Film Studies

In Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams, Donald Bogle tells - for the first time - the story of a place both mythic and real: Black Hollywood. Spanning 60 years, this deliciously entertaining history uncovers the audacious manner in which many Blacks made a place for themselves in an industry that originally had no place for them. Through interviews and the personal recollections of Hollywood luminaries, Bogle pieces together a remarkable history that remains largely obscure to this day.

Transforming Harry: The Adaptation of Harry Potter in the Transmedia Age is an edited volume of eight essays that look at how the cinematic versions of the seven Harry Potter novels represent an unprecedented cultural event in the history of cinematic adaptation.

What makes Buffy the Vampire Slayer a "brave dame" but Ally McBeal a "wimpette"? In this witty, incisive look at the role of women on screen and page, Susan Isaacs argues that assertive, ethical women characters are losing ground to wounded, shallow sisters who are driven by what she calls, "the articles of wimpette philosophy."

Yunte Huang ingeniously traces Charlie Chan from his real beginnings as a bullwhip-wielding detective in territorial Hawaii to his reinvention as a literary sleuth and Hollywood film icon. Huang finally resurrects the "honorable detective" from the graveyard of detested postmodern symbols and reclaims him as the embodiment of America’s rich cultural diversity. The result is one of the most critically acclaimed books of the year and a "deeply personal...voyage into racial stereotyping and the humanizing force of storytelling" (Donna Seaman, Los Angeles Times).

The pantheon of big-budget, commercially successful films encompasses a range of genres, including biblical films, war films, romances, comic-book adaptations, animated features, and historical epics. In Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History authors Sheldon Hall and Steve Neale discuss the characteristics, history, and modes of distribution and exhibition that unite big-budget pictures, from their beginnings in the late nineteenth century to the present.

In Buffoon Men: Classic Hollywood Comedians and Queered Masculinity, Scott Balcerzak reads the performances of notable comedians such as W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello through humor and queer theory to expose a problematic history of maleness in their personas.

The Boys in the Band's debut was revolutionary for its fictional but frank presentation of a male homosexual subculture in Manhattan. Based on Mart Crowley's hit Off-Broadway play from 1968, the film's two-hour running time approximates real time, unfolding at a birthday party attended by nine men whose language, clothing, and behavior evoke a range of urban gay "types." Although various popular critics, historians, and film scholars over the years have offered cursory acknowledgment of the film's importance, more substantive research and analysis have been woefully lacking. The film's neglect among academics belies a rich and rewarding object of study. The Boys in the Band merits not only the close reading that should accompany such a well-made text but also recognition as a landmark almost ideally situated to orient us amid the highly complex, shifting cultural terrain it occupied upon its release-and has occupied since.

Mittels ihrer Religion richten Menschen ihr Leben an Konzepten eines "sinngebenden Ganzen" aus. Diese in sehr langen Traditionen entstandenen Welterklärungen und Anleitungen zur Lebensbewältigung werden in der westlichen Welt aufgrund christlicher und humanistischer Traditionen häufig mit der Kurzformel "Glaube" zusammengefasst...

Alles über Doctor Who: Kann man durch die Zeit reisen? Die Gesetze der Zeit. Die Physiologie des Doktors. 10 Dinge, die man über Doctor Who wissen sollte.

Alles über The Walking Dead: Was tun bei einer Zombie-Epidemie? Was spielt sich im Gehirn eines Zombies ab? Gibt es Zombies wirklich? 10 Dinge, die man über The Walking Dead wissen sollte.

Renegade Women in Film and TV blends fascinating biographical profiles and exclusive interviews with icons like Barbra Streisand, Rita Moreno, and Sigourney Weaver to celebrate the accomplishments of 50 extraordinary women throughout the history of entertainment. Each profile highlights the groundbreaking accomplishments and essential work of pioneers from the big and small screens, offering little-known facts about household names (Lucille Ball, Oprah Winfrey, Nora Ephron) and crucial introductions to overlooked pioneers (Alla Nazimova, Anna May Wong, Frances Marion).

This book examines important themes about American politics the film Citizen Kane provokes. Citizen Kane is widely believed by many critics to be the greatest movie of all time. What about the film resonates so deeply with those who can appreciate great art and film? And also for this book, what does Citizen Kane say about American politics, power, and who gains influence in America?

Alle über Star Trek: Wie schnell ist die Warp-Geschwindigkeit? Wann erfinden wir endlich die Teleportation? Wie funktioniert ein Traktorstrahl? 10 Dinge, die man über Star Trek wissen sollte.

Alles über True Detective: Sind LSD-Flashbacks nur ein Ammenmärchen? Ist die Zeit ein flacher Kreis? 10 Dinge, die man über True Detective wissen sollte.

Alles über The Big Bang Theory: das Echo der Ausdehnung. Das Cooper-Hofstadter-Paradoxon. Die Asperger-Hypothese. 10 Dinge, die man über The Big Bang Theory wissen sollte.

Alles über Fringe: Wie viele Paralleluniversen gibt es? Telepathie, Telekinese und andere merkwürdige Phänomene. 10 Dinge, die man über Fringe wissen sollte.

Alles über True Blood: Kann man synthetisches Blut herstellen? Gibt es echte Vampire? 10 Dinge, die man über True Blood wissen sollte.

Alles über Breaking Bad: hausgemachtes Methamphetamin. Wer ist Heisenberg wirklich? Kann ein kleiner Kristall eine ganze Wohnung in die Luft jagen? 10 Dinge, die man über Breaking Bad wissen sollte.

Alles über Battlestar Galactica: Wie sehr gleichen uns die Zylonen? Künstliche Lebensformen. Auf der Suche nach einer zweiten Erde. 10 Dinge, die man über Battlestar Galactica wissen sollte.

Alles über Orphan Black: Wie klont man einen Menschen? Klone und ihre Geschichten. Kann man menschliche DNA patentieren lassen? 10 Dinge, die man über Orphan Black wissen sollte.