Book Description
A prismatic portrait of our national obsession with celebrity, in the tradition of Fast Food Nation and Blink For several years, Jake Halpern has reported on Hollywood for NPR's All Things Considered. In his new book, he explores the fascinating and often dark implications of America's obsession with fame. Why do more people watch the ultimate competition for celebrityhood, American Idol, than watch the nightly news on the three major networks combined? Why do seemingly normal, educated people care about Paris Hilton's dating life? Why do teenage girls - when given the option of pressing a magic button and becoming either stronger, smarter, famous, or more beautiful - overwhelmingly opt for fame? Halpern answers these and other questions by traveling to America's fame factories and profiling a colorful and surprisingly insightful cast of characters, including diehard fans, aspiring stars, and celebrities like Rod Stewart and U2's The Edge. Interspersing these stories with new research including original findings from his own fame survey. Halpern helps us understand how psychology, technology, evolution, and profit conspire to make us so enthralled with the world of red carpets and velvet ropes.
Customer Reviews:
Just a little disappointed.......2007-08-25
After reading you will never work in this town again - I was a little disappointed when reading this book. My own expectations were not what the book was about. If anyone is interested in Hollywood and every wannabe trying to get there you will love this book -
America's Obsession.......2007-07-20
Fame Junkies addresses America's obsession with fame/infamy and the dear price our youth pays for attention. A Pew study discovers that those aged 18 to 25 view fame as their second highest goal in life. Halpern's study asks and answers the question "why" by providing clear insights into America's youth and its quest for its fifteen minutes. He studies the psychology and sociology of our young people's lack of self-esteem and the need for attention/approval. Fame Junkies provides great insight into American culture and shed lights on why we are what we are.
Must-Read for Teenagers--and Their Parents.......2007-07-07
This book is a wonderfully written exploration of the inner--and outer--lives of people who want to be famous, which (it seems) is almost everyone.
It's a page-turner for the generally curious but essential reading for parents of today's teens--nearly one-third of whom evidently believe that they personally will be famous someday! This book is the best couple of hours any teen's parent could spend studying up on their contemporary child's inner life.
Americans of all ages seem to think that fame will cure loneliness, sadness, self-hatred, and shame. Halpern's personal research and his exposition of the work of social scientists show modern media culture from a very rare place of sanity, clarity, and emotional truth.
This book is actually more entertaining than the phenomena ("American Idol") it describes. Given the interlocking nature of media today, it's a miracle Halpern found a publisher, but fortunately, he did.
An uncomfortable, embarrassing but NECESSARY read for those who dream.......2007-06-05
My goodness...the sainted Mr. Halpern doesn't half step in this book! He takes the mirror and the lights and turns it on "wannabees" full force and you see the not-so-glamourous and somewhat corrupt world of show biz. He exposes the "sins" of fans, sycophants and wage slaves to the famous, too.
Gee, isn't it's so easy nowadays to pick on celebrity fandom. Fans are easy targets. Never mind the people who are addicted to NASCAR, a sport that wastes MILLIONS of dollar in petroleum every week, and whose fans behave like illmannered bores...Get those teenagers who dare to go for their dreams instead of hanging on a street corner dealing drugs!
I must admit that some of the stuff in the book seemed judgmental and stereotypical to me. In fact, at times it made me feel angry and defensive because I have been involved in form of celebrity fandom or another for at least 35 years, but I don't act like some of the examples of rabid fans he puts out as examples. However, as I continued to read...I did begin to see myself in this book. Yes, I was one of those "lonely" picked on kids growing up in the housing projects in a large rust belt city...but then so was Oprah Winfrey...and now look at her! Yeah, I, just like those kids, onced dreamed for the day I could leave, go to Hollywood, and be loved, be happy and free from racism. No I didn't quite make it to Hollywood, but I AM a singer/songwriter living in the Northwest...and I'm thankful I had my fame dreams because those dreams sustained me and kept me out of trouble and off the street.
So sometimes fandom and celebrity admiration is a good thing...provided you pick the right role model :)
Yes,this book was a bit uncomfortable to read at points, but then by reading through, I realized that I'm not alone (or crazy) because of this tendency to want to form parasocial relationships with the famous...or perhaps still try to be famous myself even at an age (almost 50) when some would say it's neither realistic nor appropriate.
Mind you, this book will NOT make people turn their backs en masse on H'wood or give up their dreams, no matter how "unrealistic" they seem...in fact, if anything, it may make people want to prove to the author and to themselves...but I'M DIFFERENT or I'm the "Exception" but of course, you're really not!
Still, I found it helpful to read this book...if only to help me to understand why we who identify as fans and/or aspiring artists are attracted us to the "bright lights" in the first place...
so if Mr. Halpern has accomplished anything, it is bringing awareness, so then maybe it will help us all think more about our behaviors and how it affects not only the stars, but the "everyday people" around us...and perhaps maybe help us make better choices as what we turn our passions and talents to. As for me, I'm still going to pursue my rock and roll dream, but am keeping it local...and in perspective lol.
American's - addicted to fame or not?.......2007-04-06
This book is great. It contains stats, personal stories and interviews. The premise of the book is whether or not Americans are addicted to fame. The author's use of survey data, statistics and interviews with psychological experts and celebrity industry professionals (insiders), should be enough to prove this assertion.
