A happy conjunction of author, topic, and methodology. -- Carol Brooks Gardner * professor of sociology and women's studies, Indiana University, Indianapolis *In this original work, LeBlanc explores how punk girls negotiate and resist hegemonic notions of femininity in the predominantly masculine punk subculture. She asks: What influences some teenage girls to become involved in the punk subculture? How do punk girls negotiate female gender norms within a masculine subculture? . . . LeBlanc's work is engaging. By combining a critical feminist perspective, sound qualitative methodology, and delightfully non-academic prose, she has written a book that is both informative and a pleasure to read. Her work should be appreciated by those who study genders, subcultures, identities, and deviance. * Ideology and Cultural Production *[LeBlanc] draws on her insider experiences and insights and on the field research and interviews she carried out with 40 self-identified punk girls in her travels to New Orleans, Atlanta, MontrTal and San Francisco. . . . As an æethnography of gender resistanceÆ and inside look at punk subculture, this very impressive study is of theoretical interest to sociologists, cultural researchers and feminist theorists while also sufficiently fascinating and accessible to appeal to a more general audience. * Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association *The author's first-person accounts of her life as a punk girl are particularly effective at bringing her analysis of punk girls to life. . . . Original and very insightful. -- Kathleen Blee * professor of sociology and director of women's studies University of Pittsburgh *Pretty in Punk is cutting-edge feminist and cultural studies research. . . . .The stories [Leblanc] relates offer inspirational evidence of rebellion against stereotypical gender arrangementsùof girls empowering themselves in unique ways. -- Wendy Simonds * author of Abortion at Work: Ideology and Practice in a Feminist Clinic and Women *The girls and women that Leblanc portrays in Pretty in Punk are very nearly as original, spirited, and delightful as Leblanc's prose itself. . . . A happy conjunction of author, topic, and methodology. -- Carol Brooks Gardner * professor of sociology and women's studies, Indiana University, Indianapolis *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations and Table Acknowledgments "Not My Alma Mater": A Vitriolic Prologue 1. "The Punk Girl Thing": Introductions 2. "Punk's Not Dead--It Just Smells That Way": Punk to Hardcore, with Girls on the Side 3. "I Grew Up and I Was a Punk": Subcultural Stories 4. "The Punk Guys Will Really Overpower What the Punk Girls Have to Say": The Boys' Turf 5. "I'll Slap on My Lipstick and Then Kick Their Ass": Constructing Femininity 6. "Oh, I Hope I Don't Catch Anything": Punk Deviance and Public Harassment 7. "I Bet a Steel-Capped Boot Could Shut You Up": Resistance to Public Sexual Harassment 8. "Girls Kick Ass": Nonacademic Conclusions Appendix A: Punk Glossary Appendix B: Punk Girl Biographies Appendix C: Interview Guide and Statement of Purpose Notes Works Cited Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisExplores the process of tribal self-definition. Focusing on architectural and interior designs, as well as performance styles, this book reveals how a complex and often surprising cultural dynamic is created when Native Americans create lavish displays for the public's participation and consumption.Trade ReviewPublic Native America is a rich, thoughtful, and compelling book [that] joins a growing body of interdisciplinary, theoretically informed work to make sense of how and why Indians and Indian tribes labor to affect how they are acknowledged and understood in a variety of ways and with myriad outcomes in mind. * Cultural Critique *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Identity in Mashantucket 2. Displaying Loss at Navajoland 3. Wind River Lessons 4. Keeping History at Acoma Pueblo 5. Indigenous Internationalism: Native Rights and the United Nations Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Wosk presents a riveting portrait of simulated women, female robots, and robot technology in media and art from ancient generations to modern-day creations. The author provides insight about generational interpretation of the 'perfect woman' and the depiction of simulated women to reconcile societal fears of changing gender roles and emerging technologies." * Library Journal *"An engaging historical account of female automata....Wosk’s innovative and readable approach to gender and technology issues in history might make her book a provocative supplementary text for courses that address gender and sexuality in a technological and scientific context." * IEEE Technology and Society Magazine *"This is the 'cyborg manifesto' for technology, gender, and art in the twenty-first century. The search for the 'perfect woman' in film, art, photography, and technology collides with the reality of the complex and imperfect that is the essential human experience." -- Arthur Kroker * author of Exits to the Posthuman Future *"The clarity and the engaging style of Wosk's descriptions—not to mention the images included in the book—make of My Fair Ladies a veritable trove of resources for teachers and students of gender, culture, and the media, particularly in introductory level courses. Besides making explicit the intimate connection between patriarchal ideals of femininity and Western ideas about technology, Wosk's carefully selected examples track how adaptations of the Pygmalion myth evolved alongside social and technological changes ... Wosk's singular perspective as an art historian, and importantly, as an artist, stands out for its freshness and originality." * Feminist Media Studies *"Wosk's elucidation of the play of paradox in discussions of real and artificial women is at its best when it forces readers to reconsider their own assumptions about the value of authenticity and the function of artifice." * Women's Review of Books *"The central success of this study... has to do with the truly remarkable and diverse range of material to which Wosk’s interpretation is brought. Indeed, the range is so broad as to render any review paltry in its attempt at coverage. In terms of both material culture and the arts, My Fair Ladies shows an impressive grasp of the history of the “artificial woman...” The scope of Wosk’s knowledge of films, mannequins, and other cultural objects and texts is impressive, as is the discussion of the technical side of these various figures" -- Jason Haslam, Professor at Dalhousie University * American Literary History *"Why are automatons so attractive? And just what is this 'perfect woman' anyway? Rounding up a veritable sorority of artificial Eves, Julie Wosk delves into the issues in her latest book My Fair Ladies, casting an analytical eye over female depictions, both physical and fictitious, to explore the history and the future of Woman 2.0." Read the full article "Living dolls: sci-fi’s fascination with artificial women" at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/13/living-dolls-artificial-women-robots -- Nicola Davis * The Guardian *"From Ovid's Metamorphoses to The Stepford Wives, from Enlightenment automata to 21st century robotics, Julie Wosk takes us on an amazing tour of ideas about technology, about human perfection and about gender.""This is the 'cyborg manifesto' for technology, gender, and art in the twenty-first century. The search for the 'perfect woman' in film, art, photography, and technology collides with the reality of the complex and imperfect that is the essential human experience." -- Arthur Kroker * author of Exits to the Posthuman Future *"Wide-ranging, lively, and thoroughly researched, Julie Wosk’s book expertly guides us through the cultural meanings of artificial females in myth, literature, movies, television, art, and photography, among other fields.""An engaging historical account of female automata....Wosk’s innovative and readable approach to gender and technology issues in history might make her book a provocative supplementary text for courses that address gender and sexuality in a technological and scientific context." * IEEE Technology and Society Magazine *"Wosk presents a riveting portrait of simulated women, female robots, and robot technology in media and art from ancient generations to modern-day creations. The author provides insight about generational interpretation of the 'perfect woman' and the depiction of simulated women to reconcile societal fears of changing gender roles and emerging technologies." * Library Journal *"The clarity and the engaging style of Wosk's descriptions—not to mention the images included in the book—make of My Fair Ladies a veritable trove of resources for teachers and students of gender, culture, and the media, particularly in introductory level courses. Besides making explicit the intimate connection between patriarchal ideals of femininity and Western ideas about technology, Wosk's carefully selected examples track how adaptations of the Pygmalion myth evolved alongside social and technological changes ... Wosk's singular perspective as an art historian, and importantly, as an artist, stands out for its freshness and originality." * Feminist Media Studies *"Wosk's elucidation of the play of paradox in discussions of real and artificial women is at its best when it forces readers to reconsider their own assumptions about the value of authenticity and the function of artifice." * Women's Review of Books *"The central success of this study... has to do with the truly remarkable and diverse range of material to which Wosk’s interpretation is brought. Indeed, the range is so broad as to render any review paltry in its attempt at coverage. In terms of both material culture and the arts, My Fair Ladies shows an impressive grasp of the history of the “artificial woman...” The scope of Wosk’s knowledge of films, mannequins, and other cultural objects and texts is impressive, as is the discussion of the technical side of these various figures" -- Jason Haslam, Professor at Dalhousie University * American Literary History *"Why are automatons so attractive? And just what is this 'perfect woman' anyway? Rounding up a veritable sorority of artificial Eves, Julie Wosk delves into the issues in her latest book My Fair Ladies, casting an analytical eye over female depictions, both physical and fictitious, to explore the history and the future of Woman 2.0." Read the full article "Living dolls: sci-fi’s fascination with artificial women" at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/13/living-dolls-artificial-women-robots -- Nicola Davis * The Guardian *Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Simulated Women and the Pygmalion Myth2 Mechanical Galateas: Female Automatons and Dolls3 Mannequins, Masks, Monsters, and Dolls: Film and Art in the 1920s and 1930s4 Simulated Women in Television and Films 1940s and After5 Engineering the Perfect Woman6 Dancing with Robots and Women in Robotics Design7 The Woman Artist as PygmalionNotesIndex 

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Wosk presents a riveting portrait of simulated women, female robots, and robot technology in media and art from ancient generations to modern-day creations. The author provides insight about generational interpretation of the 'perfect woman' and the depiction of simulated women to reconcile societal fears of changing gender roles and emerging technologies." * Library Journal *"An engaging historical account of female automata....Wosk’s innovative and readable approach to gender and technology issues in history might make her book a provocative supplementary text for courses that address gender and sexuality in a technological and scientific context." * IEEE Technology and Society Magazine *"This is the 'cyborg manifesto' for technology, gender, and art in the twenty-first century. The search for the 'perfect woman' in film, art, photography, and technology collides with the reality of the complex and imperfect that is the essential human experience." -- Arthur Kroker * author of Exits to the Posthuman Future *"The clarity and the engaging style of Wosk's descriptions—not to mention the images included in the book—make of My Fair Ladies a veritable trove of resources for teachers and students of gender, culture, and the media, particularly in introductory level courses. Besides making explicit the intimate connection between patriarchal ideals of femininity and Western ideas about technology, Wosk's carefully selected examples track how adaptations of the Pygmalion myth evolved alongside social and technological changes ... Wosk's singular perspective as an art historian, and importantly, as an artist, stands out for its freshness and originality." * Feminist Media Studies *"Wosk's elucidation of the play of paradox in discussions of real and artificial women is at its best when it forces readers to reconsider their own assumptions about the value of authenticity and the function of artifice." * Women's Review of Books *"The central success of this study... has to do with the truly remarkable and diverse range of material to which Wosk’s interpretation is brought. Indeed, the range is so broad as to render any review paltry in its attempt at coverage. In terms of both material culture and the arts, My Fair Ladies shows an impressive grasp of the history of the “artificial woman...” The scope of Wosk’s knowledge of films, mannequins, and other cultural objects and texts is impressive, as is the discussion of the technical side of these various figures" -- Jason Haslam, Professor at Dalhousie University * American Literary History *"Why are automatons so attractive? And just what is this 'perfect woman' anyway? Rounding up a veritable sorority of artificial Eves, Julie Wosk delves into the issues in her latest book My Fair Ladies, casting an analytical eye over female depictions, both physical and fictitious, to explore the history and the future of Woman 2.0." Read the full article "Living dolls: sci-fi’s fascination with artificial women" at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/13/living-dolls-artificial-women-robots -- Nicola Davis * The Guardian *"From Ovid's Metamorphoses to The Stepford Wives, from Enlightenment automata to 21st century robotics, Julie Wosk takes us on an amazing tour of ideas about technology, about human perfection and about gender.""This is the 'cyborg manifesto' for technology, gender, and art in the twenty-first century. The search for the 'perfect woman' in film, art, photography, and technology collides with the reality of the complex and imperfect that is the essential human experience." -- Arthur Kroker * author of Exits to the Posthuman Future *"Wide-ranging, lively, and thoroughly researched, Julie Wosk’s book expertly guides us through the cultural meanings of artificial females in myth, literature, movies, television, art, and photography, among other fields.""An engaging historical account of female automata....Wosk’s innovative and readable approach to gender and technology issues in history might make her book a provocative supplementary text for courses that address gender and sexuality in a technological and scientific context." * IEEE Technology and Society Magazine *"Wosk presents a riveting portrait of simulated women, female robots, and robot technology in media and art from ancient generations to modern-day creations. The author provides insight about generational interpretation of the 'perfect woman' and the depiction of simulated women to reconcile societal fears of changing gender roles and emerging technologies." * Library Journal *"The clarity and the engaging style of Wosk's descriptions—not to mention the images included in the book—make of My Fair Ladies a veritable trove of resources for teachers and students of gender, culture, and the media, particularly in introductory level courses. Besides making explicit the intimate connection between patriarchal ideals of femininity and Western ideas about technology, Wosk's carefully selected examples track how adaptations of the Pygmalion myth evolved alongside social and technological changes ... Wosk's singular perspective as an art historian, and importantly, as an artist, stands out for its freshness and originality." * Feminist Media Studies *"Wosk's elucidation of the play of paradox in discussions of real and artificial women is at its best when it forces readers to reconsider their own assumptions about the value of authenticity and the function of artifice." * Women's Review of Books *"The central success of this study... has to do with the truly remarkable and diverse range of material to which Wosk’s interpretation is brought. Indeed, the range is so broad as to render any review paltry in its attempt at coverage. In terms of both material culture and the arts, My Fair Ladies shows an impressive grasp of the history of the “artificial woman...” The scope of Wosk’s knowledge of films, mannequins, and other cultural objects and texts is impressive, as is the discussion of the technical side of these various figures" -- Jason Haslam, Professor at Dalhousie University * American Literary History *"Why are automatons so attractive? And just what is this 'perfect woman' anyway? Rounding up a veritable sorority of artificial Eves, Julie Wosk delves into the issues in her latest book My Fair Ladies, casting an analytical eye over female depictions, both physical and fictitious, to explore the history and the future of Woman 2.0." Read the full article "Living dolls: sci-fi’s fascination with artificial women" at: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/13/living-dolls-artificial-women-robots -- Nicola Davis * The Guardian *Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Simulated Women and the Pygmalion Myth2 Mechanical Galateas: Female Automatons and Dolls3 Mannequins, Masks, Monsters, and Dolls: Film and Art in the 1920s and 1930s4 Simulated Women in Television and Films 1940s and After5 Engineering the Perfect Woman6 Dancing with Robots and Women in Robotics Design7 The Woman Artist as PygmalionNotesIndex 

