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The Movie Lover's Tour of Texas: Reel-Life Rambles Through the Lone Star State
Veva Vonler
Manufacturer: Taylor Trade Publishing
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1589792424 |
Book Description
Texas movies are as vast as the Lone Star State. Fans tour Texas via movies that explore the state region by region. They can hit the movie trail via automobile using suggested itineraries, maps, and lists of unique shooting locations, all spiced with anecdotes and occasional gossip about behind-the-scenes action.
Book Description
"When I read these notes for the first time, I was quite young myself and I immediately identified with this man who narrated his adventures in such a spontaneous manner . . .
"There were moments when I literally took over Granado's place on the motorbike and clung to my dad's back, journeying with him over the mountains and around the lakes . . .
"To tell you the truth, the more I read, the more I was in love with the boy my father had been . . ."- from Aleida Guevara's preface
"A journey, a number of journeys. Ernesto Guevara in search of adventure, Ernesto Guevara in search of America, Ernesto Guevara in search of Che. On this journey of journeys, solitude found solidarity, 'I' turned into 'we'."-Eduardo Galeano
Customer Reviews:
SUPER BUENO!.......2005-10-11
NO HAY NADA MAS LINDO QUE LEER ACERCA DE NUESTROS PAISES, APRENDER DE ELLOS, POR LOS OJOS DE UN JOVEN VIAJANTE COMO "CHE GUEVARA". SE LOS RECOMIENDO! LEANLO! :)
Book Description
“Bond. James Bond.” Since Sean Connery first uttered that iconic phrase in Dr. No, more than one quarter of the world’s population has seen a 007 film. Witty and urbane, Bond seduces and kills with equal ease — often, it seems, with equal enthusiasm. This enthusiasm, coupled with his freedom to do what is forbidden to everyone else, evokes fascinating philosophical questions. Here, 15 witty, thought-provoking essays discuss hidden issues in Bond’s world, from his carnal pleasures to his license to kill. Among the lively topics explored are Bond’s relation to existentialism, including his graduation “beyond good and evil”; his objectification of women; the paradox of breaking the law in order to ultimately uphold it like any “stupid policeman”; the personality of 007 in terms of Plato’s moral psychology; and the Hegelian quest for recognition evinced by Bond villains. A reference guide to all the Bond movies rounds out the book’s many pleasures.
Customer Reviews:
"Oh, Grow Up, 007!".......2007-05-15
As a big fan of both James Bond and Open Court's Popular Culture and Philosophy series, I might be somewhat biased in this review. I read "James Bond and Philosophy: Questions are Forever" with some relish, and came away very impressed.
Fifteen philsophers, (not 17), have a go at bringing their philosophical meanderings to the phenomenon and cultural icon of Bond. No mean feat, especially in a book only 227 pages long, (not including the bits at the back). These people cover everything from epistemology, phenomenology, existentialism, morality and ethics and healthy doses of Nietzsche. The fifteen essays are divided into five broad sections: "Bond, Existentialism and Death", "The Man Behind the Number", "Bond, Politics and Law", "Knowledge and Technology", and "Multiculturalism, Women and a More Sensitive Bond".
It should be noted that the book makes extensive use of the novels. While those who have only seen the movies will not be greatly disadvantaged, it would be useful to have read some of the books.
Also, this is perhaps the most difficult book of the series that I have read. While not completely odious, there were parts that I found tough to digest. This was more noticeable than in other volumes in the series.
Overall, this is an excellent book, and will leave you with much food for thought. I enjoyed the look into the deeper side of James Bond, (including his dietary choices!), and found myself absorbed. A great volume in a great series!
Mel Brooks Had It Right.......2007-02-13
In the film "History of the World Part Two" there is a scene with Mel Brooks in ancient Rome applying for a job. The clerk asks him for his profession. He replies that he is a "standup philosopher." The clerk replies, "Oh a B S artist". There is certainly a lot of that in this book. It is a collection of essays by people who are reputedly at the top of their field and who attempt to define the character of James Bond, 007.
Of course I may be prejudiced as a Bond fan since the fifties and one who has seen all the films and has shelves of books on Ian Fleming, the Bond films and of course all the Bond novels and short stories. I have even used the Bond films in the classroom. My expectations may have been too high as the writers in this book have good credentials. I will admit they know philosophy and they cover every philosopher from Plato to Nietzsche to prove their points. Actually more time is spent by some of the writers on examining the philosophers than Bond. I'm sure that as professionals and Bond fans (I would hope) they had fun writing this. More fun than the reader will have.