His in-death exposure of the celebrity world's three subcultures (aspiring child stars, celebrity entourages, and die-hard fans), along with the media (TV reality shows, magazines, tabloids) only further serves to prove his point. Millions are spent each year by aspiring no-talent-self-entitled-attention-seeking-individuals looking for their shot at fame and fortune. Even more millions are made each year by the industry's parasitic con-artists (scouts and agents) who think nothing of giving false hope to these people.
The book makes a comparison between the behavior of people who suffer from addictions (such as drugs, alcohol and gambling) with people who desire fame and fortune. Halpern includes studies about how the brain works (dopamine) in rewarding this behavior and highlights the similarities of self-delusion and the erosion of personal values as these wannabes towards their goal. One could come to the conclusion that people with no talent, spending thousands of dollars to seek fame as a means to acquire better friends, money and prestige at the risk of family, careers, financial hardship and even their marriage are addicted.
The book leans toward the psychological/analytical side with its survey data, stats and studies but contains enough interviews and personal stories to keep the experience real. Two words I never saw in the book (or in any of the other reviews so far) are 'human nature' and 'ego'. Both of which play a key role in our fascination with fame and why it's probably so alluring to each one of us. Its human nature to have a sense of belonging (family, community) but it's also a constant conflict with the ego to standout and `be someone special'.
My immediate thoughts after finishing the book were that of Reviewer J. Leroux (see book reviews). Looks like he and a few others who enjoyed the book 'got it'. While you comfortably sit and read, Jake Halpern takes you on what would normally be a very expensive, exhausting, physical and emotional ride through each dimension of the industry. We need to make more of our lives by giving less time to the spoiled-brat millionaires in Hollywood begging us to watch them and their antics. Open up the good eye, people! Enjoy.
Book Description
View the
Table of Contents. Read the
Introduction.
"Jenkins is one of us: a geek, a fan, a popcult packrat. He's also an incisive and unflinching critic. His affection for the subject and sharp eye for 'what it all means' are an unbeatable combination. This is fascinating, engrossing and enlightening reading."
—Cory Doctorow, author of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town and co-editor of Boing Boing
Henry Jenkins's pioneering work in the early 1990s promoted the idea that fans are among the most active, creative, critically engaged, and socially connected consumers of popular culture and that they represent the vanguard of a new relationship with mass media. Though marginal and largely invisible to the general public at the time, today, media producers and advertisers, not to mention researchers and fans, take for granted the idea that the success of a media franchise depends on fan investments and participation.
Bringing together the highlights of a decade and a half of groundbreaking research into the cultural life of media consumers,
Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers takes readers from Jenkins's progressive early work defending fan culture against those who would marginalize or stigmatize it, through to his more recent work, combating moral panic and defending Goths and gamers in the wake of the Columbine shootings. Starting with an interview on the current state of fan studies, this volume maps the core theoretical and methodological issues in Fan Studies. It goes on to chart the growth of participatory culture on the web, take up blogging as perhaps the most powerful illustration of how consumer participation impacts mainstream media, and debate the public policy implications surrounding participation and intellectual property.
Book Description
"Get a life," William Shatner told Star Trek fans. Yet, as
Textual Poachers argues, fans already have a "life," a complex subculture which draws its resources from commercial culture while also reworking them to serve alternative interests. Rejecting stereotypes of fans as cultural dupes, social misfits, and mindless consumers, Jenkins represents media fans as active producers and skilled manipulators of program meanings, as nomadic poachers constructing their own culture from borrowed materials, as an alternative social community defined through its cultural preferences and consumption practices.
Written from an insider's perspective and providing vivid examples from fan artifacts,
Textual Poachers offers an ethnographic account of the media fan community, its interpretive strategies, its social institutions and cultural practices, and its troubled relationship to the mass media and consumer capitalism. Drawing on the work of Michel de Ceteau, Jenkins shows how fans of Star Trek, Blake's 7, The Professionals, Beauty and the Beast, Starsky and Hutch, Alien Nation, Twin Peaks, and other popular programs exploit these cultural materials as the basis for their stories, songs, videos, and social interactions.
Addressing both academics and fans, Jenkins builds a powerful case for the richness of fan culture as a popular response to the mass media and as a challenge to the producers' attempts to regulate textual meanings.
Textual Poachers guides readers through difficult questions about popular consumption, genre, gender, sexuality, and interpretation, documenting practices and processes which test and challenge basic assumptions of contemporary media theory.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding Analysis of the Culture of Television Fandom.......2004-10-12
Culture studies has been one of the most provocative and controversial areas of investigation in the social sciences during the last score years or so. Using the tools of postmodern analysis of texts, and the deconstruction of ideas, institutions, and forms scholars have reshaped our understanding of everything from the mundane to subjects acknowledged by all as critical to our modern society. In this important book Henry Jenkins turns his considerable analytic skills on the role of television fans in adopting and making their own several important series and movies. Jenkins, on the faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writes both as a scholar and a fan fully immersed in the culture that produces conventions and a wide range of artistic products associated with television.
