Refiguring American Film Genres

Refiguring American Film Genres
Author :
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Total Pages : 348
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0520207319
ISBN-13 : 9780520207318
Rating : 4/5 (19 Downloads)

Synopsis Refiguring American Film Genres by : Nick Browne

This collection of essays by leading American film scholars charts a whole new territory in genre film criticism. Rather than assuming that genres are self-evident categories, the contributors offer innovative ways to think about types of films, and patterns within films, in a historical context. Challenging familiar attitudes, the essays offer new conceptual frameworks and a fresh look at how popular culture functions in American society. The range of essays is exceptional, from David J. Russell's insights into the horror genre to Carol J. Clover's provocative take on "trial films" to Leo Braudy's argument for the subject of nature as a genre. Also included are essays on melodrama, race, film noir, and the industrial context of genre production. The contributors confront the poststructuralist critique of genre head-on; together they are certain to shape future debates concerning the viability and vitality of genre in studying American cinema.

American Film Genres

American Film Genres
Author :
Publisher :
Total Pages : 288
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0440302986
ISBN-13 : 9780440302988
Rating : 4/5 (86 Downloads)

Synopsis American Film Genres by : Stuart M. Kaminsky

Handbook of American Film Genres

Handbook of American Film Genres
Author :
Publisher : Greenwood
Total Pages : 432
Release :
ISBN-10 : UOM:39015013371524
ISBN-13 :
Rating : 4/5 (24 Downloads)

Synopsis Handbook of American Film Genres by : Wes D. Gehring

Handbook of American Film Genres provides scholarly introductory overviews of various types of films, lists significant examples of each genre, and recommends sources to consult for additional information. Eighteen genres are covered divided into five different categories: action/adventure, comedy, the fantastic, songs and soaps, and nontraditional. Each category is then divided into more diverse sections such as comedy: screwball, parody, clown etc. ... Each chapter includes a historical/analytical overview, a bibliographic overview, and then concludes with a chronologically arranged, highly selective filmography, citing from 10 to 15 major examples of the genre with brief lists of credits. ... One of the strengths of this guide is its coverage of more genres than other standard studies. ... Handbook of American Film Genres covers foreign films as well, it makes a valuable contribution to film scholarship, and it will be a useful acquisition for libraries that support serious film study.

The Mouse Machine

The Mouse Machine
Author :
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
Total Pages : 235
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780252033278
ISBN-13 : 0252033272
Rating : 4/5 (78 Downloads)

Synopsis The Mouse Machine by : J P. Telotte

Throughout Disney's phenomenally successful run in the entertainment industry, the company has negotiated the use of cutting-edge film and media technologies that, J. P. Telotte argues, have proven fundamental to the company's identity. Disney's technological developments include the use of stereophonic surround sound for Fantasia, experimentation with wide-screen technology, inaugural adoption of three-strip Technicolor film, and early efforts at fostering depth in the animated image. Telotte also chronicles Disney's partnership with television, development of the theme park, and depiction of technology in science-fiction narratives. An in-depth discussion of Disney's shift into digital filmmaking with its Pixar partnership and an emphasis on digital special effects in live-action films, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean series, also highlight the studio's historical investment in technology. By exploring the technological context for Disney creations throughout its history, The Mouse Machine illuminates Disney's extraordinary growth into one of the largest and most influential media and entertainment companies in the world. Hardbook is unjacketed.

American Film Cycles

American Film Cycles
Author :
Publisher : University of Texas Press
Total Pages : 256
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780292742758
ISBN-13 : 0292742754
Rating : 4/5 (58 Downloads)