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Steinberg explains in her informative Jewish Mad Men, an anti-Semitic climate existed in the advertising business even into the early 1960s. Jewish 'Mad Men' wrestled their way into mainstream firms, too, and became influential in imagining and promoting the American Dream and the Jewish American version. Although there was plenty of anti-Semitism in the so-called 'white shoe' ad world, this book is about the complexity of being Jewish and American in a field whose ultimate goal is to influence Americans’ daily behavior. Steinberg effectively shows that when Jews became a consumer market, the advertising business realized it had to cater to them, forcing the creative demographic to change as well. Today’s Madison Avenue is a mixed marriage, so that national ads do not focus on too many ethnic or religious distinctions. While that’s great, it has rendered the brilliant, ethnically rooted ads, like Levy’s, harder if not impossible to find." -- Steven Heller * Haaretz *"Even without the priming from popular culture, Steinberg's case for the importance of advertising as an indicator and shaper of the American Jewish experience is strong." * AJS Review *"This book should appeal to readers interested in learning about advertising and Jewish life in the US." * CHOICE *"Both provocative and entertaining, Jewish Mad Men is an insightful look into advertising and American Jewish life." -- Carol Leifer * writer on Seinfeld, author of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying *"You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate this richly detailed account of the marketing and advertising of Jewish life. Steinberg documents how religious, cultural, and communal concerns all take shape in conversation with the commercial marketplace." -- Ari Y. Kelman * author of Station Identification: A Cultural History of Yiddish Radio *"How A Corporation Convinced American Jews To Reach For Crisco," interview with Kerri P. Steinberg * NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday" *Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 A Portrait of American Jewish Life2 The Spaces and Places of Jewish Advertising: Joseph Jacobs and Market Segmentation3 Manischewitz and Maxwell House: The M&M of Jewish Advertising4 You Say You Want a Revolution: The Mainstreaming of Jewish Identity in American Advertising5 Matchmaker, Matchmaker: JDating in the Digital AgeConclusion: More than a MirrorNotesBibliographyIndexColor plates between pages 00 and 00

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn On Racial Icons, Nicole R. Fleetwood focuses a sustained look on photography in documenting black public life, exploring the ways in which iconic images function as celebrations of national and racial progress at times or as a gauge of collective racial wounds in moments of crisis. Trade Review"Nicole Fleetwood’s astute study makes transparent the power of images and strengthens our understanding as to how significant black figures transformed our imaginary as a fixed construction based on media perceptions. An impressive read!" -- Deborah Willis * New York University *Nicole R. Fleetwood calls her latest book "an act of love." But readers may end up referring to it as tough love as Fleetwoodoffers a searing investigation into America's fixation on black images from President Obama to a living legend of tennis, Serena Williams. With the author's definition of 'racial icons' as "an idolized image or figure, that is simultaneously shrouded in the legacies of U.S. racism and its devaluing of black life," the book aims to unpack the multiple implications of black images both seen and unseen. < Read the nterview at: http://huff.to/1hvYVwM > -- Peter 'Souleo' Wright * Huffington Post *"With On Racial Icons: Blackness and the Public Imagination, Nicole Fleetwood examines the emotional work and cultural meanings of black icons especially the place of veneration, condescension, celebrity, and commodification in the production of photographic images of Barack Obama, Diana Ross, Trayvon Martin, Serena Williams, and LeBron James. Accessible and concise, yet sensitive and insightful, Fleetwood invites us to dwell in the spaces where black iconic images circulate, to feel the hopes they gather, to understand the conflicts they engender, and above all to appreciate the implications they suggest for how we see ourselves." -- Herman Gray * University of California, Santa Cruz *“An innovative and dynamic study of blackness, iconicity, and visual culture. It is the conceptual arc of the book –an accruing examination of the meanings of the racial icon—that makes this study so effective. Fleetwood’s focus of visual culture as public culture makes On Racial Icons an extraordinary resource for the interdisciplinary teaching and study of African American studies, American studies, visual culture studies, and media studies.” * ALH Review *Nicole R. Fleetwood calls her latest book "an act of love." But readers may end up referring to it as tough love as Fleetwoodoffers a searing investigation into America's fixation on black images from President Obama to a living legend of tennis, Serena Williams. With the author's definition of 'racial icons' as "an idolized image or figure, that is simultaneously shrouded in the legacies of U.S. racism and its devaluing of black life," the book aims to unpack the multiple implications of black images both seen and unseen. < Read the nterview at: http://huff.to/1hvYVwM > -- Peter 'Souleo' Wright * Huffington Post *"Nicole Fleetwood’s astute study makes transparent the power of images and strengthens our understanding as to how significant black figures transformed our imaginary as a fixed construction based on media perceptions. An impressive read!" -- Deborah Willis * New York University *"With On Racial Icons: Blackness and the Public Imagination, Nicole Fleetwood examines the emotional work and cultural meanings of black icons especially the place of veneration, condescension, celebrity, and commodification in the production of photographic images of Barack Obama, Diana Ross, Trayvon Martin, Serena Williams, and LeBron James. Accessible and concise, yet sensitive and insightful, Fleetwood invites us to dwell in the spaces where black iconic images circulate, to feel the hopes they gather, to understand the conflicts they engender, and above all to appreciate the implications they suggest for how we see ourselves." -- Herman Gray * University of California, Santa Cruz *An innovative and dynamic study of blackness, iconicity, and visual culture. It is the conceptual arc of the book –an accruing examination of the meanings of the racial icon—that makes this study so effective. Fleetwood’s focus of visual culture as public culture makes On Racial Icons an extraordinary resource for the interdisciplinary teaching and study of African American studies, American studies, visual culture studies, and media studies. * ALH Review *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: “I Am Trayvon Martin”: The Boy who Became an Icon Chapter Two: Democracy’s Promise: The Black Political Leader as Icon Chapter Three: Giving Face: Diana Ross and the Black Celebrity as Icon Chapter Four: The Black Athlete: Racial Precarity and the American Sports Icon Coda Index About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisProvides a more complete history of the zombie than has ever been told, explaining how the myth's migration to the New World was facilitated by the transatlantic slave trade, and reveals the real-world import of storytelling, reminding us of the power of myths and mythmaking, and the high stakes of appropriation and homage.Trade Review"Simply put, this is a tremendous—even epic—study of the zombie in a range of literary, cinematic, political, and popular contexts. A groundbreaking work!" -- Aviva Briefel * Bowdoin College *"This meticulously researched and exhaustive study is an invaluable offering to both Haitian and humanist scholarship. The historical depth and cultural breadth call attention to the zombie's impact as real social phenomenon and as provocative metaphor for the human condition." -- Kaiama L. Glover * author of Haiti Unbound: A Spiralist Challenge to the Postcolonial Canon *Table of ContentsContentsAcknowledgmentsA Note on OrthographyIntroduction: Zombie Dialectics1 Slavery and Slave Rebellion: The (Pre)History of the Zombi/e2 “American” Zombies: Love and Theft on the Silver Screen3 Haitian Zombis: Symbolic Revolutions, Metaphoric Conquests, and the Mythic Occupation of History4 Textual Zombies in the Visual ArtsEpilogue: The Occupation of MetaphorFilmographyNotesBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Trade Review"Like the comics selected for analysis, this collection of essays works to expand our understanding of the mediums of Blackness and comics. Through observant and meticulous close readings of comic books, newspaper comic strips, digital comics, and graphic novels, alongside the respective sociohistorical and cultural contexts of their production, dissemination, and consumption, the contributors shed light on overlooked and perhaps unknown cartoonists and stories from the past, provide new insight on well-known comics and histories, and challenge our understanding of what constitutes black comics." * Cinema Journal *"A fascinating look at the growing complexity and diversity in representations of Blackness in comics, graphic novels and sequential art." -- Bambi Haggins * author of Laughing Mad: The Black Comic Persona in Post-Soul America *"An essential guide for anyone interested in the intersections between race and comics, this volume is full of startling and original insights about the creators, comics, and graphic novels that represent people of African descent from the 1930s to the present." -- Jonathan W. Gray * author of Civil Rights in the White Literary Imagination *"This volume provides what has been lacking in some previous work—variety of content, precision of approach and execution, and depth of analyses … The Blacker the Ink advances the study of black comics significantly by offering new insights and a wealth of information free of gobbledygook ... Highly recommended." * Choice *"An important collection for academics and fan communities as we continue to expand scholarship on Black comics, their histories and their creators." * Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics *"The Blacker the Ink features an emerging methodology that may be characteristic of, and useful for, the continued development of black comics studies." * Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Sweeter the Christmas Panel I: Black Is a Dangerous Color 1 "No Sweat!:” EC Comics, Cold War Censorship, and the Troublesome Colors of “Judgment Day!” 2 Sex in Yop City: Ivorian Femininity and Masculinity in Abouet and Oubrerie’s Aya 3 A Postcolony in Pieces: Black Faces, White Masks and Queer Potentials in Unknown Soldier Panel II: Black in Black and White and Color 4 Fashion in the Funny Papers: Cartoonist Jackie Ormes’s American Look 5 Graphic Remix: The Lateral Appropriation of Black Nationalism in Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks Panel III: Black Tights 6 American Truths: Blackness and the American Superhero 7 Drawn into Dialogue: Comic Book Culture and the Scene of Controversy in Milestone Media’s Icon 8 Critical Afrofuturism: A Case Study in Visual Rhetoric, Sequential Art, and Post-Apocalyptic Black Identity 9 Bare Chests, Silver Tiaras and Removable Afros: The Visual Design of Black Comic Book Superheroes Panel IV: Graphic Blackness 10 Daddy Cool: Donald Goines’s “Visual Novel” 11 The Blues Tragicomic: Constructing the Black Folk Subject in Stagger Lee 12 Provocation Through Polyphony: Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner 13 Performance Geography: Making Space in Jeremy Love’s Bayou, Volume 1 14 A Secret History of Miscegenation: Jimmy Corrigan and the Columbian Exposition of 1893 15 It’s a Hero?: Black Comics and Satirizing Subjection Notes on ContributorsIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Fresh ideas, fresh arguments, and a good feel for the 1950s—Stanfield has it all. This book is one of a kind." -- Wheeler Winston Dixon * University of Nebraska-Lincoln *"This dazzling archaeology of cycles and genres in postwar cinema goes deep into cultural history, then pulls back to reveal patterns and movements unseen until Stanfield saw them. Highly recommended." -- Will Straw * McGill University *"The Cool and the Crazy is a breath of fresh air in that it takes a new look at film cycles that have been written about on multiple occasions—1950s B motion pictures—studying them from topical, social, and production-level perspectives ... This is indeed the 'jazzy, accessible' read it claims to be. Highly recommended." * CHOICE *"One of the strengths of Stanfield's work is his willingness to resist easy and superficially satisfying answers in favour of demonstrating the imprecise and often awkward ways in which cinema relates to public debates and social trends." * Journal of American Studies *"Uptight yet simmering below the surface, the fifties were a great decade for style and culture. Peter Stanfield’s The Cool and the Crazy explores the pulpy cinema of the era with aplomb." * Campus Circle *"Fresh ideas, fresh arguments, and a good feel for the 1950s—Stanfield has it all. This book is one of a kind." -- Wheeler Winston Dixon * University of Nebraska-Lincoln *"This dazzling archaeology of cycles and genres in postwar cinema goes deep into cultural history, then pulls back to reveal patterns and movements unseen until Stanfield saw them. Highly recommended." -- Will Straw * McGill University *"The Cool and the Crazy is a breath of fresh air in that it takes a new look at film cycles that have been written about on multiple occasions—1950s B motion pictures—studying them from topical, social, and production-level perspectives ... This is indeed the 'jazzy, accessible' read it claims to be. Highly recommended." * CHOICE *"One of the strengths of Stanfield's work is his willingness to resist easy and superficially satisfying answers in favour of demonstrating the imprecise and often awkward ways in which cinema relates to public debates and social trends." * Journal of American Studies *"Uptight yet simmering below the surface, the fifties were a great decade for style and culture. Peter Stanfield’s The Cool and the Crazy explores the pulpy cinema of the era with aplomb." * Campus Circle *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Monarchs for the Masses: Boxing Films2 War Fever: Korea—Timely! Powerful! Exploitable!3 Got-to-See: Teenpix and the Social Problem Picture4 Teenpic Jukebox: Jazz, Calypso, Beatniks, and Rock ’n’ Roll5 Intent to Speed: Hot Rod Movies6 Punks! JD Gangsters7 Dude Ranch Duds: Cowboy CostumeConclusionNotesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisWomen's history has a long, colourful history, one that's intimately entwined with the development of American advertising and consumer culture. Selling Women's History reveals how, from the 1900s to the 1970s, popular culture helped teach Americans about the accomplishments of their foremothers, promoting an awareness of women's wide-ranging capabilities.Trade Review"Before Women's History became an academically recognized pursuit, it developed in the marketplace. Westkaemper presents a fascinating and trenchant account of how women toiled across multiple popular sites to make history." -- Nan Enstad * Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, Madison *"Westkaemper argues convincingly that the very assertion that women had a history was a feminist message, and that public history could build feminist community. This book is a valuable and beautifully researched addition to an underwritten period in U.S. women’s history." -- Mary Trigg * author of Feminism as Life's Work: Four Modern American Women through Two World Wars *“Highly original and beautifully written and researched… Effectively put[s] to bed tired assumptions about the commercialization of politics and the apolitical nature of consumer culture in modern America.” * Enterprise & Society *"Selling Women’s History is dense with information, skillfully weaving together the influence of adwomen, the emergence of the female consumer and the rise of feminism into this diverse collection of women’s historical legacy." * Communication Arts Magazine *"[Westkaemper's] extensive research and creative attention to marginalized spheres effectively shape our understanding of the development of U.S. women’s history as a field of inquiry and of the intersections of popular culture and feminism across time, as well as of histories of women, feminism, and cultural production." * The American Historian *"The book’s real strength lies in its accounts of the commodification of women’s history for various purposes, feminist or not....Westkaemper’s book is best understood as a work of media history focused on how historical appeals were deployed to inspire gender consciousness—women’s sense of themselves as a group sharing social and political interests—among media producers and consumers." * American Historical Review *"Through this considerably detailed look into the parallels between women’s social roles and the changes in mass media, Westkaemper paints a sweeping picture of feminism through history and how the fight for equality is undeniably linked with changes in communication tactics. This book is informative, but in-depth, and would be useful for scholars already familiar with mass communication history. From there, scholars can jump into Westkaemper’s writing as a building block to preliminary media knowledge." * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *"Deeply informed in foundational scholarship on consumer culture." * Journal of American History *"Westkaemper compellingly demonstrates 'the variety of twentieth-century feminism” that traffics through mass media, with feminism here defined by “the shared logic that women’s history merits documenting.'" * American Literary History *"The strengths are in the use of a wide range of archival material including letters, business documents, scrapbooks, cartoons, and photographs....A researcher studying women’s roles in media and business, especially before and after World War II, would do well to consult this list, the careful notes, and the excellent index." * American Literature *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1Martha Washington (Would Have) Shopped Here: Women’s History in Magazines and Ephemera, 1910–1935 2“The Quaker Girl Turns Modern”: How Adwomen Promoted History, 1910–1940 3Broadcasting Yesteryear: Women’s History on Commercial Radio, 1930–1945 4Gallant American Women: Feminist Historians and the Mass Media, 1935–1950 5“Betsy Ross Red” Lipstick: 1940s Products as Inspirations and Artifacts 6“You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby”: Women’s History in Consumer Culture from World War II to Women’s Liberation Epilogue NotesIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisWomen's history has a long, colourful history, one that's intimately entwined with the development of American advertising and consumer culture. Selling Women's History reveals how, from the 1900s to the 1970s, popular culture helped teach Americans about the accomplishments of their foremothers, promoting an awareness of women's wide-ranging capabilities.Trade Review"Before Women's History became an academically recognized pursuit, it developed in the marketplace. Westkaemper presents a fascinating and trenchant account of how women toiled across multiple popular sites to make history." -- Nan Enstad * Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, Madison *"Westkaemper argues convincingly that the very assertion that women had a history was a feminist message, and that public history could build feminist community. This book is a valuable and beautifully researched addition to an underwritten period in U.S. women’s history." -- Mary Trigg * author of Feminism as Life's Work: Four Modern American Women through Two World Wars *“Highly original and beautifully written and researched… Effectively put[s] to bed tired assumptions about the commercialization of politics and the apolitical nature of consumer culture in modern America.” * Enterprise & Society *"Selling Women’s History is dense with information, skillfully weaving together the influence of adwomen, the emergence of the female consumer and the rise of feminism into this diverse collection of women’s historical legacy." * Communication Arts Magazine *"[Westkaemper's] extensive research and creative attention to marginalized spheres effectively shape our understanding of the development of U.S. women’s history as a field of inquiry and of the intersections of popular culture and feminism across time, as well as of histories of women, feminism, and cultural production." * The American Historian *"The book’s real strength lies in its accounts of the commodification of women’s history for various purposes, feminist or not....Westkaemper’s book is best understood as a work of media history focused on how historical appeals were deployed to inspire gender consciousness—women’s sense of themselves as a group sharing social and political interests—among media producers and consumers." * American Historical Review *"Through this considerably detailed look into the parallels between women’s social roles and the changes in mass media, Westkaemper paints a sweeping picture of feminism through history and how the fight for equality is undeniably linked with changes in communication tactics. This book is informative, but in-depth, and would be useful for scholars already familiar with mass communication history. From there, scholars can jump into Westkaemper’s writing as a building block to preliminary media knowledge." * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *"Deeply informed in foundational scholarship on consumer culture." * Journal of American History *"Westkaemper compellingly demonstrates 'the variety of twentieth-century feminism” that traffics through mass media, with feminism here defined by “the shared logic that women’s history merits documenting.'" * American Literary History *"The strengths are in the use of a wide range of archival material including letters, business documents, scrapbooks, cartoons, and photographs....A researcher studying women’s roles in media and business, especially before and after World War II, would do well to consult this list, the careful notes, and the excellent index." * American Literature *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1Martha Washington (Would Have) Shopped Here: Women’s History in Magazines and Ephemera, 1910–1935 2“The Quaker Girl Turns Modern”: How Adwomen Promoted History, 1910–1940 3Broadcasting Yesteryear: Women’s History on Commercial Radio, 1930–1945 4Gallant American Women: Feminist Historians and the Mass Media, 1935–1950 5“Betsy Ross Red” Lipstick: 1940s Products as Inspirations and Artifacts 6“You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby”: Women’s History in Consumer Culture from World War II to Women’s Liberation Epilogue NotesIndex