"Textual Poachers" emphasizes how fans of various television shows and movies have embraced the characters and "universe" of the shows and made them their own. In most cases they participate in the continuing saga of the characters of the story by fashioning their own narratives based on the series. Be far the most famous of these participatory series is "Star Trek," which was the first series to attract this type of fan following, and still the largest of all of them. It has spawned not only multi and varied clubs for those interested in the ideals of the series, but also inspired a range of creative responses in art, literature, costume, engineering, erotica, music, and drama. In so doing, those that are a part of the fan culture of the series emphasize the interplay of the crew "family" aboard the Star Ship Enterprise, the ideals of the United Federation of Planets, and the challenges of moving beyond the humdrum of existence on Earth to a more exciting and rewarding life within the broader cosmos. The ranges of responses are almost as broad as the number of people involved, and Henry Jackson makes clear that all of those responses are legitimate in the "universe" of fandom.
Jenkins writes at length about the responses of fans to several television programs beyond the famous "Star Trek" phenomenon. These include "Alien Nation" (1989-1990), "Dr. Who," (1963- ), "Magnum, P.I." (1980-1988); "The Man from Uncle" (1964-1968), "Remington Steele" (1982-1987), "Simon and Simon" (1981-1988), "Twin Peaks" (1990-1991), and others. But the series fans that Jenkins spends the most time analyzing are those attracted to "Beauty and the Beast" (1987-1990). The romance between Catherine (Linda Hamilton) and Vincent (Ron Perlman) captured the imagination of a larger number of viewers and they used that on-screen relationship as the cultural materials from which they created a vast array of "stories, songs, videos, and social interactions." It proved a powerful inspiration for enormously romantic depictions.
Henry Jenkins also draws attention to the fact that the vast majority of those a part of this fandom, are white, middle-class women seeking something more than they experience in their everyday lives. They seem drawn to television series with compelling characters interacting in a sophisticated manner. They emphasize relationships and tend to soft-pedal action and adventure in their formulations. At sum they seem to be creating through their efforts a place of refuge, acceptance, and intimacy for themselves and their co-participants. This is captured well in a song, "In My Weekend-Only World," written by T.J. Burnside Clapp to express her love of the fan conventions that she attends:
"In an hour of make-believe
In these warm convention halls
My mind is free to think
And feels so deeply
An intimacy never found
Inside their silent walls
In a year or more
Of what they call reality.
In my weekend-only world,
That they call make-believe,
Are those who share
The visions that I see.
In their real-time life
That they tell me is real,
The things they care about
Aren't real to me." (p. 277)
Henry Jenkins' study is a superb analysis that will change the perspective all who read it about the fan culture and its place in modern society. It is difficult not to emerge from reading this book without a sense of wonder about the talented individuals who are a part of this fan culture and how they seek to live their lives on their own terms, in the process creating for themselves idealized "universes" more like those they glimpsed in the television fictions that they embrace.
Still the best account of fan culture and fan use of texts.......2001-07-07
This is a gem of a book. Jenkins combines an "insider's" understanding of media fandom with serious, well-grounded scholarship to provide one of the few scholarly works on this subject which is not riddled with unacknowledged biases or factual errors (you know, the sort of misrepresentations of series content which suggest that the scholar didn't think enough of the subject matter or their fan informants to bother to get it right). As someone who was practically raised by classic "Star Trek" re-runs and who continues to find inspiration and healing in many science fiction TV programs -- and who hopes to continue to do scholarly research in this field -- I would hold Jenkins up as a model to other scholars. The major drawback of this volume is that it is now almost ten years old. There have been many wonderful series with growing fan cultures of their own (including the rise of such female heroes as "Xena" and "Buffy") since TEXTUAL POACHERS was written, but Jenkins provides a methodology and a model which can still help to interpret these more recent phenomena. Read this, and enjoy.
Dining at the Television Buffet.......1999-12-05
Jenkins starts by dispelling the stereotype of the media fan as teenaged geek in Spock ears, and explores the very real and dynamic interactions between fans and their media. He has a clear understanding of the subject and a good relationship with the people whose culture he describes, as well as a readable and intelligent style of writing. The book is not only interesting but also fun to read.
Excellent resource for fan fiction authors and fans.......1999-10-28
While dated, and slightly insular, this text is an excellent introduction to the sub-culture of fanzines and fan fiction. While many of the current generation of fans seem to believe fan fiction was born online around 1994, they should be surprised and hopefully pleased to discover the rich (off-line) history of the phenomenon, dating all the way back to the pulp magazines of the 1930s.
Book Description
Mike Pingel's Angelic Heaven is the ultimate fan's guide to the hit 70s/80s television series by legendary producer Aaron Spelling. Filled with facts about the show, behind-the-scenes tidbits, rare photos and forewords by Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Ladd, Angelic Heaven will have you rushing out to buy the DVDs!
Customer Reviews:
Sorry, Charlie..........2007-03-30
The book contains interesting facts and trivia about "Charlie's Angels", along with contributions from Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Ladd. The highlight of Angelic Heaven are the personal photos of Farrah and Cheryl. Other than some pictures, there's nothing new here. Additionally, the book has many grammatical errors, which become distracting after reading too many poorly written or incomplete sentences. For a more comprehensive and a better well-written book about "Charlie's Angels" (with a brief introduction bt Jaclyn Smith), buy The Charlie's Angels Casebook by David Hofstede.
