Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first and only book to position what are called “Soundies” within the broader cultural and technological milieu of the 1940s. Examining the dynamics between Soundies’ short musical films, the Panoram’s film-jukebox technology, their screening spaces and their popular discourse, Kelley provides an integrative approach to historic media exhibition.
Trade Review“A compelling read from beginning to end,
Soundies Jukebox Films and the Shift to Small Screen Culture opens up an entirely new way to think about moving images, music and the technologies that made them part of our everyday lives.” -- Haidee Wasson * coeditor of Useful Cinema *
"Chronicle of Higher Education weekly book list," by Nina C. Ayoub * Chronicle of Higher Education *
"[Kelley] admirably succeeds in describing the business methods, aesthetic attributes and social history of the coin-operated “Panoram” machine and its black-and-white 16mm musical shorts, called Soundies." * CineMontage *
“A compelling read from beginning to end,
Soundies Jukebox Films and the Shift to Small Screen Culture opens up an entirely new way to think about moving images, music and the technologies that made them part of our everyday lives.” -- Haidee Wasson * coeditor of Useful Cinema *
"Chronicle of Higher Education weekly book list," by Nina C. Ayoub * Chronicle of Higher Education *
"[Kelley] admirably succeeds in describing the business methods, aesthetic attributes and social history of the coin-operated “Panoram” machine and its black-and-white 16mm musical shorts, called Soundies." * CineMontage *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Soundies Jukebox Films
Part I Small Screen Encounters and Spatial Practices
1 The Look-Listening Machine: The Panoram Jukebox and New Screen Practices
2 The Sites of Soundies: The Dynamics of Space and Screen
3 Mobilizing Space: The Panoram goes to War
Part II Short Forms and Enduring Formations
4 Up Close and Personal: The Shifting Aesthetics of the Jukebox Short
5 “A Swing Half Breed”: Soundies’ Hybrid Identities and Raced Attractions
6 Post War Screens: Soundies on TV and the Rehash of the Film Jukebox
Conclusion: Short and Sweet: Rescaling Screen Culture
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