Read more less

Book Synopsis Tracking the revitalization of the British horror film industry over the past two decades, Steven Gerrard examines the genre’s highlights, including The Descent, Outpost, and The Woman in Black, while provocatively exploring how these films reflect viewers’ gravest fears about the state of the nation. Trade Review"Steven Gerrard clearly knows his subject well and does a very good job of linking the cycles he identifies (hoodie horror, outdoors horror, and the monster within) to the contemporary British social and political context." -- Barry Keith Grant * editor of The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film *"Gerrard's exemplary study shows how recent British horror films have revitalised the genre, building on the gothic traditions of Hammer to produce a cinema that reflects the anxieties of today." -- Robert Shail * author of Seventies British Cinema *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 1 The Hooded Terror 27 2 The Great Outdoors 63 3 The Dead Inside, the Dead Outside, the Stranger Within 105 Conclusion 146 Acknowledgments 155 Further Reading 157 Works Cited 159 Magazines, Films, TV Series 165 Index 171

Read more less

Book Synopsis Tracking the revitalization of the British horror film industry over the past two decades, Steven Gerrard examines the genre’s highlights, including The Descent, Outpost, and The Woman in Black, while provocatively exploring how these films reflect viewers’ gravest fears about the state of the nation. Trade Review"Steven Gerrard clearly knows his subject well and does a very good job of linking the cycles he identifies (hoodie horror, outdoors horror, and the monster within) to the contemporary British social and political context." -- Barry Keith Grant * editor of The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film *"Gerrard's exemplary study shows how recent British horror films have revitalised the genre, building on the gothic traditions of Hammer to produce a cinema that reflects the anxieties of today." -- Robert Shail * author of Seventies British Cinema *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 1 The Hooded Terror 27 2 The Great Outdoors 63 3 The Dead Inside, the Dead Outside, the Stranger Within 105 Conclusion 146 Acknowledgments 155 Further Reading 157 Works Cited 159 Magazines, Films, TV Series 165 Index 171

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen has been widely hailed as a landmark in the development of the graphic novel. Demonstrating a keen eye for historical detail, Considering Watchmen gives readers a new appreciation of just how radical Moore and Gibbons's blend of gritty realism and formal experimentation was back in 1986.Trade Review"In his erudite and fascinating study, Hoberek reveals how Watchmen, that singularity at the heart of the comic canon, rewrote our literary categories and why its disturbing visions of Apocalyptic American Superpowers continue to haunt readers decades after it first appeared." -- Junot Díaz * author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao *"Assiduously researched and carefully written...Considering Watchmen should be regarded as essential reading for any critic interested in the evolution of late twentieth-century print fiction." * Modern Language Studies *"Considering Watchmen is every conversation you’ve ever had about the legendary comic, straightened out and smartened up to the point that you rediscover its original force." -- J.D. Connor * Yale University *"Hoberek examines [Watchmen] from a variety of angles, crafting a well-written and well-argued series of interlocking theses. The focus on one work and dedication to formal discourse will appeal greatly to students of literature and philosophy as well as fans of serious deconstructions of popular culture." * Library Journal *"Hoberek offers a scholarly approach to Alan Moore and David Gibson's Watchmen as a graphic novel, looking at elements most are aware of on an almost subconscious level. The author focuses on how Watchmen reached iconic status and on how it can be used as a touchstone for applying techniques from cultural studies, art studies, and literary studies to the emergent genre of the graphic novel. Overall, Hoberek does an outstanding job of injecting these fields, in addition to economics and history, into this slim overview of Watchmen. Detailed endnotes and a useful bibliography are the icing on the cake. Recommended." * Choice *"Even a thoroughly lauded and canonized work like Watchmen rests on more or less untrampled snow, and setting foot on it takes considerable nerve. Andrew Hoberek is to be commended for taking on such a daunting task." * Cinema Journal *"This is a smart, authoritative, and nuanced book, operating at a highly sophisticated level while still remaining accessible to a wide range of readers—a true knockout punch." -- Jared Gardner * author of Projections: Comics and the History of 21st-century Storytelling *"Considering Watchmen takes its title seriously, presenting a thoughtful and multifaceted consideration of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ 12-iisue comic book series.” * American Literary History Online *“Considering Watchmen provides a series of excellent readings of its subject, a thoughtful contribution to the study of contemporary American fiction, and an admirable demonstration of the best of contemporary comics criticism.” * Postmodern Culture *“Hoberek’s book, for its wealth of fascinating details and compelling arguments alone, is a useful starting point for anyone interested in the work of Alan Moore and comic book studies. More interesting, I think, and one of its finest contributions to the study of comics and literature, is the refreshing methodology it offers, which sets the stage for a rigorous historicization of realism and its relations both to its own tradition and to genre fiction.” * Image TexT *“When Hoberek studies Watchmen, he does not rest in the praise of the author or in the eternal debate between the prestige category of ‘Graphic novel’ and the debased on of ‘Comic book’ ... Considering Watchmen bring[s] more perspectives to the work and thus seem[s] to confirm both the value of the originally published series and its existence as a postmodern text with multiple readings.” * The Comics Grid *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Is It Literature? Chapter One: Poetics Chapter Two: Property Chapter Three: Politics Coda: After Watchmen Notes Works Cited Index About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisComics expert Noah Berlatsky takes us on a wild ride through the Wonder Woman comics of the 1940s, vividly illustrating how William Marston's many quirks and contradictions, along with the odd disproportionate composition created by illustrator Harry Peter, produced a comic that was radically ahead of its time in terms of its bold presentation of female power and sexuality.Trade Review"In this smart and engaging book, Noah Berlatsky reveals how psychology, polyamory, bondage, feminism, and queer identities inspired comic books' most enduring superheroine. A fascinating read for anyone interested in comics, pop culture, or gender politics!" -- Julia Serano * Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity *"Berlatsky can always be counted on to show us new facets of what he examines, in fact, to show that the facets are part of a whole shape heretofore unperceived." -- Carla Speed McNeil * writer/artist of Finder *"Engaging and entertaining." -- Sean Kleefeld * FreakSugar *"Insightful...Berlatsky examines some of the most complex and controversial aspects of Wonder Woman. The analysis is solid, the research is thorough, and the conclusions are valid." * Publishers Weekly * "An engaging read from start to finish, and Berlatsky’s love of Golden Age Wonder Woman comics comes through on every page." * Comics Journal *"The research is astonishing. The dedication is breathtaking. And the fact that this would actually be usable as a college textbook in either a women’s literature, comic history, or even pop culture class is awesome." * Comic Booked.com *"[Berlatsky] reminds us of how Wonder Woman’s non-normative forms of sexuality and womanhood actually challenge sexism. " * Public Books *"Berlatsky, the editor of Hooded Utilitarian (a comics and culture site), has written a work filled with deep scholarly insights on the history and politics of Wonder Woman's creator, as well as a larger examination of the histories, lifestyles and personal ethos that gave rise to one of popular culture's most powerful figures." * Mic.com *"Noah Berlatsky took a deep dive into the marriage of psychology and artwork that is [William] Marston’s enduring pop culture impact." * New City Lit.com *"Berlatsky's accomplished analysis of [Wonder Woman]'s sexuality and narrative themes tell us much about Marston's philosophies." * Cinema Journal *"[Berlatsky] combs the verbal and visual texts to show how Marston and Peter conveyed their unique notions of liberation through bondage, submission, and the glorification of lesbian sexuality while simultaneously linking these ideas to feminism and freedom." * Gay & Lesbian Review *"Berlatsky does a dazzling and remarkably accessible reading of the 1940s Wonder Woman comics against some of the heavyweights of modern feminist theory—Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Shulamith Firestone, Julia Kristeva, Susan Brownmiller." -- Joan Hilty * Wellesley Centers for Women, Women's Review of Books *"Zounds! Who knew the wonders of Wonder Woman's sadomasochistic complexities? If you only know the TV show, get ready for the ropes and lassoes and chains of the 40's comics as examined by Noah Berlatsky. Be sure to buy the e-book to see the original images in glorious color!" -- Linda Williams * UC Berkeley *Author Noah Berlatsky published an article in The Verge directly connected to the topic of the book, entitled "The crucial thing the new Wonder Woman movie gets right about the character’s history." * The Verge *"Quick Takes, Movie Comics, Wonder Woman, Watchmen and Archie" by Boyce McClain * Collectors' Corner *"In this smart and engaging book, Noah Berlatsky reveals how psychology, polyamory, bondage, feminism, and queer identities inspired comic books' most enduring superheroine. A fascinating read for anyone interested in comics, pop culture, or gender politics!" -- Julia Serano * Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity *"Berlatsky can always be counted on to show us new facets of what he examines, in fact, to show that the facets are part of a whole shape heretofore unperceived." -- Carla Speed McNeil * writer/artist of Finder *"Engaging and entertaining." -- Sean Kleefeld * FreakSugar *"Insightful...Berlatsky examines some of the most complex and controversial aspects of Wonder Woman. The analysis is solid, the research is thorough, and the conclusions are valid." * Publishers Weekly * "An engaging read from start to finish, and Berlatsky’s love of Golden Age Wonder Woman comics comes through on every page." * Comics Journal *"The research is astonishing. The dedication is breathtaking. And the fact that this would actually be usable as a college textbook in either a women’s literature, comic history, or even pop culture class is awesome." * Comic Booked.com *"[Berlatsky] reminds us of how Wonder Woman’s non-normative forms of sexuality and womanhood actually challenge sexism. " * Public Books *"Berlatsky, the editor of Hooded Utilitarian (a comics and culture site), has written a work filled with deep scholarly insights on the history and politics of Wonder Woman's creator, as well as a larger examination of the histories, lifestyles and personal ethos that gave rise to one of popular culture's most powerful figures." * Mic.com *"Noah Berlatsky took a deep dive into the marriage of psychology and artwork that is [William] Marston’s enduring pop culture impact." * New City Lit.com *"Berlatsky's accomplished analysis of [Wonder Woman]'s sexuality and narrative themes tell us much about Marston's philosophies." * Cinema Journal *"[Berlatsky] combs the verbal and visual texts to show how Marston and Peter conveyed their unique notions of liberation through bondage, submission, and the glorification of lesbian sexuality while simultaneously linking these ideas to feminism and freedom." * Gay & Lesbian Review *"Berlatsky does a dazzling and remarkably accessible reading of the 1940s Wonder Woman comics against some of the heavyweights of modern feminist theory—Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Shulamith Firestone, Julia Kristeva, Susan Brownmiller." -- Joan Hilty * Wellesley Centers for Women, Women's Review of Books *"Zounds! Who knew the wonders of Wonder Woman's sadomasochistic complexities? If you only know the TV show, get ready for the ropes and lassoes and chains of the 40's comics as examined by Noah Berlatsky. Be sure to buy the e-book to see the original images in glorious color!" -- Linda Williams * UC Berkeley *Author Noah Berlatsky published an article in The Verge directly connected to the topic of the book, entitled "The crucial thing the new Wonder Woman movie gets right about the character’s history." * The Verge *"Quick Takes, Movie Comics, Wonder Woman, Watchmen and Archie" by Boyce McClain * Collectors' Corner *