Some of the authors do a good job in what they are supposed to be selling while others just natter on in a most boring fashion. They would have done better to have followed the lead of the excellent "James Bond Dossier" by Kingsley Amis and so many other authors in following decades who have attempted to analyze Ian Fleming and James Bond.
The problem is that you cannot pin down James Bond from the various author descriptions by Ian Fleming, Kingsley Amis, the brilliant John Gardner and Raymond Benson married to the twenty one Bond films and portrayals by all the Bond stars, from Connery to Craig, as scripted and directed in the films. There are differences.
You cannot make an analysis of the books and films together or separately without looking at Ian Fleming himself. The James Bond of Ian Fleming originally was based in looks on "a young Hoagy Carmichael" and in personality on Fleming himself. The book Bond was not originally the lady killer that Sean Connery portrayed.
The book is interesting only as an exercise in thoughts and I do appreciate the attempt of each writer in this collection to tie their interpretation of Bond in with their own philosophic beliefs. However I must say that from my view the book does not add anything to understanding the James Bond phenomena and how it relates to our world today.
This is no light read, however.......2007-02-06
'Questions are Forever' in James Bond and Philosophy, another addition to Open Court's popular 'pop philosophy' series linking popular culture with philosophical ideas and insights. This is no light read, however: seventeen philosopher scholars examine the underlying philosophical issues in the Bond universe, providing weighty connections, reflections, and insights relating Bond to Nietzsche and others. College-level courses in philosophy seeking such connections between the genre and modern life will find this sparks classroom interest and debate.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
"The name's Blair. Tony Blair.".......2006-11-12
The Open Court Press series Popular Culture and Philosophy has reached twenty-five volumes and this book is one of the most interesting.
There are a slew of Bond books out now to coincide with the appearance of the "new Bond," Daniel Craig. (I've seen good and bad reviews of the film Casino Royale, so if I see it in the theater before it comes out on DVD it will be to watch Judi Dench as M. Her M is more intelligent - - and more vicious - - than any master criminal 007 ever went up against.)
Like other books in this series, it uses it's popular culture subject to illuminate philosophical ideas, not the other way around. (It's Heidegger's views on why technology makes us human that matter, not how Q always knows exactly what kind of gadget 007 will need.)
The most important essays to me were the ones blending political and moral issues that are pertinent today. Just what kind of "democratic oversight" is necessary before you give an agent a "license to kill" (or torture, or waterboard)?
It's fascinating that M's real-life counterpart in MI5 just announced that the so-called war on terror would last at least a generation. The implication is, "You need us." Of course lately the terrorist suspects MI5 has shot and/or killed have been completely innocent. Like the man shot and killed by a US sky marshall for running off the plane while the victim's wife (who was with him on the plane) told everyone he was on medication.
Blair's in trouble for selling honors in exchange for political contributions and may soon be getting a visit from the police himself. But for now the police (at least the secret departments) and Blair's government are propping each other up.
It reminds me of what someone supposedly said when he saw Napoleon's foreign minister on the arm of the secret police chief. "Vice supported by crime."
But I suspect several of the authors in this book would disagree with me about current politics. What I took from the book may not be what you will.
Most of the philosophers find something in the Bond stories (if not in Bond himself) to defend. But not all of them. I especially liked Dean Kowalski's essay looking at Bond from the viewpoint of Eastern philosophy. I also like the fact that the Philosophy and Popular Culture series seems to try to include as many women and other varied perspectives as they can.
There are so many interesting ideas in the world, it is enough after all.
Book Description
This engaging, deeply researched study provides the richest and most nuanced picture we have to date of cinema--both movies and movie-going--in the early 1910s. At the same time, it makes clear the profound relationship between early cinema and the construction of a national identity in this important transitional period in the United States. Richard Abel looks closely at sensational melodramas, including westerns (cowboy, cowboy-girl, and Indian pictures), Civil War films (especially girl-spy films), detective films, and animal pictures--all popular genres of the day that have received little critical attention. He simultaneously analyzes film distribution and exhibition practices in order to reconstruct a context for understanding moviegoing at a time when American cities were coming to grips with new groups of immigrants and women working outside the home. Drawing from a wealth of research in archive prints, the trade press, fan magazines, newspaper advertising, reviews, and syndicated columns--the latter of which highlight the importance of the emerging star system--Abel sheds new light on the history of the film industry, on working-class and immigrant culture at the turn of the century, and on the process of imaging a national community.
