2020 Best Early Career Research Monograph, Monash University Malaysia Damsels and Divas investigates the meanings of Europeanness in Hollywood during the 1920s by charting professional trajectories of three movie stars: Pola Negri, Vilma Bánky and Jetta Goudal. It combines the investigation of American fan magazines with the analysis of studio documents, and the examination of the narratives of their films, to develop a thorough understanding of the ways in which Negri, Bánky and Goudal were understood within the realm of their contemporary American culture. This discussion places their star personae in the context of whiteness, femininity and Americanization. Every age has its heroines, and they reveal a lot about prevailing attitudes towards women in their respective eras. In the United States, where the stories of rags-to-riches were especially potent, stars could offer models of successful cultural integration.

Dead women litter the visual landscape of the 2000s. In this book, Clarke Dillman explains the contextual environment from which these images have arisen, how the images relate to (and sometimes contradict) the narratives they help to constitute, and the cultural work that dead women perform in visual texts.

In this comprehensive volume, research-based chapters examine the experiences that have shaped college life for Black undergraduate women, and invite readers to grapple with the current myths and definitions that are shaping the discourses surrounding them. Chapter authors ask valuable questions that are critical for advancing the participation and success of Black women in higher education settings and also provide actionable recommendations to enhance their educational success. Perspectives about Black undergraduate women from various facets of the higher education spectrum are included, sharing their experiences in academic and social settings, issues of identity, intersectionality, and the services and support systems that contribute to their success in college, and beyond. Presenting comprehensive, theoretically grounded, and thought-provoking scholarship, Critical Perspectives on Black Women and College Success is a definitive resource for scholarship and research on Black undergraduate women.

ComicsAlliance and ComicsBlend Best Comic Book of the Year BUST Magazine “Lit Pick” Recommendation Certified Cool™ in PREVIEWS: The Comic Shop’s Catalog “Mike Madrid gives these forgotten superheroines their due. These ‘lost’ heroines are now found—to the delight of comic book lovers everywhere.” —STAN LEE Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle ruled the pages of comic books in the 1940s, but many other heroines of the WWII era have been forgotten. Through twenty-eight full reproductions of vintage Golden Age comics, Divas, Dames & Daredevils reintroduces their ingenious abilities to mete out justice to Nazis, aliens, and evildoers of all kinds. Each spine-tingling chapter opens with Mike Madrid’s insightful commentary about heroines at the dawn of the comic book industry and reveals a universe populated by extraordinary women—superheroes, reporters, galactic warriors, daring detectives, and ace fighter pilots—who protected America and the world with wit and guile. In these pages, fans will also meet heroines with striking similarities to more modern superheroes, including The Spider Queen, who deployed web shooters twenty years before Spider Man, and Marga the Panther Woman, whose feral instincts and sharp claws tore up the bad guys long before Wolverine. These women may have been overlooked in the annals of history, but their influence on popular culture, and the heroes we’re passionate about today, is unmistakable. Mike Madrid is the author of Divas, Dames & Daredevils: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics and The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines, an NPR “Best Book To Share With Your Friends” and American Library Association Amelia Bloomer Project Notable Book. Madrid, a San Francisco native and lifelong fan of comic books and popular culture, also appears in the documentary Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines.

Horror is one of the most enduringly popular genres in cinema. The term “horror film” was coined in 1931 between the premiere of Dracula and the release of Frankenstein, but monsters, ghosts, demons, and supernatural and horrific themes have been popular with American audiences since the emergence of novelty kinematographic attractions in the late 1890s. A Place of Darkness illuminates the prehistory of the horror genre by tracing the way horrific elements and stories were portrayed in films prior to the introduction of the term “horror film.” Using a rhetorical approach that examines not only early films but also the promotional materials for them and critical responses to them, Kendall R. Phillips argues that the portrayal of horrific elements was enmeshed in broader social tensions around the emergence of American identity and, in turn, American cinema. He shows how early cinema linked monsters, ghosts, witches, and magicians with Old World superstitions and beliefs, in contrast to an American way of thinking that was pragmatic, reasonable, scientific, and progressive. Throughout the teens and twenties, Phillips finds, supernatural elements were almost always explained away as some hysterical mistake, humorous prank, or nefarious plot. The Great Depression of the 1930s, however, constituted a substantial upheaval in the system of American certainty and opened a space for the reemergence of Old World gothic within American popular discourse in the form of the horror genre, which has terrified and thrilled fans ever since.