Read more less

Book SynopsisComics expert Noah Berlatsky takes us on a wild ride through the Wonder Woman comics of the 1940s, vividly illustrating how William Marston's many quirks and contradictions, along with the odd disproportionate composition created by illustrator Harry Peter, produced a comic that was radically ahead of its time in terms of its bold presentation of female power and sexuality.Trade Review"In this smart and engaging book, Noah Berlatsky reveals how psychology, polyamory, bondage, feminism, and queer identities inspired comic books' most enduring superheroine. A fascinating read for anyone interested in comics, pop culture, or gender politics!" -- Julia Serano * Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity *"Berlatsky can always be counted on to show us new facets of what he examines, in fact, to show that the facets are part of a whole shape heretofore unperceived." -- Carla Speed McNeil * writer/artist of Finder *"Engaging and entertaining." -- Sean Kleefeld * FreakSugar *"Insightful...Berlatsky examines some of the most complex and controversial aspects of Wonder Woman. The analysis is solid, the research is thorough, and the conclusions are valid." * Publishers Weekly * "An engaging read from start to finish, and Berlatsky’s love of Golden Age Wonder Woman comics comes through on every page." * Comics Journal *"The research is astonishing. The dedication is breathtaking. And the fact that this would actually be usable as a college textbook in either a women’s literature, comic history, or even pop culture class is awesome." * Comic Booked.com *"[Berlatsky] reminds us of how Wonder Woman’s non-normative forms of sexuality and womanhood actually challenge sexism. " * Public Books *"Berlatsky, the editor of Hooded Utilitarian (a comics and culture site), has written a work filled with deep scholarly insights on the history and politics of Wonder Woman's creator, as well as a larger examination of the histories, lifestyles and personal ethos that gave rise to one of popular culture's most powerful figures." * Mic.com *"Noah Berlatsky took a deep dive into the marriage of psychology and artwork that is [William] Marston’s enduring pop culture impact." * New City Lit.com *"Berlatsky's accomplished analysis of [Wonder Woman]'s sexuality and narrative themes tell us much about Marston's philosophies." * Cinema Journal *"[Berlatsky] combs the verbal and visual texts to show how Marston and Peter conveyed their unique notions of liberation through bondage, submission, and the glorification of lesbian sexuality while simultaneously linking these ideas to feminism and freedom." * Gay & Lesbian Review *"Berlatsky does a dazzling and remarkably accessible reading of the 1940s Wonder Woman comics against some of the heavyweights of modern feminist theory—Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Shulamith Firestone, Julia Kristeva, Susan Brownmiller." -- Joan Hilty * Wellesley Centers for Women, Women's Review of Books *"Zounds! Who knew the wonders of Wonder Woman's sadomasochistic complexities? If you only know the TV show, get ready for the ropes and lassoes and chains of the 40's comics as examined by Noah Berlatsky. Be sure to buy the e-book to see the original images in glorious color!" -- Linda Williams * UC Berkeley *Author Noah Berlatsky published an article in The Verge directly connected to the topic of the book, entitled "The crucial thing the new Wonder Woman movie gets right about the character’s history." * The Verge *"Quick Takes, Movie Comics, Wonder Woman, Watchmen and Archie" by Boyce McClain * Collectors' Corner *"In this smart and engaging book, Noah Berlatsky reveals how psychology, polyamory, bondage, feminism, and queer identities inspired comic books' most enduring superheroine. A fascinating read for anyone interested in comics, pop culture, or gender politics!" -- Julia Serano * Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity *"Berlatsky can always be counted on to show us new facets of what he examines, in fact, to show that the facets are part of a whole shape heretofore unperceived." -- Carla Speed McNeil * writer/artist of Finder *"Engaging and entertaining." -- Sean Kleefeld * FreakSugar *"Insightful...Berlatsky examines some of the most complex and controversial aspects of Wonder Woman. The analysis is solid, the research is thorough, and the conclusions are valid." * Publishers Weekly * "An engaging read from start to finish, and Berlatsky’s love of Golden Age Wonder Woman comics comes through on every page." * Comics Journal *"The research is astonishing. The dedication is breathtaking. And the fact that this would actually be usable as a college textbook in either a women’s literature, comic history, or even pop culture class is awesome." * Comic Booked.com *"[Berlatsky] reminds us of how Wonder Woman’s non-normative forms of sexuality and womanhood actually challenge sexism. " * Public Books *"Berlatsky, the editor of Hooded Utilitarian (a comics and culture site), has written a work filled with deep scholarly insights on the history and politics of Wonder Woman's creator, as well as a larger examination of the histories, lifestyles and personal ethos that gave rise to one of popular culture's most powerful figures." * Mic.com *"Noah Berlatsky took a deep dive into the marriage of psychology and artwork that is [William] Marston’s enduring pop culture impact." * New City Lit.com *"Berlatsky's accomplished analysis of [Wonder Woman]'s sexuality and narrative themes tell us much about Marston's philosophies." * Cinema Journal *"[Berlatsky] combs the verbal and visual texts to show how Marston and Peter conveyed their unique notions of liberation through bondage, submission, and the glorification of lesbian sexuality while simultaneously linking these ideas to feminism and freedom." * Gay & Lesbian Review *"Berlatsky does a dazzling and remarkably accessible reading of the 1940s Wonder Woman comics against some of the heavyweights of modern feminist theory—Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Shulamith Firestone, Julia Kristeva, Susan Brownmiller." -- Joan Hilty * Wellesley Centers for Women, Women's Review of Books *"Zounds! Who knew the wonders of Wonder Woman's sadomasochistic complexities? If you only know the TV show, get ready for the ropes and lassoes and chains of the 40's comics as examined by Noah Berlatsky. Be sure to buy the e-book to see the original images in glorious color!" -- Linda Williams * UC Berkeley *Author Noah Berlatsky published an article in The Verge directly connected to the topic of the book, entitled "The crucial thing the new Wonder Woman movie gets right about the character’s history." * The Verge *"Quick Takes, Movie Comics, Wonder Woman, Watchmen and Archie" by Boyce McClain * Collectors' Corner *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor over seventy-five years, Archie and the gang at Riverdale High have been America’s most iconic teenagers, delighting generations of readers with their never-ending exploits. But despite their ubiquity, Archie comics have been relatively ignored by scholars—until now.Twelve-Cent Archie is not only the first scholarly study of the Archie comic, it is an innovative creative work in its own right. Inspired by Archie’s own concise storytelling format, renowned comics scholar Bart Beaty divides the book into a hundred short chapters, each devoted to a different aspect of the Archie comics. Fans of the comics will be thrilled to read in-depth examinations of their favorite characters and motifs, including individual chapters devoted to Jughead’s hat and Archie’s sweater-vest. But the book also has plenty to interest newcomers to Riverdale, as it recounts the behind-the-scenes history of the comics and analyzes how Archie heTrade Review"Fascinating" * New York Magazine *"Archie gets, at last, academic and theoretical consideration in Bart Beaty's wildly readable Twelve-Cent Archie." * PopMatters *"Whether you’re interested in the differences between Harry Lucey’s Archie and Bob Montana’s, or simply haunted by the signifying structure that is Betty Cooper’s ponytail, there’s something here for everyone who’s ever read an Archie comic." -- Scott Bukatman * author of The Poetics of Slumberland: Animated Spirits and the Animated Spirit *"Funny, insightful, and perfectly paced, this is a highly enjoyable volume of criticism, one that would be equally at home in the ivory tower or by the porcelain throne." * Quill and Quire *"For readers interested in the history and form of comics as art, Beaty offers analyses of visual humour, borderless panels and the central authors and illustrators of this era. Twelve-Cent Archie will satisfy cultural critics, Archie fans and comics fans more broadly ... This book is as fun and satisfying as reading an Archie digest." * Alberta Views *"In its analytical vignettes on such a wide variety of topics, Twelve-Cent Archie attempts - and succeeds - not in ending our questions about Archie, but in showing us how many more questions we ought to be asking." * Children's Literature Association Quarterly *"exciting and often deeply funny" -- Neale Barnholden * English Studies in Canada *Table of ContentsThe Twelve-Cent Archie 3 How to Write (Archie) Comics 8 Story Length 11 The Archie Hierarchy 12 Archie Andrews 16 How Well Does Archie Speak French? 19 Bowling 19 Harry Lucey’s Rhythm 21 Veronica Lodge 26 Riverdale, USA 29 The Daily Strip 31 Footnote 33 “Why Is It Always between Archie and Reggie?” 34 Archie’s Jalopy 37 It’s as Easy as A-B-V 38 United Girls Against Jughead 41 Archie Giant Series 43 Invisible Paint 44 Archie Comics versus Art 46 Betty Cooper 49 Riverdale’s Racial Problem 52 Fashion 55 Betty’s Ponytail 56 Self-Plagiarism 57 Archie’s Sweater Vest 61 Jughead Jones 63 Beatniks, Hippies, and Other Undesirables 66 Dilton Doily 68 Moose 69 Reggie Mantle 70 Jealousy 73 “Are You Familiar with Shakespeare, My Young Ignoramus?” 76 “I Never Squeaked a Pip, Either!” 78 Jughead’s Hat 79 Fantastic Elements 82 Archie’s Joke Book 83 Often Imitated, Never Duplicated 84 The Historical Archie 88 Mutually Assured Destruction 90 Betty = Veronica 91 Head over Heels 92 Mr. Weatherbee 94 Caveman Archie 95 Life with Archie 99 What Is the Zip Code for Riverdale? 102 Cover Art 103 Fairy Godmothers 106 Dan DeCarlo’s Foreground Portraits 107 Archie as an Adventure Comic 108 Text Pieces 111 Previously on Archie 113 Notes for the Norton Anthology 115 Archie : Arch :Archiekins 118 Eep! Omigosh! And Other Unusual Contributions to the Language of Comics 119 Archie’s Black Book 121 Laugh and Pep: The Residual Titles 122 Pureheart the Powerful 124 Errors 127 Midge 128 You Can Take the Boy Out of Riverdale . . . 130 Archie Club News 132 Veronica’s Mother 133 Mr. Lodge 133 Betty’s Parents 137 Jingles 137 Li’l Jinx 139 Archie’s Gender Politics 140 Should Archie Marry Betty or Veronica? 143 Big Ethel 145 The Mayor of Riverdale 148 Worst. Archie. Story. Ever. 149 Archie the Klutz 150 Celebrity Culture 153 Jughead’s Dipsy Doodles 154 Imitation Is the Lowest Form of Flattery 156 Surf and Ski 158 Samm Schwartz’s Art 160 Self-Referential Metafictions 163 Riverdale High 166 Who Cut Veronica’s Hair? 167 Little Archie 169 Credits 173 Juvenile Delinquency 174 Teenese 176 The Archies 177 Pop Tate’s Choklit Shoppe 182 Unusual Panels 184 Smithers 185 The Archie Archive 186 Fads and Fashions 189 Borderless Panels 190 A Comic About Nothing 192 Fred (and Mary) Andrews 195 The Banjo in Archie Comics 196 Wordless Stories, or Nearly So 197 Hot Dog 201 Dan DeCarlo’s Split-Horizon Girl 203 The (Nearly) Perfect Archie Story 206 The Myth of Archie 209 Archie and Me 210 Index 213

