Description
Book SynopsisExploring how political sentiments, popular desires, and social anxieties have been reflected in movies from the Dead End Kids serial to the ghetto action flicks of the 1990s, this book offers the first full-length study of the American film cycle and its
Trade ReviewOne sign of a successful work of scholarship is, oddly enough, that it inspires readers to think about other things, drawing connections from the book’s topics to issues that might be more within the reader’s own frame of reference and research interests. Thus American Film Cycles is a great book to think with, making a convincing case for the importance of cycles in film history beyond just her particular case studies, and highlighting how the study of cycles can strengthen our understanding of a range of issues, including cultural representations, taboo topics, censorship, production strategies, and fan subcultures. In short, Klein’s engagingly-written book should become a must-read for scholars and students interested in film history and the role of genre, and will hopefully inspire further explorations of cycles as a vital aspect of understanding film and media.
-- Jason Mittell * Cinema Journal *
But as a work in its own right, American Film Cycles is plenty compelling….It is Klein’s achievement to not only suggest a new evolutionary model for the way topical movies operate, but also to sketch a plausible symbiosis between movies, studios, and audiences that offers fresh insights into both the film industry and the larger society. It remains for other writers to pick up her example, and apply to it additional film cycles, moving beyond the current author’s necessary limited focus on films dealing with the fears and fascinations of American urban life.
-- Andrew Schenker * Cineaste *
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction. Love at First Sight
- Chapter 1. Real Gangsters Do Cry: A Cyclical Approach to Film Genres
- Chapter 2. Real Gangsters Do Cry: Understanding How Film Cycles Change over Time
- Chapter 3. I Was a Teenage Film Cycle: The Relationship between Youth Subcultures and Film Cycles
- Chapter 4. Not Only Screen But the Projector as Well: The Relationship between Race and Film Cycles
- Conclusion. Love, Disdain, and the Future of Cycle Studies
- Appendix. Selected Filmographies
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