I was so glad to get this book!!! Farrah' biggest fan here!!!!!!.......2007-01-25
First of all the cover is awesome, a beautiful picture of the Angels with the Cheryl Ladd picture that I heard Farrah and Cheryl both chose. I bought this book because I collect anything on Farrah Fawcett and the Angels, but I really wanted to read Farrah's and Cheryl's forward, which are great, so are the pictures that Farrah and Cheryl donated to the book. It's fun to see all the advertisements from the show and the great collectibles that were from the show. It's a great way to re-live the series and it makes you wish even more for a Charlie's Angels re-union. Hopefully Farrah will be back to her beautiful self real soon, I do wish her well and hope she feels better and stronger everyday!!! This book is a must for fans of the series!!
Dr Pernice.......2007-01-21
Great job Mike it was easy and fun reading. Alot of facts and new pictures. One question, what took you so long?
keep the books coming
In "Heaven" with Angelic Heaven!!!.......2007-01-20
If you are a "true" fan of Charlie's Angels you will enjoy this book. It has rare on-the-set photos throughout the book from both Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Ladd, a large toy selection, magazine covers, some rare artwork, tv guide ads, highlights from each episode and so on. And the price alone is well the the gorgeous color cover of the original trio.
As for grammar, picture quality, mislabeled pictures, etc - that is an issue between the publisher and the printer - not the author of this book. Unfortunately many out there are way too eager to go for a Jugular any chance they can.
This book isn't meant to be "Shakespeare", it's meant to be a fun and entertaining, just as the original TV series was. So sit back and let it entertain you! Good job Angels!!!!!
Angelic Heaven-Mike Pingle-You did a good job!.......2007-01-16
After a long wait, I was VERY pleased to get my hands on this book! If you are an Angel Fan (or a Farrah fan, like myself) you'll love this book as much as I do. It's full of interesting info, fun facts that even after all these years, I didn't know and lots of great "behind-the-scenes" photos. My thanks to Mike Pingle for putting this book together! Mike-You did a good job! Kenny :-)
Book Description
The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is a never-before compiled compendium of lists, facts, anecdotes, trivia, commentary, and much, much more, about the most successful franchise in movie history. Filled with minutiae culled from the far-reaches of the planet, The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is your one-stop shop for all things Bond, including a detailed, encyclopedic listing of every Bond movie ever made, replete with the actors, the guns, the gadgets, the girls, the cars, and everything in-between. A must for even the casual Bond fan.
Best Girls.
Worst Songs.
Best Actors.
Number of Explosions.
Quantity of Vodka Martinis.
Favorite One-Liners.
Most evil villains.
and so much more.......
Customer Reviews:
Ultimate? Naww.......2007-08-10
I'm a huge Bond fan. After reading this book, I found nothing that I was looking for. All that is in the book is charts and rankings. There is not even a fact page...like...Best selling book film or what not.
I think they should take off the "Ultimate" in "Ultimate James Bond Fan Book" and just put "Just another James Bond Fan Book."
A different take on familiar material.......2007-02-26
Unlike other books about the Bond films, this one does not just review what the movies are about, but compares, contrasts, and critiques them over the last 40+ years. Perhaps a better title would have been "The Ultimate James Bond MOVIE Fan Book." There is minimal discussion of the literary 007 here. I enjoyed the ranking system, although some of the time I don't agree with the author's opinions, which Lipp admits may occur straightaway. Nonetheless, it's entertaining reading taking the movies from a different perspective. My only significant complaint is the complete lack of photographs, but these can be found elsewhere. For example, if you can't remember Stromberg (Curt Jergens) from The Spy Who Loved Me, you aren't going to see a picture of him in this tome. With the recent release of the Ultimate Editions on DVD, this is a timely and handy companion.
For what it is supposed to be it is very good........2006-12-10
The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is interesting, though not "ultimate" for people who have been reading books about Bond for years. I have a collection of books on both the James Bond films and the novels and this has perhaps prejudiced my view. If you love a repeat of plots, an analysis and critique of all the Bond characters in film and enjoy statistics this may be the book for you. There is certainly an ample supply of lists and enough ratings to fill a graduate textbook on statistics. Having experienced the latter I feel I can say that.
Where the book suffers, and author Deborah Lipp is very upfront on this, is the personal opinions. She is very honest about this and actually has two ratings for every aspect of each film. Ms. Lipp relies heavily upon fan websites and suveys that either she or others have made. Then she expresses her own feelings, sometimes in agreement and sometimes the opposite. She is very candid that Bond fans, like Trekkies and Sherlockians (I am in all three categories) will disagree on a number of points. My biggest problem is that once she gets into a film she goes off into lists and ratings of which there are many. I would have preferred the listings to have been at the latter part of the book. At times there is no apparent reason why a list will pop up at the end of a particular film being described.
I will also confess that I did not take the author's suggestion to refer to certain sections as I felt moved rather than reading it straight from cover to cover. By the end I felt very bogged down and wished that I had only read it in parts, with an interlude between. There are many excellent books of analysis out there on the Bond films, encyclopedias in some cases, many with great pictures from the films. I would suggest the reader of this review check out the listing on Amazon. If you enjoy this book you will likely find others that you will like even better. I have had to do this for years as I have used the Bond films in the classroom and written articles about some of them.
