Exploring the evolution of American noir film, this book delves into the genre's classic and neo-noir phases, highlighting its enduring tropes and appeal. It analyzes iconic films like Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard, as well as modern entries such as Under the Silver Lake and Promising Young Woman. Through this examination, it reveals how the genre has adapted while retaining its unique characteristics that continue to resonate with audiences.
Fifteen short stories evoke the character, atmosphere, and people of the Irish city of Dublin at the turn of the century
Featuring over 600 cross-referenced entries, this comprehensive resource explores key figures, films, companies, techniques, themes, and subgenres that shape American cinema. It includes a detailed chronology and an extensive bibliography, making it an essential reference for understanding the impact of American film on global culture. The combination of historical context and thematic analysis offers valuable insights for both enthusiasts and scholars of cinema.
Featuring over 400 cross-referenced entries, this comprehensive resource delves into key personalities, films, companies, techniques, themes, and subgenres of science fiction cinema. The second edition includes a detailed chronology and an extensive bibliography, making it an essential reference for enthusiasts and scholars alike.
A sophisticated but accessible account of the series and its place in American cultural history, this book helps readers appreciate the importance of The Sopranos as a cultural touchstone and looks at the show from various cultural perspectives (e.g. ethical, religious, ethnic, etc.).
This first true biography of Stan Lee is an eye-opening look at a pop culture visionary. This book traces Lee's life--from his Depression-era childhood to his years as a teen editor and ultimately to his triumphs as the genius behind some of the most beloved characters in pop culture history, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor.
Exploring the cultural significance of a renowned television series, this book delves into themes such as evolving gender roles, family dynamics, and workplace relationships in the context of the American experience. It highlights how audiences connect with quality television to shape their identities and understand their lives, reflecting on the past while navigating contemporary issues.
One of the bestselling novels of all time, The Great Gatsby is also considered one of the most significant achievements in twentieth-century fiction. In Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel, Bob Batchelor explores the birth, life, and enduring influence of The Great Gatsby
The book offers a comprehensive exploration of Science Fiction literature, featuring a detailed chronology and an introductory essay that contextualizes the genre's evolution. With over 300 cross-referenced entries, it serves as an extensive reference guide, highlighting key authors, works, themes, and significant developments within the genre. An extensive bibliography further enriches the reader's understanding and provides resources for further study, making it an essential tool for enthusiasts and scholars alike.
THINGS FALL APART tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the individual and society. The second story, which is as modern as the first is ancient, and which elevates the book to a tragic plane, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world through the arrival of aggressive, proselytizing European missionaries. These twin dramas are perfectly harmonized, and they are modulated by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul. THINGS FALL APART is the most illuminating and permanent monument we have to the modern African experience as seen from within.