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor over seventy-five years, Archie and the gang at Riverdale High have been America’s most iconic teenagers, delighting generations of readers with their never-ending exploits. But despite their ubiquity, Archie comics have been relatively ignored by scholars—until now.Twelve-Cent Archie is not only the first scholarly study of the Archie comic, it is an innovative creative work in its own right. Inspired by Archie’s own concise storytelling format, renowned comics scholar Bart Beaty divides the book into a hundred short chapters, each devoted to a different aspect of the Archie comics. Fans of the comics will be thrilled to read in-depth examinations of their favorite characters and motifs, including individual chapters devoted to Jughead’s hat and Archie’s sweater-vest. But the book also has plenty to interest newcomers to Riverdale, as it recounts the behind-the-scenes history of the comics and analyzes how Archie heTrade Review"Archie gets, at last, academic and theoretical consideration in Bart Beaty's wildly readable Twelve-Cent Archie." * PopMatters *"Fascinating" * New York Magazine *"Whether you’re interested in the differences between Harry Lucey’s Archie and Bob Montana’s, or simply haunted by the signifying structure that is Betty Cooper’s ponytail, there’s something here for everyone who’s ever read an Archie comic." -- Scott Bukatman * author of The Poetics of Slumberland: Animated Spirits and the Animated Spirit *"Funny, insightful, and perfectly paced, this is a highly enjoyable volume of criticism, one that would be equally at home in the ivory tower or by the porcelain throne." * Quill and Quire *"For readers interested in the history and form of comics as art, Beaty offers analyses of visual humour, borderless panels and the central authors and illustrators of this era. Twelve-Cent Archie will satisfy cultural critics, Archie fans and comics fans more broadly ... This book is as fun and satisfying as reading an Archie digest." * Alberta Views *"In its analytical vignettes on such a wide variety of topics, Twelve-Cent Archie attempts - and succeeds - not in ending our questions about Archie, but in showing us how many more questions we ought to be asking." * Children's Literature Association Quarterly *"exciting and often deeply funny" -- Neale Barnholden * English Studies in Canada *"Archie gets, at last, academic and theoretical consideration in Bart Beaty's wildly readable Twelve-Cent Archie." * PopMatters *"Fascinating" * New York Magazine *"Whether you’re interested in the differences between Harry Lucey’s Archie and Bob Montana’s, or simply haunted by the signifying structure that is Betty Cooper’s ponytail, there’s something here for everyone who’s ever read an Archie comic." -- Scott Bukatman * author of The Poetics of Slumberland: Animated Spirits and the Animated Spirit *"Funny, insightful, and perfectly paced, this is a highly enjoyable volume of criticism, one that would be equally at home in the ivory tower or by the porcelain throne." * Quill and Quire *"For readers interested in the history and form of comics as art, Beaty offers analyses of visual humour, borderless panels and the central authors and illustrators of this era. Twelve-Cent Archie will satisfy cultural critics, Archie fans and comics fans more broadly ... This book is as fun and satisfying as reading an Archie digest." * Alberta Views *"In its analytical vignettes on such a wide variety of topics, Twelve-Cent Archie attempts - and succeeds - not in ending our questions about Archie, but in showing us how many more questions we ought to be asking." * Children's Literature Association Quarterly *"exciting and often deeply funny" -- Neale Barnholden * English Studies in Canada *Table of ContentsThe Twelve-Cent Archie 3 How to Write (Archie) Comics 8 Story Length 11 The Archie Hierarchy 12 Archie Andrews 16 How Well Does Archie Speak French? 19 Bowling 19 Harry Lucey’s Rhythm 21 Veronica Lodge 26 Riverdale, USA 29 The Daily Strip 31 Footnote 33 “Why Is It Always between Archie and Reggie?” 34 Archie’s Jalopy 37 It’s as Easy as A-B-V 38 United Girls Against Jughead 41 Archie Giant Series 43 Invisible Paint 44 Archie Comics versus Art 46 Betty Cooper 49 Riverdale’s Racial Problem 52 Fashion 55 Betty’s Ponytail 56 Self-Plagiarism 57 Archie’s Sweater Vest 61 Jughead Jones 63 Beatniks, Hippies, and Other Undesirables 66 Dilton Doily 68 Moose 69 Reggie Mantle 70 Jealousy 73 “Are You Familiar with Shakespeare, My Young Ignoramus?” 76 “I Never Squeaked a Pip, Either!” 78 Jughead’s Hat 79 Fantastic Elements 82 Archie’s Joke Book 83 Often Imitated, Never Duplicated 84 The Historical Archie 88 Mutually Assured Destruction 90 Betty = Veronica 91 Head over Heels 92 Mr. Weatherbee 94 Caveman Archie 95 Life with Archie 99 What Is the Zip Code for Riverdale? 102 Cover Art 103 Fairy Godmothers 106 Dan DeCarlo’s Foreground Portraits 107 Archie as an Adventure Comic 108 Text Pieces 111 Previously on Archie 113 Notes for the Norton Anthology 115 Archie : Arch :Archiekins 118 Eep! Omigosh! And Other Unusual Contributions to the Language of Comics 119 Archie’s Black Book 121 Laugh and Pep: The Residual Titles 122 Pureheart the Powerful 124 Errors 127 Midge 128 You Can Take the Boy Out of Riverdale . . . 130 Archie Club News 132 Veronica’s Mother 133 Mr. Lodge 133 Betty’s Parents 137 Jingles 137 Li’l Jinx 139 Archie’s Gender Politics 140 Should Archie Marry Betty or Veronica? 143 Big Ethel 145 The Mayor of Riverdale 148 Worst. Archie. Story. Ever. 149 Archie the Klutz 150 Celebrity Culture 153 Jughead’s Dipsy Doodles 154 Imitation Is the Lowest Form of Flattery 156 Surf and Ski 158 Samm Schwartz’s Art 160 Self-Referential Metafictions 163 Riverdale High 166 Who Cut Veronica’s Hair? 167 Little Archie 169 Credits 173 Juvenile Delinquency 174 Teenese 176 The Archies 177 Pop Tate’s Choklit Shoppe 182 Unusual Panels 184 Smithers 185 The Archie Archive 186 Fads and Fashions 189 Borderless Panels 190 A Comic About Nothing 192 Fred (and Mary) Andrews 195 The Banjo in Archie Comics 196 Wordless Stories, or Nearly So 197 Hot Dog 201 Dan DeCarlo’s Split-Horizon Girl 203 The (Nearly) Perfect Archie Story 206 The Myth of Archie 209 Archie and Me 210 Index 213