Book Description
You don't have to look very far these days to see the influence that the film industry of Hong Kong has had on moviemaking around the world. Hong Kong film stars, such as Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, Jet Li, and Michelle Yeoh, have become household names headlining Hollywood blockbusters, while directors such as John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Wong Kar-wai are closing deals in Tinseltown and developing huge international followings.
Despite achieving such recognition abroad, the luster on Hong Kong's homegrown film industry has faded quite a bit over the past decade. However, many Hong Kong cinema aficionados, who passionately followed the rise of the 'Hong Kong New Wave' during the Eighties and early Nineties, only to become increasingly disenchanted since then, are now looking to South Korea for Asia's boldest and most innovative films.
Since 1998, South Korea's local film industry has undergone a remarkable transformation. A new generation of Korean moviemakers is revitalizing the industry with bold arthouse productions, big-budget actioners, thought-provoking dramas, and subversive satires. In some circles, South Korea is even being likened to the new 'Hong Kong', with its film industry on the verge of exploding onto the world stage, similar to how the 'Hong Kong New Wave' catapulted the former British colony and its groundbreaking films into the international spotlight. Already, some Korean films have found success in the North American market arthouse circuit, while Korean directors are being courted by major Hollywood studios for lucrative U.S. remake rights.
"Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong" is a guidebook for exploring this new and exciting treasure trove of cinema. It is the first book of its kind, covering this emerging cinematic powerhouse in an easy-to-read and leisure-focused fashion, bringing all the sought-after information on Korean cinema into one convenient package. Within the pages of Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong, you will find:
* A brief history of South Korea and its film industry, which will help you understand the reasons behind the revolutionary changes in Korean cinema and what is influencing the country's directors
* A look at the present state of Korea's filmmaking industry and how it resembles the dot-com era (with the only difference being that these companies are actually making money, and lots of it)
* An examination of the characteristics, themes, and dominant genres of the films in this newest 'Korean New Wave'
* In-depth reviews and commentary of the top ten must-see films of this latest 'Korean New Wave'
* An overview of the top genres of Korean cinema, with reviews, commentary, and notes on availability for the good, the bad, and the ugly
* A look at the stars of Korean cinema, such as the Korean equivalents to Tom Cruise (Han Suk-kyu) and Julia Roberts (Shim Eun-ha).
* How moviegoers can go about seeing Korean flicks (with English subtitles too!)
So sit back, relax, and get ready to be introduced to Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong!
Download Description
Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong is a guidebook for exploring the new and exciting destination for exciting and innovative cinema: South Korea. It is the first book of its kind, covering this emerging cinematic powerhouse, which has been likened to Hong Kong, in an easy-to-read and leisure-focused fashion, bringing all the sought-after information on Korean cinema into one convenient package.
Customer Reviews:
Modern Korean cinema at an easy glance.......2007-07-25
The odd grammatical and printing error aside, this is a well-produced and easy to use guide to some of the best film-making of the last ten years or so.
It's worth noting quickly that despite the glossy cover, the book is entirely black-and-white inside with pictures that are of an acceptable rather than brilliant quality. Personally, I find this to be a very minor quibble.
I was already very enthused by recent Korean cinema before reading this book and have enjoyed it very much, but it would also make an ideal introduction for someone only just thinking of dipping their toes into the invigorating waters of the Korean New Wave.
I can't fully appreciate the frequent comparisons made with Hong Kong film-making of the 1980s having seen very little of it, but it hardly matters; this book puts across in no uncertain terms just how exciting the film scene in Korea has been for the last decade, and it would be a hard-hearted person who isn't stimulated to seek out a DVD or a viewing of some of the films reviewed here.
This is not to say, however, that the book is unbalanced. The author's enthusiasm for Korean cinema is obvious, but does not stop him criticising those films - some, even, that have done very well at the box office - that he considers do not come up to scratch.
The book is sensibly laid out to make it easy to either read straight through or dip into for specific information. It begins with a brief - and NOT heavy-going - history of the Korean film industry coming right up to the beginning of the 21st century. There then follows a chapter of in-depth reviews of 10 of the best Korean films that 'Everyone Should See'. After that the chapters are divided up by film genre (Action, Horror, etc.), and there are 87 (yes, I counted!) high-quality reviews in all. The last few chapters introduce some of the rising stars of the industry, give some assistance to those wishing to find and see these films, and look to the future of Korean film-making.