Synopsis American Film Cycles by : Amanda Ann Klein

A series of movies that share images, characters, settings, plots, or themes, film cycles have been an industrial strategy since the beginning of cinema. While some have viewed them as "subgenres," mini-genres, or nascent film genres, Amanda Ann Klein argues that film cycles are an entity in their own right and a subject worthy of their own study. She posits that film cycles retain the marks of their historical, economic, and generic contexts and therefore can reveal much about the state of contemporary politics, prevalent social ideologies, aesthetic trends, popular desires, and anxieties. American Film Cycles presents a series of case studies of successful film cycles, including the melodramatic gangster films of the 1920s, the 1930s Dead End Kids cycle, the 1950s juvenile delinquent teenpic cycle, and the 1990s ghetto action cycle. Klein situates these films in several historical trajectories—the Progressive movement of the 1910s and 1920s, the beginnings of America's involvement in World War II, the "birth" of the teenager in the 1950s, and the drug and gangbanger crises of the early 1990s. She shows how filmmakers, audiences, film reviewers, advertisements, and cultural discourses interact with and have an impact on the film texts. Her findings illustrate the utility of the film cycle in broadening our understanding of established film genres, articulating and building upon beliefs about contemporary social problems, shaping and disseminating deviant subcultures, and exploiting and reflecting upon racial and political upheaval.

Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and The Studio System

Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and The Studio System
Author :
Publisher : McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
Total Pages : 324
Release :
ISBN-10 : UCSC:32106011332027
ISBN-13 :
Rating : 4/5 (27 Downloads)

Synopsis Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and The Studio System by : Thomas Schatz

The central thesis of this book is that a genre approach provides the most effective means for understanding, analyzing and appreciating the Hollywood cinema. Taking into account not only the formal and aesthetic aspects of feature filmmaking, but various other cultural aspects as well, the genre approach treats movie production as a dynamic process of exchange between the film industry and its audience. This process, embodied by the Hollywood studio system, has been sustained primarily through genres, those popular narrative formulas like the Western, musical and gangster film, which have dominated the screen arts throughout this century.

Film Genre

Film Genre
Author :
Publisher :
Total Pages : 328
Release :
ISBN-10 : UOM:39015064691648
ISBN-13 :
Rating : 4/5 (48 Downloads)

Synopsis Film Genre by : Barry Langford

This book provides a detailed account of genre history and contemporary trends in film genre, alongside the critical debates they have provoked.

American Cinema of the 1920s

American Cinema of the 1920s
Author :
Publisher : Rutgers University Press
Total Pages : 310
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780813547152
ISBN-13 : 0813547156
Rating : 4/5 (52 Downloads)

Synopsis American Cinema of the 1920s by : Lucy Fischer

During the 1920s, sound revolutionized the motion picture industry and cinema continued as one of the most significant and popular forms of mass entertainment in the world. Film studios were transformed into major corporations, hiring a host of craftsmen and technicians including cinematographers, editors, screenwriters, and set designers. The birth of the star system supported the meteoric rise and celebrity status of actors including Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Rudolph Valentino while black performers (relegated to "race films") appeared infrequently in mainstream movies. The classic Hollywood film style was perfected and significant film genres were established: the melodrama, western, historical epic, and romantic comedy, along with slapstick, science fiction, and fantasy. In ten original essays, American Cinema of the 1920s examines the film industry's continued growth and prosperity while focusing on important themes of the era.

An Introduction to Film Genres

An Introduction to Film Genres
Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 039393019X
ISBN-13 : 9780393930191
Rating : 4/5 (9X Downloads)

Synopsis An Introduction to Film Genres by : Lester D. Friedman

An Introduction to Film Genres, written by leading film scholars specifically for undergraduates who are new to the study of film, provides an introduction that helps students see thirteen film genres in a new light---to help them identify the themes, iconography, and distinctive stylistic traits of each genre.

Cinema Genre

Cinema Genre
Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages : 272
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781444301274
ISBN-13 : 1444301276
Rating : 4/5 (74 Downloads)

Synopsis Cinema Genre by : Raphaëlle Moine

Genre – or 'type' – is a core concept in both film production and the history of film. Genres play a key role in how moviegoers perceive and rate films, and is likely to determine a film's production values and costs. Written in a clear, engaging, jargon-free style, this volume offers a cutting-edge theoretical overview of the topic of genre as practiced in British, American and French film criticism. Organized by a series of simple but fundamental questions, the book uses numerous examples from classic Hollywood cinema (the western, drama, musical comedy, and film noir) as well as some more contemporary examples from European or Asian cinema that are so often neglected by other studies in the field. How do we characterize genre and what are its various functions? In what ways does genre give a film its identity? How do genres emerge? What is the cultural significance of genre and how does it circulate within and across national boundaries? Informative and user-friendly, Moine’s book is accessible to general readers and adapts easily to a wide range of teaching approaches.