I don't regret that I bought this. I have had the good fortune as a teacher to have met a number of the main stars Ms. Lipp has named, three of which have become close personal friends of my wife and myself and who I will be asking to autograph this book as they have others in my collection.
I do appreciate the very strong feelings the author has about various Bond films, we all do. I did not rate this book on whether I agreed with the author on every film, but on its usefulness to a long time fan.
The title is not just hype: this really IS the ultimate.......2006-11-10
The title is not just hype. This really is the ultimate book on James Bond movies; I can't imagine anything more authoritative or more entertaining. Whether you use it as a reference book, browse through it, or read it from cover to cover (as I did), it will reward you with a wealth of facts and informed opinion. This book is a great addition to anyone's movie bookshelf, and it's an absolute gotta-have for fans of James Bond - casual fans and super fans alike.
Deborah Lipp's strategy in organizing her material works extremely well. Each Bond movie gets its own chapter, which is divided into sections devoted to synopsis, analysis, and evaluation of the movie's strength and weaknesses, as well as a ranking of where the movie stands in the Bond canon. Interspersed with these discussions, you get irresistible nuggets of information: quotes, polls, rankings, milestones, facts & figures, high points & low points, cars & gadgets, goofs, awards, and more. I especially enjoyed the many Bond lists that Lipp compiled for the book, such as "Best Explosions in Bond Films," "Best Stunts," "Best Car Chases," and "Best Villains." Another highlight is an extensive survey of the actors who have portrayed Bond on screen, comparing the strengths and weaknesses of their performances.
Lipp's love of movies shines through every page. Her writing style is witty and literate, and her knowledge of 007 lore will blow you away. "The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book" is sure to become the standard work on 007 movies. Every Bond fan and every movie lover should put this book in their shopping carts.
A Step Above Other Bond Movie Books.......2006-10-06
While there will be several James Bond books available around the time of the new Bond movie (Casino Royale) release, I recommend you get this one.
This book is very easy to read (even for people who only like photo books), and is extremely well-researched. The author very cleverly mixes in "Top Ten" and "Best/Worst" lists within each chapter describing a particular Bond movie in detail.
The author makes clear her prejudices and preferences for various films, characters, moments, etc., but balances this to a large degree with citings, quotations, and comments from fan pollings. A sore spot with other Bond books (avoided here) was the feeling their authors were trying to get in good with EON Productions (Owners/Producers of the Bond movie franchise) or other Bond movie P.R. people.
Of course, I don't agree with every opinion in this book (come on, "on Her Majesty's Secret Service" ranked in the LOWER third of Bond movies?); when presented in an entertaining manner (like in this book), these opinions are great for movie buff/Bond fan dispute, discussion, and debate --- what a good read is supposed to accomplish.
Five stars.
Product Description
Fans have been responding to literary works since the days of Homer?s Odyssey and Euripedes? Medea. More recently, a number of science fiction and fantasy works have found devoted fan followings. The advent of the internet has brought these groups from relatively limited, face-to-face enterprises to easily accessible global communities, within which fan fiction proliferates and is widely read and even more widely commented upon. New interactions between readers and writers of fan fiction are possible in these new virtual communities. From Star Trek to Harry Potter, the essays in this volume explore the world of fan fiction?its purposes, how it is created, how the fan experiences it. Grouped by subject matter, twelve essays cover topics such as genre intersection, sexual relationships between characters, character construction through narrative and the role of the beta reader in online communities. The work also discusses the terminology employed by fan fiction writers and comments on the effects of technological advancements on fan communities.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent and enlightening read.......2007-05-28
I am not an academic, but I found this book very readable. Beyond that, it was inspiring to read such a diversity of thought about the fannish culture to which I belong. Unlike the few other books I've read about media fandom, I wasn't just nodding my head and thinking "Yes, I know this already." Several of the essays introduced new ideas, new ways of thinking about fans and how we interact with one another and with our texts, that were not just novel to me but well-argued and fascinating.
My particular favorite was the essay that suggested a view of canon, fanon, and fan-created texts as part of an "archive" of a particular show, movie, or book, erasing the boundary between canon and fannish creations in a way that is, IMO, nothing short of revolutionary.
I would enthusiastically recommend this book to any fan interested in meta, and any scholar interested in media fandom.
A necessary and welcome addition to the canon of fan studies.......2007-05-09
This is an essential book for anyone interested in contemporary fan communities and their creative products: fanfic (including slash fiction), fanvids, online RPGs, and much more. The writers are all both active fans and credentialed academics, and the book as a whole maintains academic rigour while remaining clear and comprehensible to readers who don't know the jargon.
For members of fan communities, the language and activities described will be familiar. For those who are new to this subculture, Busse and Hellekson's introduction gives a succinct and readable account of the intellectual genealogy of fan studies while outlining the state of internet communities at the time of writing (admirably avoiding the common danger for books about the internet, the making of grand claims for a landscape that will be out of date by the time the description is in print, by emphasising the history and time-sensitivity of the world they describe), and Coppa provides a history of science fiction and media fan communities as they developed into the cultures which all the essayists examine and explore.