The only major disappointment for me was that due to the book's having been published in 2002, wonderful films such as A Bittersweet Life, Memories of Murder and Save the Green Planet! are not included, having been released from 2003 onwards. It would be silly to complain about this type of issue since it is inevitable, but here's hoping for a new edition of Korean Cinema: The New Hong Kong sometime soon because the cinematic gems just keep on coming!
Mistitled, but a just-passable introductory piece for newcomers.......2005-12-22
KOREAN CINEMA: THE NEW HONG KONG is clearly the product of a genuine convert to the form. Whether Anthony C.Y. Leong has remained so is anyone's guess as of late, but it indeed comes as a small surprise that this book was written by a regular contributor to Thomas Weisser's execrable ASIAN CULT CINEMA magazine, a publication that has done more to pigeonhole Asian cinema into one gigantic bowl of sex and sadism than any Pink-film-loving pervert could do in a lifetime.
From evidence provided here, though, Leong's passion for movies (which is also evidenced via various online review portals, the style here being little better than that) is better served by self-published efforts such as this than it is sandwiched between the salacious and error-ridden pages of Weisser's rag. Weisser's ASIAN CULT CINEMA book, a late-90's reference guide to Hong Kong cinema that has disseminated more MISinformation to the world than any fifty amateur fanzines could circa 1990, is still being peddled to an unsuspecting base of newcomers (I've yet to ascertain whether Leong was a contributor, but it's likely), so it's refreshing to know that viewers curious about Korean cinema at least have a reference guide that, while not blessed with particularly great prose, is at least honest and forthight in its appreciation of its subject matter, without resorting to the cheap putdowns and mysogynist leanings of the Weisser material with which its author, perhaps unwittingly, has previously been associated.
Leong is, however, WAY WAY OFF BASE in labelling Korean cinema "The New Hong Kong." The assumption that one country's cinematic fare is so lacking in cultural identity that it stands only to supplant the fare of another country - following that all Asian cinema somehow "blends" together in the eyes of outsiders - is simplistic and ill-informed to say the least. Leong, who is Chinese, makes repeated commentary about the downfall of Hong Kong cinema while holding Korean cinema up as the natural successor to the throne. Hong Kong cinema, however, is still very much alive and kicking, and while Korean cinema has certainly enjoyed a renaissance of sorts (both domestically and internationally) since the release of the high-tech action thriller SHIRI in 1999, nearly seven years on, many Korean films are still plagued by tired concepts, poorly-plotted screenplays, crass histrionics, and various culturally-specific idosyncracies that may yet be their undoing in the international market once the demand for genre pictures has dried up (as I write this, the Korean DVD market is in a serious state of financial decline). (2007 EDIT: much of this has come to pass: Korean films are garnering fewer distribs at film festivals, and they're lucky if they get one or two breakout smashes a year; DVD sales are nearlly dead in the country. They're still making films worth watching, but the industry is in serious pain right now.
However, Leong's book generally covers films from 1998 to 2002, which any Korean film fan will tell you is the period they first "discovered" Korean cinema, too. And as such, the book clearly is/was a labour of love. More scholarly books have been written on Korean cinema both before and since Leong's self-published tome, but none have ventured to simply provide straight-up reviews of the many varied films that came from this period, so depite his web-forum-worthy writing style, Leong still managed a small victory for the fanboys.. Mind you, scholarly works on Korean cinema (and Korea itself!) are virtually required reading--I strongly prefer them to a book like this--if one is to truly understand the cultural subtext running through much of modern Korean cinema. Thus, Leong's book stands as the best place to START your journey, but once you've seen the films, and if you truly want to know more, then it might be good to augment this book with a more serious cultural, cinematic or even socio-political study.
The format of Leong's reviews is a bit too structurally consistent (intro-synopsis-opinion-rinse-repeat), which means they're best digested a few at a time, preferably just before of just after watching the film in question, which will at least grant the book an extended shelf life as the reader builds a Korean DVD collection. Also, the reviews are grouped into "categories," which is restrictive, particularly as many of the films aren't so easily pigeonholed. It's a small gripe, admittedly, but straightforward alphebetical listings would be much more user-friendly.
Since the book's publication at the very beginning of 2003, however, Korean cinema has produced an incredible number of feature films -ranging from derivative-but-pretty junk like MY BOYFRIEND IS TYPE B and RED EYE to international arthouse darlings like OLDBOY and TAE GUK GI - that would be well served by an update to Leong's manuscript, something which has yet to take place but would firmly cement his position as one of the few non-internet-based reviewers to tackle the subject matter in this way. One hopes that the visible reduction in his output might mean he's working on a revised version of his book, but as he's not one to return emails from interested supporters (especially those who are, at the same time, like myself, openly hostile towards his previous "employer," Miami-based bootlegger and "author" Thomas Weisser), we may simply have to wait and see what comes next, if anything...