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book examines the evasive depictions of sexuality in domestic and family-friendly sitcoms. Tison Pugh charts the history of increasing sexual depiction in this genre while also unpacking how sitcoms use sexuality as a source of power, as a kind of camouflage, and as a foundation for family building. Trade Review"Enjoyable to read, creative, and well-argued, The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom reconsiders the political potential of the sitcom in this much-needed addition to the field." -- Becca Cragin * Bowling Green State University *"Weekly Book List, March 23, 2018" * Chronicle of Higher Education *"New Books in Communications Studies," New Books Network podcast interview with Tison Pugh * New Books Network *"Transitions: Georgia Institute of Technology Selects New Chief, CUNY York College President to Step Down," compiled by Julia Piper * Chronicle of Higher Education *Table of ContentsIntroduction: TV's Three Queer Fantasies 1. The Queer Times of Leave It to Beaver: Beaver's Present, Ward's Past, and June's Future 2. Queer Innocence and Kitsch Nostalgia in The Brady Bunch 3. No Sex Please, We're African American: The Cosby Show's Queer Fear of Black Sexuality 4. Feminism, Homosexuality, and Blue-Collar Perversity in Roseanne 5. Allegory, Queer Authenticity, and Marketing Tween Sexuality in Hannah Montana 6. Conservative Narratology, Queer Politics, and the Humor of Gay Stereotypes in Modern Family Conclusion: Tolstoy Was Wrong: or, On the Queer Reception of Television's Happy Families Acknowledgments List of Television Programs Notes Works Cited Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book examines the evasive depictions of sexuality in domestic and family-friendly sitcoms. Tison Pugh charts the history of increasing sexual depiction in this genre while also unpacking how sitcoms use sexuality as a source of power, as a kind of camouflage, and as a foundation for family building. Trade Review"Enjoyable to read, creative, and well-argued, The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom reconsiders the political potential of the sitcom in this much-needed addition to the field." -- Becca Cragin * Bowling Green State University *"Weekly Book List, March 23, 2018" * Chronicle of Higher Education *"New Books in Communications Studies," New Books Network podcast interview with Tison Pugh * New Books Network *"Transitions: Georgia Institute of Technology Selects New Chief, CUNY York College President to Step Down," compiled by Julia Piper * Chronicle of Higher Education *Table of ContentsIntroduction: TV's Three Queer Fantasies 1. The Queer Times of Leave It to Beaver: Beaver's Present, Ward's Past, and June's Future 2. Queer Innocence and Kitsch Nostalgia in The Brady Bunch 3. No Sex Please, We're African American: The Cosby Show's Queer Fear of Black Sexuality 4. Feminism, Homosexuality, and Blue-Collar Perversity in Roseanne 5. Allegory, Queer Authenticity, and Marketing Tween Sexuality in Hannah Montana 6. Conservative Narratology, Queer Politics, and the Humor of Gay Stereotypes in Modern Family Conclusion: Tolstoy Was Wrong: or, On the Queer Reception of Television's Happy Families Acknowledgments List of Television Programs Notes Works Cited Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisSerial Selves considers how female, queer, disabled, and minority artists use autobiographical comics to make their experiences not only legible, but visible as well. Fusing methods from literary and visual studies, it explores how these artists on the margins challenge both the narrative conventions of autobiography and the norms of pictorial self-representation.Trade Review"In this engrossing and tremendously insightful book, Køhlert deftly analyzes comics as a visual form with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, paying close attention to the myriad ways comics authors use the formal elements unique to comics to express meaning and embody their intentions. By discussing these five authors in concert, Køhlert not only sheds new light on their individual works, but he also points to the potential for the medium to serve as a powerful vehicle to represent issues around the body. This is an invaluable text for anyone teaching comics." -- Nick Sousanis * author of Unflattening *"Serial Selves leaps past the existing scholarship on autobiographical comics, bringing a fuller sense of context and more diverse corpus. Persistently, and brilliantly, Køhlert reminds us that the choice between formal rigor and social engagement is a false one, and that comics studies at its best achieves both. Synthesizing a tremendous range of research—from autobiography theory, trauma theory, gender studies, disability studies, and other fields—he approaches neglected or misunderstood works, asks tough questions, and, in every case, uses close formal analysis to unpack issues of subjectivity and identity formation. A watershed work." -- Charles Hatfield * author of Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby *"Acutely attuned to the formal properties of autobiographical comics, Frederik Byrn Køhlert argues that the drawn 'I' produces new knowledge about trauma, bodies, temporality, power, and resistance. Serial Selves persuasively demonstrates the complexity of autobiographical comics and their undeniable importance as a cultural and autobiographical form." -- Leigh Gilmore * author of Tainted Witness: Why We Doubt What Women Say About Their Lives *"This book offers a rich and varied set of positions through which this new revolution can be understood and celebrated, and should be of value and interest to readers approaching it from disparate positions." * The European Journal of Life Writing *"A lovely, insightful, and markedly entertaining read as well as a promising place for scholars interested in marginalized identities and autobiographical comics to begin. The blend of context, formal critique, intersectional scholarship, and intentionally limited scope is an admirable accomplishment." * Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society *"The possibilities of comics as an avenue for visibility and accurate representation are repeated themes throughout Køhlert’s deep and thoughtful analysis of each author-artists’ work in Serial Selves. The result is a book written with the enthusiasm of pop culture lovers and underground comics fans, but useful in fields and interests beyond those boundaries." * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *"Analyzes the ways in which minority artists create illustrations, and the context and messaging behind the images created in a broader sense....Graduate students, scholars and professionals interested in comics and the media might find this book to be a helpful tool." * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *"Serial Selves contributes to a now established scholarly field of life writing within comics studies....Through detailed formal analysis, Kohlert's work carefully examines the highly visual nature of living in a marginalised body. The book brings attention to the various ways in which authors engage directly with their visual selves and challenge conventional representational schemes." * Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics *"Køhlert has a very clear and accessible writing style, advantageous in discussing the theory associated with the various case studies, rendering the complex readily explicable. He covers the work of the major comics thinkers in a seamless fashion, so that when it comes to the discussion of the authors in their case studies, the reader is fully prepared in terms of the overarching theoretical framework. Køhlert impresses further in each of the case studies, as he is also able to address the theory relating to disability, feminist and queer issues amongst others. He moves easily from theory to the analysis of the detail of the comics he studies in a clear and lucid way." * European Comic Art *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction: Serial Selves 1 Female Grotesques: The Unruly Comics of Julie Doucet 2 Working it Through: Trauma and Visuality in the Comics of Phoebe Gloeckner 3 Young, Queer, and Female: Ariel Schrag’s High School Comic Chronicles 4 Staring at Comics: Disability and the Body in Al Davison’s The Spiral Cage 5 Stereotyping the Self: Toufic El Rassi’s Arab in America Conclusion: Making an Issue of Representation Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisStephen Prince offers a clear, concise account of how digital cinema both extends longstanding traditions of filmmaking and challenges fundamental assumptions about film. In the process, he raises provocative questions about the emergence of virtual reality, the future of film preservation, and the status of realism in digital cinema. Trade Review"Stephen Prince's Digital Cinema is essential reading for anyone interested in the implications of the digital revolution for storytelling in the moving image media. This book—at once sophisticated and accessible—is by far the best introduction to the topic." -- Carl Plantinga * author of Screen Stories: Emotion and the Ethics of Engagement *"This illuminating, lucid, and deeply informative book should be essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered about the present, past, and future of cinema in the digital age." -- Lisa Bode * author of Making Believe: Screen Performance and Special Effects in Popular Cinema *"Recommended." * Choice *“The book’s greatest strength is its ability to distil a significant amount of existing scholarship on digital cinema to jargon free and accessible language. Prince illuminates his points through numerous examples, ranging from film sequences, filmmaking software, techniques and technology, to media in general.” * Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Cinema as Construction: Then and Now 2. Reasons for Realism 3. Cheating Physics 4. Beyond Cinema 5. Everywhere and Nowhere Further Reading Works Cited Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisConsiders how new technologies have revolutionized the medium, while investigating the continuities that might remain from filmmaking's analogue era. In the process, this book raises provocative questions about the status of realism in a pixel-generated digital medium whose scenes often defy the laws of physics.Trade Review"Stephen Prince's Digital Cinema is essential reading for anyone interested in the implications of the digital revolution for storytelling in the moving image media. This book—at once sophisticated and accessible—is by far the best introduction to the topic." — Carl Plantinga, author of Screen Stories: Emotion and the Ethics of Engagement "This illuminating, lucid, and deeply informative book should be essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered about the present, past, and future of cinema in the digital age."— Lisa Bode, author of Making Believe: Screen Performance and Special Effects in Popular Cinema “The book’s greatest strength is its ability to distil a significant amount of existing scholarship on digital cinema to jargon free and accessible language. Prince illuminates his points through numerous examples, ranging from film sequences, filmmaking software, techniques and technology, to media in general.”— Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television "Recommended."— ChoiceTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Cinema as Construction: Then and Now 2. Reasons for Realism 3. Cheating Physics 4. Beyond Cinema 5. Everywhere and Nowhere Further Reading Works Cited Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisShonda Rhimes is one of the most powerful players in contemporary American network television. Adventures in Shondaland critically explores Shonda Rhimes’s meteoric rise to stardom, her reign (or cultural appointment) as television’s diversity queen, and Shondaland’s almost-universally lauded melodramatic narratives. Trade Review"Full of sophisticated analysis, this comprehensive and robust edited collection explores a diverse range of topics, including identity, representation, fandom, the media industry, and reception/meaning-making. Adventures in Shondaland is an impressive, necessary contribution to scholarship." -- Robin R. Means Coleman * coeditor of Fight the Power! The Spike Lee Reader *"This is a must-read collection of research and essays on the showrunner whose shows have transformed must-see TV in the age of social media. Insightful, critical—and fun." -- Catherine R. Squires * author of The Post-Racial Mystique: Media and Race in the Twenty-First Century *"Chronicle of Higher Education new scholarly books weekly book list, by Nina C. Ayoub * Chronicle of Higher Education *" Recommended." * Choice *With Good Reason Radio "The Shondaland Revolution" interview with Michaela D. E. Meyer * With Good Reason Radio *"Offers a thorough account of the complex politics of representation in Shondaland and offers important insights for readers in television studies, feminist media studies and critical race studies." * Critical Studies in Television *Table of ContentsContents Introduction: Riding Shondaland’s Rollercoasters: Critical Cultural Television Studies in the 21st Century Michaela D. E. Meyer and Rachel Alicia Griffin Part I: Quality Television’s Cultural Dominance: The Auteur Comes to Television Studies Chapter 1: Trauma, Spin, and Murder: The Carnival Spectacle in Shondaland Richard G. Jones, Jr. and Emily Vajjala Chapter 2: Wounded Detachments, Differential Alliances: Beyond Identity & Telos in Shondaland’s Heterotopia Joan Faber McAlister Chapter 3: Abortion in Shondaland: Daring Departures from Oppressive Industry Conventions Jessica L. Furgerson Chapter 4: Soundtracking Shondaland: Televisual Identity Mapped Through Music Jennifer Billinson and Michaela D.E. Meyer Part II: Shondaland’s Paradoxical Identity Politics and the Fantastical “Post-” Chapter 5: Race (Lost and Found) in Shondaland: The Rise of Multiculuralism in Primetime Network Television Jade Petermon Chapter 6: Emb(Race)ing Visibility: Callie Torres’s (Im)Perfect Operation of Bisexuality on Grey’s Anatomy Shadee Abdi and Bernadette Marie Calafell Chapter 7: The Problematics of Postracial Colorblindness: Exploring Cristina Yang’s Asianness in Grey’s Anatomy Stephanie L. Young and Vincent Pham Chapter 8: Interracial Intimacies: From Shondaland to the Post-racial Promised Land Myra Washington and Tina M. Harris Part III: Consumption, Ethics, and Morality: Shondaland Fandom as Cultural Meaning Making Chapter 9: #BlackLivesMatter on Scandal: Analyzing Divergent Fan Reactions to ‘The Lawn Chair’ Episode Mark P. Orbe Chapter 10: Blurring Production Boundaries with Fan Empowerment: Scandal as Social Television Mary Ingram-Waters and Leslie Balderas Chapter 11: Media Criticism & Morality Policing on Twitter: Fan Responses to How to Get Away with Murder Melissa Ames Chapter 12: Dying for the Next Episode: Living and Working Within Shondaland’s Medical Universe Sean Swenson Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisShonda Rhimes is one of the most powerful players in contemporary American network television. Adventures in Shondaland critically explores Shonda Rhimes’s meteoric rise to stardom, her reign (or cultural appointment) as television’s diversity queen, and Shondaland’s almost-universally lauded melodramatic narratives. Trade Review"Full of sophisticated analysis, this comprehensive and robust edited collection explores a diverse range of topics, including identity, representation, fandom, the media industry, and reception/meaning-making. Adventures in Shondaland is an impressive, necessary contribution to scholarship." -- Robin R. Means Coleman * coeditor of Fight the Power! The Spike Lee Reader *"This is a must-read collection of research and essays on the showrunner whose shows have transformed must-see TV in the age of social media. Insightful, critical—and fun." -- Catherine R. Squires * author of The Post-Racial Mystique: Media and Race in the Twenty-First Century *"Chronicle of Higher Education new scholarly books weekly book list, by Nina C. Ayoub * Chronicle of Higher Education *" Recommended." * Choice *With Good Reason Radio "The Shondaland Revolution" interview with Michaela D. E. Meyer * With Good Reason Radio *"Offers a thorough account of the complex politics of representation in Shondaland and offers important insights for readers in television studies, feminist media studies and critical race studies." * Critical Studies in Television *Table of ContentsContents Introduction: Riding Shondaland’s Rollercoasters: Critical Cultural Television Studies in the 21st Century Michaela D. E. Meyer and Rachel Alicia Griffin Part I: Quality Television’s Cultural Dominance: The Auteur Comes to Television Studies Chapter 1: Trauma, Spin, and Murder: The Carnival Spectacle in Shondaland Richard G. Jones, Jr. and Emily Vajjala Chapter 2: Wounded Detachments, Differential Alliances: Beyond Identity & Telos in Shondaland’s Heterotopia Joan Faber McAlister Chapter 3: Abortion in Shondaland: Daring Departures from Oppressive Industry Conventions Jessica L. Furgerson Chapter 4: Soundtracking Shondaland: Televisual Identity Mapped Through Music Jennifer Billinson and Michaela D.E. Meyer Part II: Shondaland’s Paradoxical Identity Politics and the Fantastical “Post-” Chapter 5: Race (Lost and Found) in Shondaland: The Rise of Multiculuralism in Primetime Network Television Jade Petermon Chapter 6: Emb(Race)ing Visibility: Callie Torres’s (Im)Perfect Operation of Bisexuality on Grey’s Anatomy Shadee Abdi and Bernadette Marie Calafell Chapter 7: The Problematics of Postracial Colorblindness: Exploring Cristina Yang’s Asianness in Grey’s Anatomy Stephanie L. Young and Vincent Pham Chapter 8: Interracial Intimacies: From Shondaland to the Post-racial Promised Land Myra Washington and Tina M. Harris Part III: Consumption, Ethics, and Morality: Shondaland Fandom as Cultural Meaning Making Chapter 9: #BlackLivesMatter on Scandal: Analyzing Divergent Fan Reactions to ‘The Lawn Chair’ Episode Mark P. Orbe Chapter 10: Blurring Production Boundaries with Fan Empowerment: Scandal as Social Television Mary Ingram-Waters and Leslie Balderas Chapter 11: Media Criticism & Morality Policing on Twitter: Fan Responses to How to Get Away with Murder Melissa Ames Chapter 12: Dying for the Next Episode: Living and Working Within Shondaland’s Medical Universe Sean Swenson Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCovering everything from Bull Durham (1988) to The Bad News Bears (1976) this book examines how baseball-themed films and TV series depict the game, its players, fans, and place in American society. It considers works that nostalgically lionize white male heroes alongside films and television that dramatize the contributions of female and BIPOC players.Trade Review“Aaron Baker’s history of how film has represented baseball as a component of American society stands alone. Replete with exceptionally perceptive observations about dozens of baseball films, this book is a 'must' read for students of the game." -- Benjamin G. Rader * author of Baseball: A History of America's Game, 4th ed. *"An insightful and necessary analysis of baseball as a sport and a film subgenre through a sociopolitical lens examining race, gender, sexuality, globalization, and more." * The Brooklyn Rail *“Aaron Baker’s history of how film has represented baseball as a component of American society stands alone. Replete with exceptionally perceptive observations about dozens of baseball films, this book is a 'must' read for students of the game." -- Benjamin G. Rader * author of Baseball: A History of America's Game, 4th ed. *"An insightful and necessary analysis of baseball as a sport and a film subgenre through a sociopolitical lens examining race, gender, sexuality, globalization, and more." * The Brooklyn Rail *Table of ContentsContents Introduction: Baseball According to Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.” 1 Hollywood Baseball Films: Nostalgic White Masculinity or the National Pastime? 2 The Business of Baseball 3 Screening Who Gets to Play 4 The Glocalized Game 5 Fanball 6 Learning the Game Conclusion: The Show for the Thinking Fan and Going Online List of Baseball Films and Television Shows

