America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies

Book Description

America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in the Movies is a lively introduction to issues of diversity as represented within the American cinema. The first synthetic and historical text of its kind, America on Film provides a comprehensive overview of the industrial, socio-cultural, and aesthetic factors that contribute to cinematic representations of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The volume chronicles the cinematic history of various cultural groups, examines forces and institutions of bias, and stimulates discussion about the relationship between film and American national culture.Accessible and user-friendly, America on Film features 101 illustrations, a glossary of key terms, questions for discussion, and lists for further reading and further viewing. The book is organized within a broad historical framework, with specific theoretical concepts - including film genre, auteurism, cultural studies, Orientalism, the "male gaze, " feminism, and queer theory - integrated throughout. Each individual chapter features a concise overview of the topic at hand, a discussion of representative films, figures, and movements, and an in-depth analysis of a single film, including The Lion King, The Jazz Singer, Smoke Signals, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Celluloid Closet.

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Redefining Black Film
Mark A. Reid
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film (Culture and the Moving Image)
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ASIN: 0520079027

Book Description

Can films about black characters, produced by white filmmakers, be considered "black films"? In answering this question, Mark Reid reassesses black film history, carefully distinguishing between films controlled by blacks and films that utilize black talent, but are controlled by whites. Previous black film criticism has "buried" the true black film industry, Reid says, by concentrating on films that are about, but not by, blacks.
Reid's discussion of black independent films--defined as films that focus on the black community and that are written, directed, produced, and distributed by blacks--ranges from the earliest black involvement at the turn of the century up through the civil rights movement of the Sixties and the recent resurgence of feminism in black cultural production. His critical assessment of work by some black filmmakers such as Spike Lee notes how these films avoid dramatizations of sexism, homophobia, and classism within the black community.
In the area of black commercial film controlled by whites, Reid considers three genres: African-American comedy, black family film, and black action film. He points out that even when these films use black writers and directors, a black perspective rarely surfaces.
Reid's innovative critical approach, which transcends the "black-image" language of earlier studies--and at the same time redefines black film--makes an important contribution to film history. Certain to attract film scholars, this work will also appeal to anyone interested in African-American and Women's Studies.

Multiple Voices in Feminist Film Criticism

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Multiple Voices helpful to those "in the know"

Multiple Voices in Feminist Film Criticism
Diane Carson , and Linda Dittmar
Manufacturer: University of Minnesota Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Issues in Feminist Film Criticism (A Midland Book)
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Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction (Theories of Representation & Difference)
Feminism and Film Theory

ASIN: 0816622736

Customer Reviews:

Multiple Voices helpful to those "in the know".......2000-11-09

Multiple Voices is a great complilation of developmental feminist film theory. Interesting and diverse essays are included: Christine Gledhill (one of my personal favorites), B. Ruby Rich, bell hooks, Teresa de Lauretis, Linda Williams and more. The anthology is broken into three parts: "perspectives", which gives a brief histoical and general overview of American feminist film criticism; "practice", which is a series of essays that apply the theory to various films/film genres; and finally, "course files" which are course outline suggestions for teaching theory to students.

Book Description

Movie-Struck Girls examines women's films and filmgoing in the 1910s, a period when female patronage was energetically courted by the industry for the first time. By looking closely at how women were invited to participate in movie culture, the films they were offered, and the visual pleasures they enjoyed, Shelley Stamp demonstrates that women significantly complicated cinemagoing throughout this formative, transitional era. Growing female patronage and increased emphasis on women's subject matter did not necessarily bolster cinema's cultural legitimacy, as many in the industry had hoped, for women were not always enticed to the cinema by dignified, uplifting material, and once there, they were not always seamlessly integrated in the social space of theaters, nor the new optical pleasures of film viewing. In fact, Stamp argues that much about women's films and filmgoing in the postnickelodeon years challenged, rather than served, the industry's drive for greater respectability.

White slave films, action-adventure serial dramas, and women's suffrage photoplays all drew female audiences to the cinema with stories aimed directly at women's interests and with advertising campaigns that specifically targeted female moviegoers. Yet these examples suggest that women's patronage was built with stories focused on sexuality, sensational thrill-seeking, and feminist agitation, topics not normally associated with ladylike gentility. And in each case concerns were raised about women's conduct at cinemas and the viewing habits they enjoyed, demonstrating that women's integration into motion picture culture was not as smooth as many have thought.