A good primer to recent Korean Cinema.......2005-11-19
I have been interested in Korean cinema ever since I worked in Korea as an ESL teacher. My first Korean DVD purchases were Shiri and JSA, which I brought more for novelty and and as a momento of Korea than anything else, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised at the production values of both these movies. As a result, I have become a firm fan of Korean movies, and have added a number of titles to my DVD collection. This book will help me select some more good titles to add to the collection.
"Korean Cinema" fulfills a useful niche as it is basically a primer for Korean movies from 1998 to 2002 for newcomers to Korean cinema. The author reviews and rates a number of the movies made in this time span, from "Attack the Gas Station" through to "2009: Lost Memories", plus a couple of titles a couple of years older. The author also rates and discusses 10 Korean movies from that time period which he rates as must sees. It would be a good start for building a DVD collection. There is also a section devoted to the major personalities of the Korean movie industry, actors and directors. It is illustrated but only in black and white, any many of the pictures are of poor quality.
Ignore the low rating reviews of this book - the reviewers obviously brought this book expecting a serious textbook of Korean cinema, which if you actually read the advertising blurb for the book, it is most certainly not. There are books out there discussing the full history of Korean cinema, but make no mistake, this book is not one of them. It is strictly for the newcomers to the genre, and who has little knowledge of the Korean movie industry. It does have a chapter on the history of the industry in Korea, but it is only superficial, and it isn't the reason I brought the book anyway.
Especially ignore the twit who is critical of the author basing his movie reviews on english subtitles. Korean is a particularly difficult language to learn and to become sufficiently competent in the language to be able to follow a Korean movie without english subtitles is beyond the abilities of all but the most dedicated of people. The author of "Korean Cinema" does make it quite clear he is only a recent convert, and thus a beginner, in Korean movies.
This book would lend itself to an update every 3 or 4 years or so. There has been some considerably significant Korean movie releases since this book was first published, not least of which is "Tae-Guk-Gi". I also recommend checking out the website www.koreanfilm.org which has movie reviews, talent profiles and other useful informative articles. The author of the site, Darcy Paquet, is listed in the bibliography of "Korean Cinema" a number of times.
There should be more books like this.......2004-01-16
I received this for Christmas from my boyfriend and read it from cover to cover by New Years: its that good. Its like reading a magazine dedicated completely to Korean movies. Now when I go to the local Korean video store, I know which movies are worth renting and which ones to stay away from. Whoever wrote this, thank you for helping me appreciate some of the best movies in the world.
I hope there's a sequel!.......2003-08-28
What a great book! Everything you need to know about Korean movies all in one package. With lots of background on why Korean movies kick ass right now, what movies are worth watching, and which ones should be avoided, you definetely get your money's worth here. I hope he writes another one soon!
Book Description
In these innovative essays, Vivian Sobchack considers the key role our bodies play in making sense of today's image-saturated culture. Emphasizing our corporeal rather than our intellectual engagements with film and other media, Carnal Thoughts shows how our experience always emerges through our senses and how our bodies are not just visible objects but also sense-making, visual subjects. Sobchack draws on both phenomenological philosophy and a broad range of popular sources to explore bodily experience in contemporary, moving-image culture. She examines how, through the conflation of cinema and surgery, we've all "had our eyes done"; why we are "moved" by the movies; and the different ways in which we inhabit photographic, cinematic, and electronic space. Carnal Thoughts provides a lively and engaging challenge to the mind/body split by demonstrating that the process of "making sense" requires an irreducible collaboration between our thoughts and our senses.
Customer Reviews:
Phenomenology and film.......2007-08-14
This book is part of the author's long theoretical project during which Vivian Sobchack tries to apply the assumptions and approach of philosophical phenomenology to film theory. Sobchack's theory is based mainly on the work of French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty - for more details regarding Sobchack's theory, see her earlier book entitled "The Address of the Eye: A Phenomenology of Film Experience".
Beside it's marvulous theoretical performance this book is very intelligently written, full of creative language-use. However it could raise only the interest of film scholars interested deeply in film theory, and trained a little bit in philosophy.