This book analyses the uses of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a foreign star in Hollywood through a film philosophical, de-westernizing and sonic critical framework. It offers very close readings of the film texts, of the roles Schwarzenegger performs, and the rhetorical strategies he adopts outside his film performances to show that in spite of attempts to occupy the position of an emblematic member of the U.S. national body Schwarzenegger remains irrevocably outside as an accented migrant body continuously accumulating markers of belonging that by their very necessity attest to their insufficiency. The book’s central project is to trace back, from the uses to which a migrant star such as Schwarzenegger is put on the screen, the construction of a sense or idea of a U.S. national community through the cinema. Given that the appeal to the American myth of an immigrant nation that promises to erase difference is fundamental to the Schwarzenegger star persona, the central aim of this book is to explore the uses of his stardom as an embodiment of the promise of America and its contradictions and exclusions.

With tree-lined squares dripping with Spanish moss, cobblestoned streets down by the river, and popular trolley tours, Savannah has become a darling of the Southeast United States. Thanks to its blend of grace, beauty, history, and oh-so-Southern dining and hospitality, the “Hostess City” has a way of charming visitors and locals alike. 100 Things to Do in Savannah Before You Die, All New is filled with easy-to-follow suggestions of where to go, what to see, can’t-miss dining, outdoor recreation, events and entertainment, and where to shop ‘til you drop—along with seasonal activities and suggested itineraries. From dining in a former Greyhound bus station with a James Beard award-winning chef to paddling a kayak through the many serene waterways surrounding Savannah, and from exploring the area’s heritage with the Coastal Heritage Society to the various artsy offerings from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), this is a Savannah guidebook for everyone. Savannah can be overwhelming, and everyone from the first-time or frequent visitor to seasoned locals can cut through the clutter with this collection of adventures, meals, off-beat treats, and historical insight to all parts of the city. Let long-time Savannah experts Lynn and Cele Seldon be your guides on your Savannah adventure.

What do Chanel, Sherlock Holmes, Salvador Dali, and the world’s richest heiress have in common? …they were all part of the Mdivani entourage. The creation of mass media in the 1920s paved the way for five siblings to become a global lifestyle celebrity. Though professional successes adorned them, scandal reigned supreme. As they married their way into the echelons of Hollywood, American and European high society, a moniker “The Marrying Mdivanis” was born. Always dramatic and often heart-breaking, this is a whirlwind epic spanning four continents, eleven weddings, seven divorces and five spectacular deaths with millions in play. The Mdivani Saga is an astonishing biographical account of one of the 20th century's most captivating families. The story follows five siblings born to a Georgian general and his socialite wife, once stirring intrigue at the Russian Imperial court. This riches-to-rags-and-back-again story follows the changing fortunes of the Mdivanis as they barely escaped a revolution with just a few dollars. Within a decade, the Mdivani had turned these dollars into millions when they became the epicentre of the international jet-set —until their dazzling world began to unravel.

Are you tired of dating high maintenance women? Are you curious about why women behave this way? Do you want to understand the evolutionary and psychological reasons behind their high maintenance behaviors? "Survival of the High Maintenance: Evolution's Secret Weapon" dives into the world of high maintenance women, exploring their evolutionary advantages and psychological reasons behind their behaviors. This book is your guide to understanding the complexities of high maintenance women and how they impact society, relationships, and even the workplace. In this book, you will: - Discover the evolutionary advantages of high maintenance women - Explore the psychological factors that contribute to high maintenance behaviors - Compare high and low maintenance women and their differences in behavior - Analyze societal pressures that shape women to be high maintenance - Weigh the benefits and costs of dating high maintenance women - Understand the attraction of high maintenance women from biological and cultural perspectives - Examine portrayals of high maintenance women in popular culture - Investigate the impact of feminism on high maintenance women - Study the functioning of high maintenance women in the workplace - Discuss the parenting approach of high maintenance women and its potential effects on children - Assess the relationship satisfaction of being in a relationship with a high maintenance woman If you want to understand high maintenance women and navigate your relationships, this book is your ultimate resource. Buy "Survival of the High Maintenance: Evolution's Secret Weapon" today and discover the hidden world of high maintenance women.

Why do bad girls always go farther, climb higher and just have more fun? Climbing Mountains in Stilettos is your rulebook for throwing prim, proper and powerless out the window and letting your inner bad girl take the world by storm. It's a trail guide to a new you for women who are sick and tired of the worn-out paths tread by good girls in flats and want to live by their own rules. Authors Ann Tinkham and Carol Brunelli will show you how to: -Take the Yellow Brick Road back home to your dazzling bad girl self -Learn how to keep your words from being your own worst enemy in Sabotage Gulch -Trek through Luscious Body Hot Springs and stop obsessing about your body -Silence critics (and stop being left speechless) after a hike through Sassy Comeback Arch With inspiration from the baddest bad girls past and present and great advice from women who've been there, Climbing Mountains in Stilettos will help you banish your fear of heights, get in touch with your better (and badder) side and conquer life's trails in your favorite pair of heels—practical or not.