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Sex-Kitten.net Review: .......2005-06-25

The Early History of Women *And* Film (Not "In" Film)

Every so often, we women complain about women in the media. When it comes to movies, we complain about the diminished roles for maturing women; we complain about the way women are portrayed in films; we complain about the history of films, most notably The Hollywood Code which seemed to destroy & limit our potential as women in film -- on both sides of the camera. But long before all that, in the very beginning, it was even worse.

In 'Movie-Struck Girls: Women & Motion Picture Culture After the Nickelodeon', by Shelley Stamp, we learn more than just the roles of women in films or behind the camera -- we learn about women's role as patrons of cinema.

The book is an eye-opening look at a long ignored part of American film history -- and an astonishing look at the history of women as media consumers.

Stamp spent over ten years researching for this book. She studied trade journals, fan magazines, ephemera, and many official documents and records at the National Board of Censorship Archives in New York City, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles, & the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Many of the films she reviewed are no longer readily available, let alone circulating, but can be found at the Library of Congress & the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

It sounds like a huge undertaking, & I thank her for it. 'Movie-Struck Girls' presents a wealth of information that I had never known before.

In 'Movie-Struck Girls' you learn all about these long-hidden details of American film history & it's collision with turn of the century American values -- including titles, studios, stars, organizations, & political figures. For a person who adore film & is a passionate feminist, this is a great read. Why it's as thrilling as those old adventure serial films!

Stamp does a great job of presenting this long ignored part of film -- and women's -- history. It's definitely an academic read, which means it is meaty enough for those who want to further search for clues, artifacts & films themselves. It may not read like a novel, but it's so fascinating & full of details, it won't disappoint. Fans of film, especially silent films, cannot call themselves educated in the subject unless they know this history. And women, well, we start to see a much larger image emerge -- our complaints regarding women in the media have much deeper roots than we previously knew.

(Condensed Review)

Screen Style: Fashion and Femininity in 1930s Hollywood (Commerce and Mass Culture, V.2)

Average customer rating:

An outstanding contribution to fashion & cinema history.

Screen Style: Fashion and Femininity in 1930s Hollywood (Commerce and Mass Culture, V.2)
Sarah Berry
Manufacturer: University of Minnesota Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Textile & Costume | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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History | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0816633134

Book Description

Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich-all were icons of beauty and glamour in 1930s Hollywood. Screen Style reveals the impact of celebrities like these on women filmgoers, looking beyond the surface of the films and fashions of the era-often described as forms of escapism from the difficult realities of the Depression-to show how Hollywood presented women with models for self-determination during a time of rapid social change. Revealing the public and cinematic fascination with the strong-willed women featured in so many movies-ambitious gold diggers, career-minded working girls, social climbers, dangerous androgynous females, and other exotics-Sarah Berry presents a lively look at films, fan magazines, and advertising of that time.

Sarah Berry writes on film, media, and cultural studies and designs interactive multimedia projects. She teaches film studies at Portland State University.

Customer Reviews:

An outstanding contribution to fashion & cinema history........2000-06-04

This survey of women's fashion issues in 1930s Hollywood provides a fine social history of 1930s film style, survey the impact of female celebrities on fashion and showing how Hollywood used actresses as models during a time of social change. Screen Style explores changes in fashion marketing approaches during the 1930s and is a recommended pick for students of fashion history.

Uninvited: Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability (Theories of Representation and Difference)

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excellent film theory
Couldn't put it down

Uninvited: Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability (Theories of Representation and Difference)
Patricia White
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0253213452

Book Description

Lesbian characters, stories, and images were barred from onscreen depiction in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s, together with all forms of "sex perversion." Looking at the lure of some of the great female stars and at the visual coding of supporting actresses, the book identifies lesbian spectatorial strategies.

Customer Reviews:

excellent film theory .......2006-07-10

applicable to literary theory as well. so well written, especially for a scholarly book! don't miss the conclusion, where you will be blown away. and the intense reading of "all about eve" will take your breath away.

Couldn't put it down.......2006-04-12

This book is fascinating and compelling to read. I am thankful to Patricia White for doing all this research. I can't wait to watch these films.