Each of the essays presents a snapshot of fannish life, considering the communities which form around fan fiction writing, video making and other activities through fresh and interesting theoretical lenses. I was particularly intrigued by Coppa's reading of fanfiction as performance, Busse's and Lackner, Lucas and Reid's examination of writers' and readers' interactions as potentially and sometimes problematically queer acts, and Willis's depiction of slash fiction as making space for queer subjects in normatively straight textual worlds, but others will find different selections from this smorgasbord of literary and cultural analysis to be most appealing.
Covers a variety of viewpoints.......2007-04-21
One of the things I found particularly interesting (and enjoyable) about reading this book was how it mirrored discussions held with fan communities about what they do. Along with a helpful bibliography on fan studies, and more than one review of fan fiction history (its origins as well as academic study on the topic) there are various, sometimes contradictory, perspectives on the writing of fan fiction. These discuss the various forms it can take, and what models the writing fits into. Also very interesting is the history of machinima, one of fandom's latest art forms. A bit academic for the layman but still a useful introduction to those not familiar with fan fiction studies.
Intellectual claptrap marred by narrow focus.......2007-04-19
Unless you are an academic steeped in modern modes of literary criticism AND an afficianado of Star Trek/Buffy slash fan fiction, don't waste your time on this book.
All of the authors write in an academic style that will be stultifying and unilluminating to even a well-read reader. The promise of the book's title is never fulfilled due to the focus on reviewing and citing the prior works of other academic authors.
The book is further marred by the repetition of a false assumption -- that ALL romance novels are of the Mills & Boon/Harlequin style. This assumption is not only wrong, it is grossly wrong. The Harlequin style has not dominated the romance novel market for more than twenty years, as even a cursory glance at any bookstore (new or used) would attest. This blatant error -- used as the basis of more than one argument in the book - casts doubt on on ALL assertions made by the authors. If such an easily-verifiable or refutable assumption is made in error, one must wonder what other significant errors are being made, especially in the far-more complex and layered world of fanfiction?
Book Description
In the midst of China's wild rush to modernize, a surprising note of reality arises: Shanghai, it seems, was once modern indeed, a pulsing center of commerce and art in the heart of the twentieth century. This book immerses us in the golden age of Shanghai urban culture, a modernity at once intrinsically Chinese and profoundly anomalous, blending new and indigenous ideas with those flooding into this "treaty port" from the Western world.
A preeminent specialist in Chinese studies, Leo Ou-fan Lee gives us a rare wide-angle view of Shanghai culture in the making. He shows us the architecture and urban spaces in which the new commercial culture flourished, then guides us through the publishing and filmmaking industries that nurtured a whole generation of artists and established a bold new style in urban life known as modeng. In the work of six writers of the time, particularly Shi Zhecun, Mu Shiying, and Eileen Chang, Lee discloses the reflection of Shanghai's urban landscape--foreign and familiar, oppressive and seductive, traditional and innovative. This work acquires a broader historical and cosmopolitan context with a look at the cultural links between Shanghai and Hong Kong, a virtual genealogy of Chinese modernity from the 1930s to the present day.
Customer Reviews:
Chinese writers analyzed for English readers.......2005-08-03
I read a library copy of this book and thought it important enough to want to own, so I ordered a copy. The author's premise is commentary about Shanghai based/oriented writers of the 1930-45 period who wrote in Chinese, and he presents an interesting analysis of the works of some of the writers of this time. I was not familiar with the works of many of them, but found myself caught up in the writers' works and thinking, their lives, etc. As a resource, this book is invaluable as the author gives an extensive list of his source readings at the back, and comprehensive footnotes. Some of his writing, however, is heavy-handed. He uses a number of words repeatedly that I did not understand and had to go to a dictionary for help. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to know more about China between the World Wars.
Don't miss this book.......2002-01-25
Whether your rate to "shanghai modern" is high or low, this book is welcomed in some area. It's not because of the information it gives, but because of the way of investigating the culture of "old shanghai" in modern China. You may think this kind of seeing culture and literature doesn't have profound meaning. But this kind of study is at the begining. Moreover, his analysis is not up-to-date thing. (please consult the introduction) You should struggle to collect the right (and many) data if you want to reconstruct the old times of shanghai.
If you have difficulty in reading English, then take a look at the translation book which was published by Oxford University Press. The name is "shang hai mo deng".
Good as a "source-book", but intellectually disappointing.......2001-10-19
This book is precious in providing information, anecdotes, facts, but unfortunately lacks in intellectual depth or critical insight. It is obvious that the author loves his subject--the urban culture in 1930s-40s Shanghai, but when it comes to critical analysis of the rich data it offers, the author's quotations of other people's works often seem more interesting and more penetrating than his own viewpoints, which are painfully limited to a few catchphrases such as modernism, "modernity in the Chinese context," "body," decadence, etc.. Not that this is a terrible work, but simply that it is a little disappointing, coming from a senior professor well-known in his field. One thing that seems to hamper the author is his apparent lack of sound knowledge of literature of any other period or place except for what was produced in China (and mainly Shanghai) in the first 40 years of the 20th century, and this, unfortunately, does show after a while, as the book constantly involves references to European literatures and classical Chinese literary tradtion.
Still, it would be a good buy for people who share the kind of nostalgia for the 1930s Shanghai or who want to find out more about Shanghai literary world in that period.
