Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Friedman's passion for Spielberg films is contagious. Reading
Citizen Spielberg makes you want to revisit old favorites like
Jurassic Park (1993) and less familiar gems like
Empire of the Sun (1987), both to appreciate Spielberg's artistry and assess Friedman's arguments. " --
Australasian Journal of American Studies"Essential . . . Perhaps Friedman's greatest achievement is deciphering--in remarkably entertaining fashion--why every Spielberg film is vital to understanding his entire career." --
The Film Stage"
Citizen Spielberg is an indispensable study of outstanding scholarship and criticism about Steven Spielberg's life, work, and place in American film and cultural history. Friedman writes with commitment and conviction, opening new channels of understanding into Spielberg, his films, and his times."--Sam B. Girgus, author of
Clint Eastwood's America"Friedman claims to have penned the first comprehensive analysis of [Spielberg's] films, and he may well be right."--
Library Journal"Friedman's treatment is an exhaustive and necessary catalog."--
American Interest"There is [a lack of] an exhaustive overview of the components of Spielberg's corpus, the issues which animate his most significant works, the roots of his immense popularity amongst audiences, and the influence his vast spectrum of imaginative products exerts on the public consciousness. Friedman fills that void with a systematic analysis of the various genres in which the director has worked and concludes that Spielberg's films present a sustained artistic vision combined with a technical flair matched by few other filmmakers, and makes a compelling case for Spielberg to be considered as a major film artist."--
Screening the Past"
Citizen Spielberg does a service to a monstrously influential director and an oeuvre whose investigations of emotion -- especially constrained masculine emotions -- have received insufficient book-length study."--
Bloomsbury Review"Friedman seeks a more nuanced approach to Spielberg's cinematic output as director; taking readers through an analysis of his films and responding to the critical assessments of others, Friedman asserts that 'Spielberg is a far more complex, sophisticated, and wry filmmaker than most mainstream critics and academic scholars appreciate.’”--
Shofar "Encourage your brightest students to investigate
Citizen Speilberg. It's the sort of book that by eschewing jargon but employing serious critical analysis could have a profound effect."--
Splice"There is [a lack of] an exhaustive overview of the components of Spielberg's corpus, the issues which animate his most significant works, the roots of his immense popularity amongst audiences, and the influence his vast spectrum of imaginative products exerts on the public consciousness. Friedman fills that void with a systematic analysis of the various genres in which the director has worked and concludes that Spielberg's films present a sustained artistic vision combined with a technical flair matched by few other filmmakers, and makes a compelling case for Spielberg to be considered as a major film artist." * Screening the Past *
"
Citizen Spielberg does a service to a monstrously influential director and an oeuvre whose investigations of emotion--especially constrained masculine emotions--have received insufficient book-length study." * Bloomsbury Review *
"Friedman seeks a more nuanced approach to Spielberg's cinematic output as director; taking readers through an analysis of his films and responding to the critical assessments of others, Friedman asserts that 'Spielberg is a far more complex, sophisticated, and wry filmmaker than most mainstream critics and academic scholars appreciate.’” * Shofar *
"Encourage your brightest students to investigate
Citizen Speilberg. It's the sort of book that by eschewing jargon but employing serious critical analysis could have a profound effect." * Splice *
"Friedman's treatment is an exhaustive and necessary catalog." * American Interest *
Table of ContentsPreface ix
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 The Fantasy and Science Fiction Films 1
2 The Action/Adventure Melodramas 65
3 The Monster Movies 117
4 The War Films 173
5 The Social Problem/Ethnic Minority Films 243
6 Imagining the Holocaust 311
Filmography 341
Works Cited 351
Index 369