Customer Reviews:
Prepare to be boarded!.......2007-02-22
Know this first: I'm a huge fan of all things Disney, especially POTC the ride.
Imagineer Surrell's book is very well-done. This is one of those (along with his earlier work on the Haunted Mansion) that I go to again and again, like watching a favorite movie or listening to a favorite album. Maybe I'll notice on the 50th reading ONE MORE DETAIL I somehow missed...
I especially enjoyed the look at the other parks' version of the ride. Rock on, Jason!
Con: Woulda liked it in HARDCOVER.
Now, as with any OTHER topical subject, some of the info goes out of date the day the book is published, and will continue to "go stale". The 2nd, 3rd, and even talked-about 4th movies are, of course, not included. The much-publicized ride rehabs are not either. This is the same with Jason's earlier Disney's Haunted Mansion book (a good companion piece, by the way). That said, the HM book goes off into a hopeful description of the actually-miserable HM movie, touting it as the best thing since Bela Lugosi. This was written well in advance of the actual public release of the HM movie, I guess, so they were gambling the public would love what turned out to be a huge embarrasment. ( When I need cheering up, I sometimes imagine HM Director Minkoff at what I hope is his new day job, asking people if they want to add a cherry turnover to their order for just 50 cents more ). Okay, here's your soapbox back.
They shouldn't have pushed the HM movie so hard in THAT book.
Not so in THIS book: Because they "got burned" on the HM movie, there's a decidedly less-throat-cramming push for Curse of the Black Pearl, which, of course, in hindsight, they could have laid on thicker, now that the movie has generated some kind of Star-Wars-level cultural shift.
Buy the book. You know you want it.
I know I want more books on CLASSIC Disney attractions, and I only want 'em writ by Jason Surrell. Amen.
Daughter loves it!!!.......2007-01-12
My daughter just loves all the background information. She's very happy with it.
Updated version now available!.......2006-12-12
As of November, 2006, a newer, updated version of Mr. Surrell's book is now available! Look for the version with the compass rose in the upper right corner of the cover.
Cheers!
Beck
BIG BIG BIG BIG fan of the movies :).......2006-10-01
I love Disney world and I love love The Pirates Of The Carribbean! Great if you like both!
Fascinating read for Disneyland fans.......2006-09-13
I really enjoed the first chapter on how the concept translated into the final product of a ride. Amazing how these things come together. The second chapter comparing the ride throughs between the four parks I found a bit frustrating - hard to really picture it unless you're there (for me). I was more interested in the ride portion than the movie chapter myself. Worth the buy (though I bought it used).
Average customer rating:
- Keeping Up With Jones
- A waste of paper
- Marvelous Biography of America's Greatest Animator
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Chuck Jones: A Flurry of Drawings, Portraits of American Genius (Portraits of American Genius, No 3)
Hugh Kenner
Manufacturer: University of California Press
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Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist
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Chuck Jones: Conversations (Conversations With Comic Artists Series)
ASIN: 0520087976 |
Book Description
Creator of the mono-maniacal Wile E. Coyote and his elusive prey, the Road Runner, Chuck Jones has won three Academy Awards and been responsible for many classics of animation featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Elmer Fudd. Who better to do Chuck Jones than Hugh Kenner, master wordsmith and technophile, a man especially qualified to illuminate the form of literacy that Jones so wonderfully executes in the art of character animation?
A Flurry of Drawings reveals in cartoon-like sequences the irrepressible humor and profound reflection that have shaped Chuck Jones's work. Unlike Walt Disney, Jones and his fellow animators at Warner Brothers were not interested in cartoons that mimicked reality. They pursued instead the reality of the imagination, the Toon world where believability is more important than realism and movement is the ultimate aesthetic arbiter. Kenner offers both a fascinating explanation of cartoon culture and a new understanding of art's relationship to technology, criticism, freedom, and imagination.
Customer Reviews:
Keeping Up With Jones.......2005-03-15
It might seem unusual that the literary critic who earned a reputation revealing the depths of Pound, Eliot, and Joyce would devote a book extolling the virtues of a master of Character Animation.
