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The biopic presents a profound paradox—its own conventions and historical stages of development, disintegration, investigation, parody, and revival have not gained respect in the world of film studies. That is, until now. Whose Lives Are They Anyway? boldly proves a critical point: The biopic is a genuine, dynamic genre and an important one—it narrates, exhibits, and celebrates a subject's life and demonstrates, investigates, or questions his or her importance in the world; it illuminates the finer points of a personality; and, ultimately, it provides a medium for both artist and spectator to discover what it would be like to be that person, or a certain type of person. Through detailed ...
Through detailed readings of many individual films including the masterful Unforgiven and A Perfect World, Beard helps us to understand the is/not qualities of the charismatic Eastwood figure."--BOOK JACKET.
Drawing parallels between acting and star-making and such concepts of gender identity as masquerade and role playing, Dennis Bingham points out tensions between the mask of masculinity and the 'naturalness' designed to obscure it.
Insightful, focused case studies of screen performance from diverse directors with a range of contemporary styles and approaches.
Lehman brings together new work on masculinity in film by established film scholars, new academics, performance artists, and cultural critics. The essays analyze trends from the role of gay men in saving heterosexuality to the emergence of new queer cinema.
Discovers a Holocaust subtext in Kubrick's films, culminating in his 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel "The Shining". Maintains that this is reflected in his depiction of harsh struggles with and over power and violence. Several of his films deal with war and state power. "The Shining" is seen as an artistic and philosophical response to the horrors of World War II. Among the influences on the filmmaker are Hilberg's "The Destruction of the European Jews", Kubrick's Jewish past, and his early years that were affected by fascism and war. Kubrick's marriage into an artistic German family also contributed to his preoccupation with the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, which were indirectly reflected in his oeuvre.
This collective book offers new insight on the genres of biography and autobiography by examining the singular path of those deemed to be ‘outsiders’, such as Winnie Mandela, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X and Harvey Milk. Its specific focus on these female leaders and civil rights activists, who refused to be constrained by gender, race and class, shifts attention away from the great men of history and places it solely on those who have transformed their personal lives into a fight for collective goals. With an interdisciplinary approach that looks at literature, cinema and cultural studies, Women Activists and Civil Rights Leaders in Auto/Biographical Literature and Cinema argues that life writing is a key source of artistic creativity and activism which enables us to take a fresh look at history.
A Vietnam commando unit leader shares the story of secret operations along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia, describing the efforts of small teams to capture enemy officers, rescue pilots, and collect intelligence.
Until the early twentieth century, printed invitations to executions issued by lawmen were a vital part of the ritual of death concluding a criminal proceeding in the United States. In this study, Gordon Morris Bakken invites readers to an understanding of the death penalty in America with a collection of essays that trace the history and politics of this highly charged moral, legal, and cultural issue. Bakken has solicited essays from historians, political scientists, and lawyers to ensure a broad treatment of the evolution of American cultural attitudes about crime and capital punishment. Part one of this extensive analysis focuses on politics, legal history, multicultural issues, and the ...