An excellent introduction to Shanghai's cultural legacy.......2000-09-25
Shanghai is best known for its negative legacies, "whore of the orient" and all that. But while those foreigners were drinking themselves silly all hours of the day, the city's Chinese residents were building up a world of art and letters that China had not since been able to rival.
Authors with a revolutionary bent are better known these days in China. The Chinese Communist Party posthumously revived Lu Xun as a standard bearer, and many other social critics such as Mao Dun, Bing Xin, and Ba Jin saw Communism as the natural out-growth of their ideals. Others, however, were more romantic, more bourgeois, more purely artistic in their vision. They, along with most of Shanghai's leading film-makers, actors, and musicians, flocked en masse to Hong Kong after 1949. Today, Old Shanghai films and literature are far better known and more popular in Hong Kong than they are in Shanghai.
That's where Leo Ou-Fan Lee fits into the picture. The Hong Kong native is one of the leading experts on the literary legacy of Old Shanghai, and he brings alive the writing and history of greats such as Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang) for connoisseurs and novices alike. Lee offers a chapter on the Shanghai film industry, which is not his specialty and is not very strongly presented, apart from an interesting analysis of themes of modernity. His presentation of the huge publishing world pictorial magazines, with glossy spreads and advertisements that are indicative of societal norms and values at the time, proves quite engaging. Granted, the analysis seems to be based on just a few vintage copies of "Liang You" (Young Companion), but as that was a darn good magazine, one can't criticize. His real passion, however, and the strength of the book, are in the literary field. Lee seems to have a bit of a crush on Zhang Ailing, but then again, who doesn't?
Book Description
What makes Japanese animation Japanese? What are the top, not-to-be-missed films? Who's got the anime goods? What's it all mean anyway? Answering just about every question a fan (or curious parent) has, Anime Essentials is an easy-to-read and fun-to-look-at overview of the pop culture phenomenon sweeping America. It discusses the major players, where to get your anime fix, otaku (devoted fan) etiquette, how to run an anime club (and get pre-release screenings!), how to "talk" anime to outsiders, and lots more of interest both to veterans and newcomers.
One of the New York Public Libary's 2001 Books for the the Teen Age List.
"Overall, this book opens its welcoming arms wide to newcomers, so that more people can enjoy anime's story qualities, human element and cinematic, artistic effects. A valuable book!" --
Protocultue Addicts
"For the anime beginner, this is a great place to start." --
Dreamwatch
Customer Reviews:
The ESSENTIALL book for anyone wanting to "get their toe wet" in anime!.......2006-12-16
I have been an anime fan now for about 6 or 7 years, and like most here in the U.S., I got my anime roots through undam Wing (I am still a HUGE Gundam fan). Anyway, I saw features about this book in some magazines I read, so I went to my local comic book store to buy it. It showed me EVERYTHING I needed to at least get a basic understanding of the themes and different variations of anime. Now, I enjoy all styles of anime and am even beginning to build a small collection. I would also recommend at least checking out "What's Japanese in Japanese Animation". I know I sure will.
Limited but useful in it's area.......2005-12-01
This book is much better at talking about anime fan culture than anime itself. If you're interested in knowing more about the films, there are better resources such as "Anime Explosion", "Samurai from Outer Space" or, for the more academically inclined, "Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke"
Anime Essentials.......2005-08-23
This is an excellent book about the Anime genre. It describes not only the history of anime but the various styles and elements that make anime unique.
The author includes recomendations in the different anime styles and makes parental recomendations as well.
Elements of Japanese culture are woven into the descriptions making this an all around good read and reference book.
There is also a video animation called "Otaku no Video" which complements this book and has a similar cover.
If you want to learn more about anime or are a fan pick both of these titles!
An excellent starting place.......2005-03-15
I'm too old to have discovered Japanese manga and anime in my youth, but I've made up for that the past few years. Being interested in Japanese culture and literature generally, I had some understanding of why anime is the way it is, and why it's so much different from American or European graphic art, but reading this well-written book, I found there was a great deal I had missed. Poitras writes from the fan's point of view, so he knows what questions he should be addressing -- everything from the "big eye" mania, to the difference between hentai and mainstream manga, to the nervousness among the U.S. morals police about "foreign" art, to actually setting up and publicizing a fan group, plus the ins and outs of model kits, imported publications, and so on. There's also an excellent rundown of recommended anime titles and series, which I've photocopied as a checklist. This book doesn't tell you everything you need to know, but it's a good place to start.
CHING-CHONG A THON!.......2004-12-05
I love anime! Drawing Japanese pictures is awesome. I don't have many friends, so drawing pictures keeps me entertained. This book was great for me because it had lots of Japanese pictures in it. People call me a nerd for drawing Japanese pictures and listening to country music, but I don't care!
Book Description
In 1966 twelve-year-old Fan Shen, a newly minted Red Guard, plunged happily into China’s Cultural Revolution. Disillusion soon followed, then turned to disgust and fear when Shen discovered that his compatriots had tortured and murdered a doctor whose house he’d helped raid and whose beautiful daughter he secretly adored. A story of coming of age in the midst of monumental historical upheaval, Shen’s Gang of One is more than a memoir of one young man’s harrowing experience during a time of terror. It is also, in spite of circumstances of remarkable grimness and injustice, an unlikely picaresque tale of adventure full of courage, cunning, wit, tenacity, resourcefulness, and sheer luck—the story of how Shen managed to scheme his way through a hugely oppressive system and emerge triumphant.