But the critical impulse is surprisingly effective here. Principles of art are defined so infrequently that few of us know art when we see it; often we are left with the nagging feeling that we want nothing to do with it. One principle, according to Goethe, is that art consists of limitation, not liberation. Jones told a story in 400 seconds with a precision that came down to the blink of an eye. The pressures of work and money enabled rather than hindered Jones and his crew at Warner Brothers to create what are now considered classics of the genre: What's Opera Doc (which introduced millions of children to Wagner's Ring Cycle); One Froggy Evening, (which Spielberg called the Citizen Kane of animation); Duck! Rabbit! Duck! ("Shoot him now!"), and later Jones works which reveal equally memorable moments of imagination and craftsmanship, such as the balancing sled in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the entry and exits of the mongoose in Rikki Tikki Tavi. Every work of art, wrote Conrad, ought to carry its justification in every line, and this is true of Jones's work as well as Kenner's: There is no wasted space, every item is telling. Just as the short novel fit Conrad, Jones's preferred form was the six-minute short, within which he employed frequent, comic use of fade to black. Make the point and move on.
Conrad wrote that art deals with what is essential and fundamental. Daffy is pure id; Bugs, in typical American fashion, fights back only when provoked. Far from being violent, Jones' works have moral content. Characters get what is coming to them. Fanaticism such as Wile E. Coyote's always fails. Character animation means, in part, that characters reveal themselves in action, a fitting notion for a country short on philosophers but long on inventors. And of course there is the ubiquitous Acme company with its unreliable products. The reality of the essential is different from the near photorealistic "illusion of life" that Disney tried to accomplish. Under the direction of Jones, figures are humanesque: Porky is a man who happens to look like a pig; Bugs is a rabbit who walks upright and speaks with a Brooklyn accent; Sylvester the cat has a nose like a basset hound, while Tweety has baloonlike feet. Yet these figures are more real to us, more believable, than any of Disney's blemish-free princesses or low self-esteem dragons. If anyone is to blame for preparing us for an ideal world that does not exist, it certainly wasn't Jones, whose humanlike creations are painfully recognizable.
Something else art does is endure. Suffice it to say that Jones has entered the American vernacular. Jones's work is enormously popular sixty years after its creation and far ahead of anything being done today with or without the aid of computers.
This is a slim book full of pleasant surprises in which Kenner gives us new eyes with which to appreciate the legacy of Chuck Jones.
A waste of paper.......1999-09-09
This book has absolutely nothing new to say about Chuck Jones. In fact it doesnt say much at all; just endless amounts of prose that add up to nothing. Rather than doing any reserach on his own, Kenner just takes his historical information from already published books on animation or from interviews he has done with Jones.The problems with interviewing Jones, however, is that he can be pretty self serving at times. So dont expect getting any real insight into Mike Maltese and Maurice Noble's contributions to his films, and certainly not any comparision to the work of Bob Clampett, who Chuck Jones hates with his guts. (They had a lifelong feud) For real insight into the work of Chuck Jones, try the articles written by Richard Thompson in Film Comment in the seventies, or Michael Barrier's book Hollywood Cartoons
Marvelous Biography of America's Greatest Animator.......1996-08-28
Professor Kenner turns his pen toward a study of the creator
of The Roadunner and the Coyote, and of Bugs Bunny in this
wonderful little monograph. Writing with wit and verve he
traces Jones' career from the beginning to the present,touching
on the high and low but always bringing us the essence of
a true comic genius.
Book Description
The stereotypical hillbilly figure in popular culture provokes a range of responses, from bemused affection for Ma and Pa Kettle to outright fear of the mountain men in Deliverance. In Hillbillyland, J. W. Williamson investigates why hillbilly images are so pervasive in our culture and what purposes they serve. He has mined more than 800 movies, from early nickelodeon one-reelers to contemporary films such as Thelma and Louise and Raising Arizona, for representations of hillbillies in their recurring roles as symbolic 'cultural others.' Williamson's hillbillies live not only in the hills of the South but anywhere on the rough edge of society. And they are not just men; women can be hillbillies, too. According to Williamson, mainstream America responds to hillbillies because they embody our fears and hopes and a romantic vision of the past. They are clowns, children, free spirits, or wild people through whom we live vicariously while being reassured about our own standing in society.
Customer Reviews:
D.W. Griffith meets Andy Griffith (and the Coen brothers).......2005-03-03
This is a well-researched look at Hollywood's never-ending fascination with moonshine, country bumpkins, and what goes on up there in the hills beyond Beverly. In the early 1920s as more people moved to the cities, Hollywood found it could make money telling audiences about the places they'd left behind. Lurid tales of sex and debauchery, such as 1950's "Tobacco Road," undercut the good-hearted goofiness of the Ma and Pa Kettle series of the 1940s. By the 1990s, the Coen brothers' "Raising Arizona" was a hit on the strength of Nicolas Cage's ironic portrayal of a lovable yokel (an updated edition of this book would have to include the current TV show "My Name Is Earl," proving this archetype isn't dead by a long shot).