Read more less

Book SynopsisBringing together superhero scholars from a range of disciplines, alongside key industry figures, The Superhero Symbol provides fresh perspectives on how characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Wonder Woman have engaged with media, culture, and politics, to become the “everlasting” symbols to which a young Bruce Wayne once aspired.Trade Review"With contributions by an imposing list of scholars, The Superhero Symbol offers readers enlightening essays on the politics of the superhero, on the commercial branding, nationalism and national identity, on sexuality and sexual identity, and on the culture and mythology of the superhero; in short, everything about the superhero that you never asked because it never even occurred to you to ask." -- Trina Robbins * author of Pretty in Ink, North American Women Cartoonists 1896 - 2013 *"This extraordinary league of transmedial comics scholars pull off the impossible: the definitive tome on how global industries create and planetary consumers actively engage with the superhero symbol. The tack-sharp cross-disciplinary scholarship along with deep-probe interviews with industry titans take us on a wild journey through time and space to forcefully show how those costume-clad full-chested insignias and sky-beamed icons are much more than expressions of fan-boy wish fulfilment fantasies. Provocative. Field defining. A must read!" -- Frederick Luis Aldama * author of the Eisner Award winning Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics *"Throughout the essays cross-refer, giving the collection considerable unity. Combining fundamental concerns in superhero studies with a variety of thought-provoking special topics, and studded with color illustrations, this is a worthwhile collection for both knowledgeable scholars and newcomers to superhero studies. Recommended." * Choice *"There is a lot of ground covered in this book, much of which will make you think beyond your normal perimeters and that’s never a bad thing and makes for an interesting book." * SFcrowsnest *Table of ContentsContents Introduction: “Everlasting” Symbols: Unmasking superheroes and their shifting symbolic function, Liam BurkeSection 1: Superheroes, Politics, and Civic Engagement 1. “What Else Can You Do With Them?”: Superheroes and the Civic ImaginationHenry Jenkins 2. “America Is A Piece of Trash”: Captain America, Patriotism, Nationalism, and FascismNeal Curtis 3. “This Land is Mine!” Understanding the Function of SupervillainsJason Bainbridge Interview 1: Comics artist, writer, and "herstorian" Trina Robbins Section 2: The Superhero as a Brand 4. The Secret Commercial Identity of Superheroes: Protecting the Superhero SymbolMitchell Adams 5. Siegel and Shuster as Brand NameIan Gordon 6. Practicing Superhuman Law: Creative License, Industrial Identity, and Spider-Man’s HomecomingTara Lomax 7. The sound of the cinematic superheroDan Golding Interview 2: Former President of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson Section 3: Becoming the Superhero 8. ­­­­­­­­­Arkham Knave: The Joker in Game DesignSteven Conway 9. Being Super, Becoming Heroes: Dialogic Superhero Narratives in Cosplay CollectivesClaire Langsford 10. “From Pages to Pavements”: A Criminological Comparison Between Depictions of Crime Control in Superhero Narratives and “Real-Life Superhero” ActivityVladislav Iouchkov and John McGuire Interview 3: Dark Night: A True Batman Story writer Paul Dini Section 4: Superheroes and National Identity 11. Captain America, National Narratives, and the Queer Subversion of the RetconNaja Later 12. Apes, Angels, and Super Patriots: The Irish in Superhero ComicsLiam Burke 13. Missing in Action: The Late Development of the German-Speaking SuperheroPaul M. Malone 14. Chinese Milk for Iron Men: Superhero Coproductions and Technological AnxietyShan Mu Zhao 15. Age of the Atoman: Australian Superhero Comics and Cold War ModernityKevin Patrick Interview 4: Cleverman creator Ryan Griffen and star Hunter Page-Lochard Acknowledgements Notes on the Editors Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisBringing together superhero scholars from a range of disciplines, alongside key industry figures, The Superhero Symbol provides fresh perspectives on how characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Wonder Woman have engaged with media, culture, and politics, to become the “everlasting” symbols to which a young Bruce Wayne once aspired.Trade Review"With contributions by an imposing list of scholars, The Superhero Symbol offers readers enlightening essays on the politics of the superhero, on the commercial branding, nationalism and national identity, on sexuality and sexual identity, and on the culture and mythology of the superhero; in short, everything about the superhero that you never asked because it never even occurred to you to ask." -- Trina Robbins * author of Pretty in Ink, North American Women Cartoonists 1896 - 2013 *"This extraordinary league of transmedial comics scholars pull off the impossible: the definitive tome on how global industries create and planetary consumers actively engage with the superhero symbol. The tack-sharp cross-disciplinary scholarship along with deep-probe interviews with industry titans take us on a wild journey through time and space to forcefully show how those costume-clad full-chested insignias and sky-beamed icons are much more than expressions of fan-boy wish fulfilment fantasies. Provocative. Field defining. A must read!" -- Frederick Luis Aldama * author of the Eisner Award winning Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics *"Throughout the essays cross-refer, giving the collection considerable unity. Combining fundamental concerns in superhero studies with a variety of thought-provoking special topics, and studded with color illustrations, this is a worthwhile collection for both knowledgeable scholars and newcomers to superhero studies. Recommended." * Choice *"There is a lot of ground covered in this book, much of which will make you think beyond your normal perimeters and that’s never a bad thing and makes for an interesting book." * SFcrowsnest *Table of ContentsContents Introduction: “Everlasting” Symbols: Unmasking superheroes and their shifting symbolic function, Liam BurkeSection 1: Superheroes, Politics, and Civic Engagement 1. “What Else Can You Do With Them?”: Superheroes and the Civic ImaginationHenry Jenkins 2. “America Is A Piece of Trash”: Captain America, Patriotism, Nationalism, and FascismNeal Curtis 3. “This Land is Mine!” Understanding the Function of SupervillainsJason Bainbridge Interview 1: Comics artist, writer, and "herstorian" Trina Robbins Section 2: The Superhero as a Brand 4. The Secret Commercial Identity of Superheroes: Protecting the Superhero SymbolMitchell Adams 5. Siegel and Shuster as Brand NameIan Gordon 6. Practicing Superhuman Law: Creative License, Industrial Identity, and Spider-Man’s HomecomingTara Lomax 7. The sound of the cinematic superheroDan Golding Interview 2: Former President of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson Section 3: Becoming the Superhero 8. ­­­­­­­­­Arkham Knave: The Joker in Game DesignSteven Conway 9. Being Super, Becoming Heroes: Dialogic Superhero Narratives in Cosplay CollectivesClaire Langsford 10. “From Pages to Pavements”: A Criminological Comparison Between Depictions of Crime Control in Superhero Narratives and “Real-Life Superhero” ActivityVladislav Iouchkov and John McGuire Interview 3: Dark Night: A True Batman Story writer Paul Dini Section 4: Superheroes and National Identity 11. Captain America, National Narratives, and the Queer Subversion of the RetconNaja Later 12. Apes, Angels, and Super Patriots: The Irish in Superhero ComicsLiam Burke 13. Missing in Action: The Late Development of the German-Speaking SuperheroPaul M. Malone 14. Chinese Milk for Iron Men: Superhero Coproductions and Technological AnxietyShan Mu Zhao 15. Age of the Atoman: Australian Superhero Comics and Cold War ModernityKevin Patrick Interview 4: Cleverman creator Ryan Griffen and star Hunter Page-Lochard Acknowledgements Notes on the Editors Notes on Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisOffers a critical analysis of the production of a distinct form of twenty-first century celebrity constructed through the exploding coverage of reality television cast members in Us Weekly magazine.Trade Review“Highly engaging and readable, Extraordinarily Ordinary is a clear, in-depth analysis of both the celebrity gossip magazine genre and the nature of fame in the 21st century.” -- Andrea McDonnell * coauthor of Celebrity: A History of Fame *"Erin A. Meyers provides a masterful, lively account of reality TV celebrity. Extraordinarily Ordinary is a must-read for anyone eager to understand the meaning and power of celebrity today." -- Julie Wilson * coauthor of Mothering through Precarity: Women’s Work and Digital Media *“Highly engaging and readable, Extraordinarily Ordinary is a clear, in-depth analysis of both the celebrity gossip magazine genre and the nature of fame in the 21st century.” -- Andrea McDonnell * coauthor of Celebrity: A History of Fame *"Erin A. Meyers provides a masterful, lively account of reality TV celebrity. Extraordinarily Ordinary is a must-read for anyone eager to understand the meaning and power of celebrity today." -- Julie Wilson * coauthor of Mothering through Precarity: Women’s Work and Digital Media *Table of ContentsThe Ordinary and the Extraordinary: Unpacking the Celebrity Image The Labor of Ordinariness: Famous for "Being Yourself" Celebrity Lifestyle Labor: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary Lauren Conrad: Us Weekly and the Extraordinarily Ordinary Celebrity Conclusion: The Future of the Extraordinarily Ordinary Celebrity

Read more less

Book SynopsisSports Movies covers a broad spectrum of baseball, basketball, football, and boxing films. Describing the traditional formulas that have made these movies such crowd-pleasers, it also explores how the genre’s attitudes have changed over the years, especially regarding key issues like class, race, masculinity, and women in sports.Trade Review"This compact book packs a huge punch! Engaging and illustrative, Sports Movies deftly tackles the widely popular genre of sports films. Lester Friedman skillfully unpacks the history, themes, and cultural significance of the genre while attending to the consequential ways race, class, gender, and sexuality come into play on and off the field." -- Samantha Noelle Sheppard * co-editor of From Madea to Media Mogul: Theorizing Tyler Perry *"In this readable and insightful book, Lester Friedman invites readers to consider how movies about sport bring winners and losers into focus on the playing field and beyond.” -- Thomas P. Oates * author of Football and Manliness: An Unauthorized Feminist Account of the NFL *Table of ContentsContents Introduction Baseball Movies Basketball Movies Football Movies Boxing Movies The Sporting Life: Conclusion Acknowledgments Further Reading Works Cited Selected Filmography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisSports Movies covers a broad spectrum of baseball, basketball, football, and boxing films. Describing the traditional formulas that have made these movies such crowd-pleasers, it also explores how the genre’s attitudes have changed over the years, especially regarding key issues like class, race, masculinity, and women in sports.Trade Review"This compact book packs a huge punch! Engaging and illustrative, Sports Movies deftly tackles the widely popular genre of sports films. Lester Friedman skillfully unpacks the history, themes, and cultural significance of the genre while attending to the consequential ways race, class, gender, and sexuality come into play on and off the field." -- Samantha Noelle Sheppard * co-editor of From Madea to Media Mogul: Theorizing Tyler Perry *"In this readable and insightful book, Lester Friedman invites readers to consider how movies about sport bring winners and losers into focus on the playing field and beyond.” -- Thomas P. Oates * author of Football and Manliness: An Unauthorized Feminist Account of the NFL *Table of ContentsContents Introduction Baseball Movies Basketball Movies Football Movies Boxing Movies The Sporting Life: Conclusion Acknowledgments Further Reading Works Cited Selected Filmography Index

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisExamines how Tom Cruise's star image moves across genres and forms as a type of commercial product that offers viewers certain pleasures and expectations. Cruise reads as an action hero and romantic lead yet finds himself in homoerotic and homosocial relationships that unsettle and undermine these heterosexual scripts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis intriguing volume sheds light on the diverse world of collecting film- and media-related materials. Lucy Fischer''s introduction explores theories of collecting and representations of collecting and collections in film, while arguing that collections of film ephemera and other media-related collections are an important way in to understanding the relationship between material culture and film and media studies; she notes that the collectors have various motivations and types of collections. In the eleven chapters that follow, media studies scholars analyze a variety of fascinating collected materials, from Doris Day magazines to Godzilla action figures and LEGOs. While most contributors discuss their personal collections, some also offer valuable insight into specific collections of others. In many cases, collections that began as informal and personal have been built up, accessioned, and reorganized to create teaching and research materials which have significantly contrib

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis intriguing volume sheds light on the diverse world of collecting film- and media-related materials. Lucy Fischer''s introduction explores theories of collecting and representations of collecting and collections in film, while arguing that collections of film ephemera and other media-related collections are an important way in to understanding the relationship between material culture and film and media studies; she notes that the collectors have various motivations and types of collections. In the eleven chapters that follow, media studies scholars analyze a variety of fascinating collected materials, from Doris Day magazines to Godzilla action figures and LEGOs. While most contributors discuss their personal collections, some also offer valuable insight into specific collections of others. In many cases, collections that began as informal and personal have been built up, accessioned, and reorganized to create teaching and research materials which have significantly contrib

Read more less

Book SynopsisPlaces Will & Grace in its historical context of the late 1990s and early 2000s, considering how it contributed to contemporary debates concerning queer life. Tison Pugh demonstrates that while heralding a new age of queer representation, characters were homogenized to normalize queerness for a mainstream US audience.Trade ReviewWill & Grace is a thorough overview of the cultural tensions inherent in gay representation in the ’90s sitcom and in the revival. It is refreshingly open to the possibilities of visual and performative queerness that persist in the series, despite the cultural and generic constraints it faced." - Becca Cragin, Department of Popular Culture, Bowling Green State University"As the twentieth century recedes in the rearview mirror, it becomes difficult to convey the impact of past media milestones in shaping the present. Pugh provides an insightful, comprehensive, and nuanced account that will ensure that the importance of Will & Grace is understood and remembered." - Larry Gross, author of Up from Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Media in America"Pugh persuasively proves that Will & Grace deserves its reputation as a classic sitcom and a milestone for LGBTQ+ representation." - Library Journal

Read more less

Book SynopsisShows how the Jewish worldview that permeates American culture has reached far beyond the Jews who created it.Trade ReviewHer thesis is simple but persuasive, positing that from the 1920s until the 1940s, American Jewish writers created a number of works that sanctify the stage and the idea of performing. [] Most is strong on the theoretical [] Taking musicals seriously is welcome and refreshing. * Jewish Quarterly *Mosts outline of theatrical liberalism is compelling, is littered with insightful analysis of a range of texts, and draws upon a variety of theoretical writing that makes her arguments fresh and distinct. * Journal of American Culture *Demonstrates why and how Jews have been central to the development of Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and Hollywood. Taking us on a rollercoaster ride through popular culture, from The Jazz Singer and Death of a Salesman to My Fair Lady and Blazing Saddles, Most analyzes the social anxieties that swirl around American self-fashioning and explains why these anxieties repeatedly play themselves out in competing notions of theatricality. Most radically, she shows us that so many of the most Jewish features of popular culture are also the most Americanthat American popular culture is Jewish culture. -- David Savran,Vera Mowry Roberts Chair in American Theatre, CUNYHer book is a bold effort to locate, within the apparatus of mass entertainment, something besides the claims of ancestral memories and loyalties. -- Stephen J. Whitfield * H-Net Reviews *In Theatrical Liberalism: Jews and Popular Entertainment in America, Andrea Most looks at how Jews combined Jewish culture and American liberalism to create a distinctive theatrical tradition. She also explores how this tradition has developed and changed from the 1930s to contemporary times. -- Rabbi Rachel Esserman * The Reporter *This is a remarkable book, sweeping in its range of material, sharp in its reasoning, and loaded with so many insights that it will reward the reader with many returns in its pages....[T]his is a marvelous treatment of much-discussed but inexhaustible topics, not only of entertaining Jews but of Jewish modernity and post-modernity. Professor Most, take a bow: you deserve it. -- Paul Buhle * American Jewish History *Theatrical Liberalisms greatest contribution to the existing scholarly conversation regarding Jewish Americans and popular culture is her assertion that the secular/sacred binary, imposed by Protestant ideology, is ineffectual for analyzing the nuanced ways in which Judaic rituals and traditions influenced the allegedly nonreligious sphere of American entertainment. * American Studies *Makes new sense of aspects of popular culture we have all grown up with and thought we knew only too well. Most bridges religious studies and theater, political theory and American studies, high criticism and middlebrow performance. Her book will help us see better how Jews and their Jewishness did not merely 'enter' American popular culture, but did so much to invent it. -- Jonathan Boyarin, Leonard and Tobee Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Thought, University of North CarolinaThe arguments are compelling, and the book is well researched and well written. -- K.J. Wetmore * Choice *This book will transform how many plays, performances, and texts are read, discussed, taught, and performed...Theatrical Liberalism is an important, original book that gets right to the heart of why Jews have been so disproportionately involved in popular performance. * Theatre Journal *Table of ContentsContentsAcknowledgments ixSetting the Stage 11. Jews, Theatricality, and Modernity 152. The Birth of Theatrical Liberalism 393. Theatrical Liberalism under Attack 884. The Theatricality of Everyday Life 1415. Theatricality and Idolatry 1646. I Am a Theater 201Curtain Call 241Notes 247Credits 275Index 281About the Author 293