Feminism and Film (Oxford Readings in Feminism)

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Feminism and Film

Feminism and Film (Oxford Readings in Feminism)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Issues in Feminist Film Criticism (A Midland Book)

ASIN: 0198782349

Book Description

This book brings together carefully selected essays on feminism and film with a view to tracing major developments in theory, criticism, and practices of women and cinema from 1973 to the present day. It illuminates the powerful, if controversial, role feminist research has played in the emergence of Film Studies as a discipline during these years; reprinting influential 1970s pioneering essays tracing the ensuing debates and challenges to key theories that shaped this field in the next two decades. Kaplan details the Euro-American contexts within which feminist film theories and practices emerged and traces the changing influences of French, German, and American intellectual movements on feminist film research. As well as a wide-ranging introduction which sets the selection of essays in context, readers will find examples of social-role, psychoanalytic, structuralist, post-structuralist, gay and lesbian, postmodern and postcolonial feminist film criticism, prefaced by introductory notes and including further readings.

Customer Reviews:

Feminism and Film.......2005-10-01

I had to get the book for a class and it seems to be one of the better books on this topic.

Acoustic Mirror: The Female Voice in Psychoanalysis and Cinema (Theories of Representation and Difference)

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Feminist Film Theory

Acoustic Mirror: The Female Voice in Psychoanalysis and Cinema (Theories of Representation and Difference)
Kaja Silverman
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0253204747

Customer Reviews:

Feminist Film Theory.......2000-05-25

Silverman's observations regarding classical Hollywood cinema constantly drive the reader beyond the complacency of a male-centered interpretation of film. Make no mistake about it, her prose is thick, but the rewards of contemplating her thoughts are there for the picking. She extends the thought of Laura Mulvey, and does so by also using the psychoanalytic method. If the reader has questions about the validity of this particular method, then he/she may question some of the ideas that are put forth. However, Mulvey's acknowledges that the psychoanalytic method itself has traditionaly bowed to the father-figure. Her intention is to raise the reader's awareness of this tendency before she begins to explore the ramifications of patriarchal society on the filmic medium. Incredibly interesting are remarks on the "disembodied voice" and its relationship to female characters that can be found in Hollywood cinema. This is the essence of what makes film an "acoustic mirror."

Fetishism and Curiosity (Perspectives (Bloomington, Ind.).)

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Fetishism haunts cinematic apparatus, then and now,
Inspirational Sparks

Fetishism and Curiosity (Perspectives (Bloomington, Ind.).)
Laura Mulvey
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0253210194

Customer Reviews:

Fetishism haunts cinematic apparatus, then and now,.......2003-12-19

and this lucid and caustic study gets fetishism just right, in revealing close studies of works like Citizen Kane and Imitation of Life, revealing the cover up of labor and the will to domination, as well as the pleasures in the narrative drive to see/not see. Curious spectacles that allow the cinema-goer to keep going, even as the US power of fetish covers up exploitation with glamour and sheen and fashion and sublimity, not to mention the recent drive to romanticize imperial fascism in works like Hero. Gladiator, and The Last Samurai. Laura Mulvey is necessary reading, still.

Inspirational Sparks.......2001-11-23

One should read this collection of essays, not for answers to the great philosophical questions in art, but for inspiration. Mulvey's polemics, filled with unsupported assertions and often strange conclusions, are not philosophically sound. These essays, however, are provocative and one cannot help but respond, either in sympathy or in rejection to her works. A risk taker, she gives birth to ideas that have transcended the boundaries of third-wave feminist criticism and have found their way into mainstream theory. Mulvey is a must read for feminist theorists and critics in the visual, literary, theatrical and filmic arts.

Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts)

Average customer rating:

not that many movies

Historical Dictionary of African American Cinema (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts)
Berry S. Torriano
Manufacturer: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0810855453

Customer Reviews:

not that many movies.......2007-03-20

The dictionary lists movies with predominantly Negro themes, and also Negro actors. As you might expect, famous movies like "In the Heat of the Night" and stars like Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte are described. The text also gives listings for topics like the late, unlamented "blackface" custom of early vaudeville and movies.

Note that as far as Negro-related movies go, there are very few before the late 1960s. Plus, if you look at the actors, few of them rose to prominence before then, in any type of movies. All this of course reflects the pervasive discrimination of earlier times. While the book seems impressively comprehensive, there really aren't that many movies in it, compared to all the films made in the US since the 1910s.

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