Williamson covers a lot of ground here, from "The Andy Griffith Show" to John Boorman's "Deliverance," and his conclusions are fairly broad ones. His best writing narrows focus on a specific film or theme: the on-location making of the log-cabin potboiler "Stark Love" (1926) is wildly detailed, with newspaper reporting and interviews with local extras who made appearances in the film as members of an "authentic" mountain family. Lots of movie stills, contemporary cartoons, and detailed captions accompany the text. At times the book reads like a college course -- Williamson is a professor at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, and acknowledges the input of several students -- but for film buffs and general readers, "Hillbillyland" is an entertaining look at how the film industry exploits one facet of American culture.
Average customer rating:
- Nuanced analysis of porn, feminism, and middle brow culture
- Soft in the Middle
|
SOFT IN THE MIDDLE: CONTEMPORARY SOFTCORE FEATURE IN ITS CON
DAVID ANDREWS
Manufacturer: Ohio State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description
As the first survey of its kind, Soft in the Middle positions the contemporary softcore feature as a middlebrow form of pornography. This genre of film and video has been produced by a complex and often elusive industry situated in the ambiguous "middle" regions between hardcore and Hollywood.
In meticulous detail, Soft in the Middle demonstrates that softcore's under-the-radar success and pervasive cultural devaluation may be understood in terms of the "postfeminist" strategies employed by successive generations of producers and distributors, each intent on overcoming obstacles to the mainstream distribution of pornographic material. Softcore and its American precursors became more "feminized" and "female friendly" as their distribution widened, a process hastened in the 1980s by the industry's transition to private, non-theatrical modes of distribution and exhibition (e.g., home-video outlets and premium-cable networks like Cinemax). One of the byproducts of this development is that contemporary softcore has frequently resorted to what are arguably anti-male or "misandristic" attitudes and depictions. Clearly, the genre challenges traditional assumptions about pornography, including those held by feminists on both sides of "the porn debates."
Drawing on original industrial research, extensive sampling, and wide-ranging scholarship, Soft in the Middle offers a nuanced look at a discreetly indecent genre whose central commodity has always been female nudity. The book examines the genre's history, describes its deflationary trajectory, and differentiates the reading patterns of its disparate audiences, including "cult" critics and feminist critics. Naturally, the book also considers the genre's formal and ideological conventions, surveying its most exemplary subgenres, styles, and motifs--and lavishing particular attention on its most influential studios, directors, and texts.
Customer Reviews:
Nuanced analysis of porn, feminism, and middle brow culture.......2007-03-14
This is an excellent book on a strange subject -- soft core porn. I am hardly a porn afficianado but I found this book fascinating due to Andrew's careful treatment of softcore. Too often, Andrews argues, softcore porn is seen as a 'watered down' version of hard core pornography. Against this view he points out that softcore has its own distinct aesthetic. The similarity between soft core and more 'high brow' forms of art then becomes a source of anxiety to high-brow (and especially feminist) critics. As a result the book is about more than just pornography -- it is about how American culture categorizes things as 'sophisticated' or 'smut' and it demonstrates just how complex the line between these two things is and how it has been drawn (and defended) in the US today.
Now, to be honest, the book is an academic monograph -- it is not an easy-to-read pop piece. That said, Andrew's prose is easy to read by academic standards, with a wonderful economy of expression that conveys highly complex analysis in only slightly-complex prose. But what makes this book so great is not Andrew's analytical chops -- which, to be sure, he's got in spades -- but his stupendous erudition. His mastery of the genre -- the filmography lists hundreds of movies he has watched -- and his unparalleled knowledge of ths history of pornography is truly astonishing. Like an entomologist who knows every detail of 'his species' or a Shakespeare scholar who can provide paragraphs of commentary for each line in Hamlet, Andrews simply appears to have acheived that rare feat: total knowledge of an entire genre. And this gives him the ability to understand and present the genre's relevance for our understanding of all forms of art and media.
It is difficult to believe that something as... well.. _smutty_ as soft core pornography could have something to teach us about media and society in America, but that is exactly what David Andrews manages to convince us of in this tasty book on a tasteless topic.
Soft in the Middle.......2006-10-18
This book grabs you right away, just in seeing what the subject is. It is certainly something which I have never really thought about before, discussing soft porn and how it has been portrayed. Mr. Andrews keeps it interesting and makes you want to keep turning the pages.
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