Read more less

Book SynopsisLooks beyond television and film to literature and music to examine fans, their practices and their favorite texts. This work contains a selection of 25 essays that examine instances across the spectrum of modern cultural consumption from Karl Marx to Paris Hilton, Bach fugues to Bollywood cinema, and 19th-century concert halls to computer gaming.Trade Review"Highly recommended." * Choice *"Fandom explores the multidimensional aspects of the fascination, enthrallment, obsession that fans have with their various interests." * Journal of Mass Communication Quarterly *"One of the best aspects of the text is the way that the contributors do not merely typecast fans as those interested in modern and popular culture, but also examine fans of mediums typically considered ‘high culture.’ This makes the book much friendlier to pop-culture fans, whose practices are typically considered lowbrow and fanatical when compared to someone who holds season tickets to the opera or visits an art gallery every weekend. As a fan, it’s nice to see that the behavior is not reduced to unnecessary fanaticism and is examined on a more subjective level." * M/C Reviews *"Fandom pushes the boundaries of fan studies in bold directions, incorporating high culture fandoms, global fan cultures, fan technologies, and antagonistic anti-fandom, while rethinking the core tenets of fan studies concerning aesthetics, place, intellectual property, and interpretive communitiesall presented with a lively, accessible, and engaging writing style." -- Jason Mittell,Middlebury College"Thought-provoking. . . . Well-selected and challenging collection." * Screen *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Why Study Fans? Part I: Fan Texts: From Aesthetic to Legal JudgmentsPart II: Beyond Pop Culture from News to High Culture Part III: Spaces of Fandom: From Place to Performance Part IV: Fan Audiences Worldwide: From the Global to the Local Part V: Shifting Contexts, Changing Fan Cultures: From Concert Halls to Console Games Part VI: Fans and Anti-Fans: From Love to HateBibliographyAbout the ContributorsIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first examination of the most popular tv network for kids. Essays are both scholars as well as journalists, Nick employees, and psychologists.Trade Review"“The phenomenal success of Nickelodeon reveals a great deal about the changing nature of the modern media, and about changing conceptions of childhood. Nickelodeon Nation offers a comprehensive account of the channel’s evolution, providing fascinating insights into production and programming, and the responses of children themselves." -- David Buckingham,Institute of Education, University of London"“With both dispassionate market analyses and insiders’ personal accounts, Nickelodeon Nation covers the channel’s history and evolving philosophies thoroughly—like a bucket of Nick's signature green slime! Even ‘Nicksperts’ will find new insights and understanding." -- David W. Kleeman,Executive Director, American Center for Children and MediaTable of ContentsContentsIntroduction: Nickelodeon and the Business of Fun Heather HendershotI Economics and Marketing1 Nickelodeon Grows Up: The Economic Evolution of a Network Norma Pecora2 "A Kid's Gotta Do What a Kid's Gotta Do": Branding the Nickelodeon Experience Kevin S. Sandler3 "TV Satisfaction Guaranteed!" Nick at Nite and TV Land's "Adult" AttractionsSusan MurrayII The Production Process4 The Early Days of Nicktoons Linda Simensky5 "You Dumb Babies!" How Raising the Rugrats Children Became as Dif?cult as the Real Thing Mimi Swartz6 Diversifying Representation in Children's TV: Nickelodeon's Model Ellen Seiter and Vicki Mayer7 Interview with Geraldine Laybourne Henry JenkinsIII Programs and Politics8 Ren & Stimpy: Fan Culture and Corporate Strategy Mark Langer9 Nickelodeon's Nautical Nonsense: The Intergenerational Appeal of SpongeBob SquarePants Heather Hendershot10 "We Pledge Allegiance to Kids": Nickelodeon and Citizenship Sarah Banet-WeiserIV Viewers11 Watching Children Watch Television and the Creation of Blue's Clues Daniel R. AndersonAbout the Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisExplores the globalization of African American television and the way in which foreign markets, programming strategies, and viewer preferences have influenced portrayals of African Americans on the small screen.Trade ReviewA detailed, well-researched examination of the ways black television culturally circulates and the ways industry lore continues to police how blackness is defined televisually in international spaces * International Journal of Communications *Global Black Television is a major achievement that makes important contributions to theanalysis of race, identity, global media, nation, and television production cultures. Discussions of race and television are too often constricted within national boundaries, yet this fantastic bookoffers a strong, compelling, and utterly refreshing corrective. Read it, assign it, use it. -- Jonathan Gray,author of Television EntertainmentA useful resource for people in broadcast media, intercultural communication, intergroup relations, media studies, and critical cultural studies. -- W. Alvarez * Choice *Timothy Havens meticulously well-researched and thoughtful study Black Television Travelsprovides an expansive perspective on the movement of African American programming and the media industrys conventional wisdom that affects the feasibility of its journey. []Black Television Travelsoffers a detailed and insightful view of the routes and roots of televisual representations of Blackness on the transnational media landscape and a model for the rigorous examination of the ways in which industrial conventional wisdom continues to define and confine how culturally specific televisual stories can be told and sold. * Cinema Journal *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction: African American Television Trade 1. Roots and the Perils of African American Television Drama in a Global World 2. Integrated Eighties Situation Comedies and the Struggle against Apartheid 3. The Cosby Show, Family Themes, and the Ascent of White Situation Comedies Abroad in the Late 1980s 4. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Channel Fragmentation, and the Recognition of Difference 5. The Worldwide Circulation of Contemporary African American Television 6. Black Television from Elsewhere: The Globalization of Non-U.S. Black Television Conclusion: Transnational Televisual Aesthetics and Global Discourses of Race Notes References Index About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisMaps a territory where old and new media intersect, and where the power of the media producer and the power of the consumer interact in unpredictable ways. This book explains the cultural shift that occurs as consumers fight for control across disparate channels, changing the way we do business, elect our leaders, and educate our children.Trade ReviewThe standard convergence narrative of recent years presents media concentration as a threat both to the diversity of communication channels and to individuals' opportunities to engage in public discourse. A respected and well-established media scholar, Jenkins here counters such pessimistic perspectives on the brave new media world with theoretical and evidentiary attestations to the growing power of individuals and grassroots groups to affect the larger media landscape. * Choice *I thought I knew twenty-first century pop media until I read Henry Jenkins. The fresh research and radical insights in Convergence Culture deserve a wide and thoughtful readership. Bring on the monolithic block of eyeballs. -- Bruce Sterling, author, blogger, visionaryJenkins offers crucial insight into an unexpected and unforeseen future. Unlike most predictions about how New Media will shape the world in which we live, the reality is turning out far stranger and more interesting than we might have imagined. The social implications of this change could be staggering. -- Will Wright, creator of SimCity and The SimsOne of those rare works that is closer to an operating system than a traditional book: it's a platform that people will be building on for years to come. What's more, the book happens to be a briskly entertaining read—as startling, inventive, and witty as the culture it documents. It should be mandatory reading for anyone trying to make sense of todays popular culture but thankfully, a book this fun to read doesn’t need a mandate. -- Steven Johnson, author of the national bestseller, Everything Bad Is Good For YouFor any Sony PS3 execs out there wondering why their technological masterpiece is being ridiculed by customers before its even released . . . Convergence Culture is a must read . . . Jenkins offers numerous insights on how technology and media professionals can forge better relationships with their customers. * Slashdot *Remarkable . . . Jenkins insights are gripping and his prose is surprisingly entertaining and lucid for a book that is, at its core, intellectually rigorous . . . Jenkins impressive ability to break down complex concepts into readable prose makes this study vital and engaging. * Publishers Weekly *Jenkins is an astute observer of media culture and his insights are spot-on. * The Los Angeles Times *Jenkins tries to bring clarity to cultural changes that are melting and morphing into new shapes on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly basis. Convergence Culture provides a view that looks at the restless ocean and tracks the currents rather than just looking at the individual rocks on the beach. * The McClatchy Newspapers *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: "Worship at the Altar of Convergence": A New Paradigm for Understanding Media Change 1 Spoiling Survivor: The Anatomy of a Knowledge Community 2 Buying into American Idol: How We are Being Sold on Reality TV 3 Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling 4 Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars? Grassroots Creativity Meets the Media Industry 5 Why Heather Can Write: Media Literacy and the Potter Wars 6 Photoshop for Democracy: The New Relationship between Politics and Popular CultureConclusion: Democratizing Television?The Politics of ParticipationNotes Glossary Index About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisAddresses the economic, visual, cultural, audience, and new media dimensions of reality televisionTrade Review"Since reality television began to flood TV screens, we've had to deal with another phenomenon: a renewed debate about what is 'fun' versus what is 'good for you.' The essays in this volume enlighten that discussion and take us beyond it. They provide both the record of a strange moment in history and a contribution to contemporary cultural politics." -- Toby Miller,editor of Television & New Media"The book explores the genre's institutional and sociopolitical development, its place in the cultural landscape, and how it serves as a source of meaning and pleasure." * NYU Today *"Reality TV manages to cover a range of ideas and concepts about the genre . . . All watchers of reality TVeven those ashamed to admit itwould benefit from reading this text, if only to shake some of the preconceived ideas about the influence of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s The Simple Life" * M/C Reviews *"Offers the most insightful and significant scholarly analysis to date of the changes taking place in the economic "globalization" of television production. A delight to read, laced with wit and humor." * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Laurie Ouellette and Susan Murray Part I Genre * 1 "Stanley Milgram, Allen Funt and Me" Anna McCarthy * 2 Performing the Real: Documentary Diversions (with Afterword) John Corner * 3 "I Think We Need a New Name for It" Susan Murray * 4 Teaching Us to Fake It Nick Couldry * 5 Extraordinarily Ordinary Derek Kompare Part II Industry 6 The Political Economic Origins of Reali-TV Chad Raphael * 7 Television 2.0 Ted Magder * 8 Hoaxing the "Real" Alison Hearn * 9 Global TV Realities John McMurria Part III Culture and Power * 10 Country Hicks and Urban Cliques Jon Kraszewski * 11 "Take Responsibility for Yourself" Laurie Ouellette * 12 Belabored Reality Heather Hendershot * 13 Cinderella Burps Jonathan Gray * 14 The Comedic Treatment of Reality: Kathy Griffin Heather Osborne-Thompson Part IV Interactivity * 15 Melancholy, Merit, and Merchandise Amber Watts * 16 Visceral Literacy Mark Andrejevic 17 Buying into American Idol Henry Jenkins About the Contributors Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFocusing on those seemingly inexplicable gaps or blind spots in recent American presidential politics, the author interrogates symptomatic moments in political rhetoric, popular culture, and presidential behavior to elucidate profound and disturbing changes in the American presidency and the way it embodies a national imaginary.Trade ReviewIn a series of bravura performances, Rubenstein reads presidents through Baudrillard and Lacan, providing at once a narrative of the administrations and . . . the field's development over the past two decades. * American Quarterly *Rubenstein is without rival in her brilliant use of psychoanalytic theory for political science. No one since Michael Rogin has written so incisively about the American presidency and American popular culture. This Is Not a President radically transforms ones understanding of American political discourse. -- Anne Norton,University of PennsylvaniaA provocative analysis of the place of the U.S. presidency in contemporary times. . . . Recommended. * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: My Own Private Presidents Organizational Note The Mirror of Reproduction: Baudrillard and Reagan's America Oliver North and the Lying Nose This Is Not a President: Baudrillard, Bush, and Enchanted Simulation Bush, the Man Who Sununu Too Much: Male Trouble and Presidential Subjectivity "Chicks with Dicks": Transgendering the Presidency "Honey, I Shrunk the President": Psychoanalysis, Postmodernism, and the Clinton Presidency "Father, Can't You See I'm Bombing?" A Bush Family Romance Hillary Regained Notes Index About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisDuring the 1990s a particular focus of discussions on American culture has been the role of visual arts in public life. In this volume, five cultural critics and two contemporary artists set out to show the ways in which this debate has profoundly reshaped the view of American culture.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLooks at how the belief in abduction by extraterrestrials is constituted by and through popular discourse and the images provided by print, film, and television. This work contends that the abduction phenomenon is symptomatic of a period during which people have come to feel divested of the ability to know what is true about themselves.Trade ReviewA fascinating addition to the literature. * CHOICE *Brown argues convincingly that alien abduction stories speak to several key issues in our culture, from environmentalism to changing ideas about reproduction. Extending far beyond textual readings, she instead tells the stories of individual people, treating them with respect, but with a critical lens as well. Her analysis of the role of & experts in alien abduction-their power and the misuses of that power-is utterly compelling. -- Melani McAlister,George Washington UniversityBrowns brilliant study is so much more than a book about alien abductionit is a flesh-and-blood inquiry into the nature of belief in a technologically advanced society. -- Andrew Ross,author of Fast Boat to ChinaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1 Elusive Shreds of Memory: The Trauma and Recovery of Alien Abduction2 The Invisible Epidemic: Abduction Traumatists 3 Good Subjects: Submitting to the Alien 4 My Body Is Not My Own: The Intimate Invasion of Alien Technology 5 An Ongoing and Systematic Breeding Experiment 6 They Have the Secrets: Conspiracy Theory as Alternative History 7 This Is Worse Than Friggin' Aliens: Conspiracy Theory and the War against Citizens 8 Look and See What You Have Done: Abductees and the Burden of Global Consciousness 9 You Have a Sensitivity: The Limits of Chosenness10 Reality Gets Exploded: Abductee Culture, Abductee Belief Conclusion: Alien Abduction and the New Face of Terror Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

Read more less