Gang of One recounts how Shen escaped, again and again, from his appointed fate, as when he somehow found himself a doctor at sixteen and even, miraculously, saved a few lives. In such volatile times, however, good luck could quickly turn to misfortune: a transfer to the East Wind Aircraft Factory got him out of the countryside and into another terrible trap, where many people were driven to suicide; his secret self-education took him from the factory to college, where friendship with an American teacher earned him the wrath of the secret police. Following a path strewn with perils and pitfalls, twists and surprises worthy of Dickens, Shen’s story is ultimately an exuberant human comedy unlike any other.
Customer Reviews:
Savor It.......2007-05-06
I spent about 8 months reading Dr. Shen's book -- not because it bored me, and not because it was overly long. This is just one of those books that needs to be savored in order to be properly enjoyed. It's also one of those books that you really don't want to finish.
Savor it. :)
Almost Unbelieveable.......2007-04-27
This is the story of a boy who, from a revolutionary family, eagerly joins the Red Guards at the outset of the Cultural Revolution. As Fan Shen comes of age, he realizes that the Cultural Revolution is a disaster and this book is the story of his attempt to find a way to achieve an acceptable life.
It is readily apparent that Fan is a very clever fellow as well as an intellectually gifted individual. The tales that he recounts are alternatively horrifying, sad, depressing and humorous. As he tells of his experiences, the reader can only imagine the horrors of the Cultural Revolution when you multiply his experiences by the 800 million or so others who lived through the same era.
Fan is a wonderful author and can tell a story exceedingly well. At times, however, the reader is left wondering whether we are actually getting an accurate recounting of Fan's earlier years. The stories he tells are truly beyond belief and, at times, seem to be a bit self-serving. Whether or not this is the case, the book deserves a read by anyone interested in China today or in recent Chinese history.
This book is a must read.......2006-09-22
Dr. Shen is a teacher at the college in MN I attended. It was amazing to read about the life of one of the smartest, kindest people you will ever meet. He isn't an easy teacher, but when you finish your master's degree in a year and a half and your PHD in five years what else would you expect. If you want to read a true story that will leave you in amazed this is book that you will want to pick up. But don't just take my word for it, read it for yourself.
Should be required reading.......2006-08-01
After reading this remarkable memoir, I had the great opportunity to hear the author speak, and meet him afterwards. The story is well-told, and I especially enjoyed his technique of substituting nicknames for most characters, as it made the tale far easier to follow, from this Westerner's perspective. All in all, a finely written, dramatic, and at times horrific account of the Cultural Revolution. It deserves to be widely read.
The best Cultural Revolution memoir I've read.......2006-05-08
I've read quite a lot of memoirs about life during the Cultural Revolution in China, but this one was definately the best! The author is a wonderful writer. His perspective of the time is so interesting, as he was brought up as a loyal revolutionary, but quickly realized that much was wrong about what was going on. Especially interesting to me are the glimpses of his parents, who are so quick always to "draw a line" when he runs into any kind of trouble. I also loved reading about his friend who was sent to the countryside with him, and who is one of those characters who always manage to land on their feet---he marries happily and does well with his career, and has 6 daughters while always hoping for a son---all through being good-naturedly lazy! I also found fascinating the places in China the author lived that were so horribly affected by environmental pollution. I hope the author someday writes another book, or several---I'd love to hear about his life in the US and also about his earlier childhood, before the Cultural Revolution. A wonderful book!
Book Description
Fans are one of the most widely-studied groups of media consumers. Often knowing more about a character or series than the star or program-makers themselves, and ready to make active, sometimes surprising readings of plot lines and characters, they are the ultimate active audience. Fan Cultures is the first comprehensive overview of fans and fan theory. From victims of capitalist exploitation to more positive interpretations, Matthew Hills outlines the ways in which fans have been conceptualized in cultural theory. Drawing on case studies of specific groups, from rock fans to opera buffs and Trekkies, he discusses a range of approaches to fandom, from the Frankfurt School to psychoanalytic readings, and asks whether the development of new media creates the possibility of new forms of fandom.
Customer Reviews:
Hyper-Theory Meets Common Sense.......2004-02-07
This really is one of the best academic books on fandom, if not the best. Hills has a remarkable ability to read in, through, and around established theory, and yet also has a nice knack of forcing theory to account for grounded realities. Each chapter boldly approaches fandom from the standpoint of an existing binary in fan studies, and as a result, the book shatters through multiple impasses (and sillinesses) in established work to date.
Fan studies is such a maligned sub-discipline in a field (that of cultural and media studies) that all too often prefers mea-culpa lashing of the media body, and that prefers disgust with or pity of the fan to any actual attempt to understand him/her. But the strength of a book like this defies critics of the sub-discipline. Indeed, I don't think it's too much to say that fan studies really comes into its own with this book. Hills has opened up ground for future work, through careful reading of past work and a sense of what is tragically missing.
As such, I would highly recommend this. If you are looking for empirical work, this is not your book (although Hills reads others' empirical work well), but if you want a macro picture of how all that work fits together, this is it.
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