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American Titan: Searching for John Wayne
by Marc EliotAs he did in his bestselling biographies of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Clint Eastwood, Marc Eliot offers an exciting, groundbreaking new take on an American icon—the most legendary Western film hero of all time, John WayneAn audience favorite and top box-office draw for decades, John Wayne symbolized masculinity, power, and patriotism, and inspired millions of Americans. Yet despite his popularity and success, he was unfairly dismissed as a "B" movie actor lacking elegance, creativity, range, and depth. American Titan challenges conventional wisdom and reevaluates Wayne's life and vital cinematic legacy, ultimately placing the man known as "Duke" among a select and brilliant pantheon of "actor auteurs"—artists whose consistency of style in their work reflects their personal creative vision.In American Titan, Eliot demonstrates that Wayne possessed a distinct and remarkable vision rooted in his unique Midwestern and West Coast childhood that would become manifest in one of the most enduring screen personalities of all time: the elusive, stoic frontier loner. Wayne's heroic outsider also influenced a new generation of actors and filmmakers who would borrow from it to use in their own movies.Drawing on his deep, extensive knowledge of Hollywood and film, Eliot contends that the primary driving force behind Wayne's extraordinary career and body of work was the result of his own ambitions and his collaborations with directors John Ford and Howard Hawks. Eliot offers as evidence the distinct personality that runs through Wayne's staggering 169 films, from Stage Coach and The Searchers to The Quiet Man and The Green Berets.Setting Wayne's life within the sweeping political and social transformations that defined the nation, Eliot's masterly revisionist portrait is a remarkable in-depth look at a life that embodied the spirit of the twentieth century. What emerges is nothing less than a powerful understanding of and appreciation for a true American titan.Marc Eliot is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books on popular culture, among them the highly acclaimed Cary Grant, the award-winning Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince, and American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. He writes for a number of publications and frequently speaks about film at universities and to film groups, and on radio and television. He lives in New York City and Woodstock, New York.MarcEliot.net
American War Cinema and Media since Vietnam
by Patricia Keeton Peter SchecknerNo other cinematic genre more sharply illustrates the contradictions of American society - notions about social class, politics, and socio-economic ideology - than the war film. This book examines the latest cycle of war films to reveal how they mediate and negotiate the complexities of war, class, and a military-political mission largely gone bad.
American War Stories (War Culture)
by Brenda M. BoyleAmerican War Stories asks readers to contemplate what traditionally constitutes a “war story” and how that constitution obscures the normalization of militarism in American culture. The book claims the traditionally narrow scope of “war story,” as by a combatant about his wartime experience, compartmentalizes war, casting armed violence as distinct from everyday American life. Broadening “war story” beyond the specific genres of war narratives such as “war films,” “war fiction,” or “war memoirs,” American War Stories exposes how ingrained militarism is in everyday American life, a condition that challenges the very democratic principles the United States is touted as exemplifying.
American and Chinese-Language Cinemas: Examining Cultural Flows (Routledge Advances in Film Studies)
by Lisa Funnell Man-Fung YipCritics frequently describe the influence of "America," through Hollywood and other cultural industries, as a form of cultural imperialism. This unidirectional model of interaction does not address, however, the counter-flows of Chinese-language films into the American film market or the influence of Chinese filmmakers, film stars, and aesthetics in Hollywood. The aim of this collection is to (re)consider the complex dynamics of transnational cultural flows between American and Chinese-language film industries. The goal is to bring a more historical perspective to the subject, focusing as much on the Hollywood influence on early Shanghai or postwar Hong Kong films as on the intensifying flows between American and Chinese-language cinemas in recent decades. Contributors emphasize the processes of appropriation and reception involved in transnational cultural practices, examining film production, distribution, and reception.
American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
by Craig FergusonIn American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark--as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer. To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: in 1993, the washed-up Ferguson washed up in the United States. Finally sober, Ferguson landed a breakthrough part on the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show, a success that eventually led to his role as the host of CBS's The Late Late Show. By far Ferguson's greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008, just before his command performance for the president at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared. Notes: Frequent strong language. Some Scottish spellings, idioms, and punctuation. Photo pages of captions at the end.
American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
by Craig FergusonThe comedian and former late-night host discusses his life, career, struggles with drugs & alcohol, and his love of the United States in this memoir.In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark—as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer.To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: success on the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and later as the host of CBS’s Late Late Show. By far Ferguson’s greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008.In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared.“Ferguson admirably avoids wisecracks and instead goes for something like wisdom. . . . If “American on Purpose” is, in part, a memoir about Ferguson’s alcoholism and his triumph over it, it is also an account of an addiction he’s unlikely to kick: his obsession with America.” —New York Times
Americana Portrait Sessions
by Jeff FasanoAmericana Portrait Sessions is the first photography book to take a comprehensive view of contemporary Americana music. The collection features intimate portraits that reveal the strength, heart, and soul of nearly two hundred great artists from the big tent that is Americana music, all shot through the expert lens of Jeff Fasano. Fasano's unparalleled access to Americana artists like Sheryl Crow, Rhiannon Giddens, Vince Gill, Keb' Mo', Judy Collins, John Oates, The Avett Brothers, The McCrary Sisters, Lucinda Williams, Margo Price, Blind Boys of Alabama, and Kris Kristofferson gives Americana Portrait Sessions the kind of authority that comes from true reach into the breadth of the genre. But this collection is as important for the artists few fans know as for the ones with successful careers behind them. While the book champions the diversity of race, gender, sexuality, and age inherent in Americana music, it also spans career arcs to bring lesser-known acts into the spotlight.Americana Portrait Sessions brings you backstage to the greenrooms and quiet corners where artists like The War and Treaty, Jewel, Jason Isbell, and The Wooten Brothers aren't just artists performing, but people hanging out.
Americana: The Kinks, the Riff, the Road: The Story
by Ray DaviesAs a boy in post-War England, legendary Kinks singer/songwriter Ray Davies fell in love with America—its movies and music, its culture of freedom, fed his imagination. Then, as part of the British Invasion, he toured the US with the Kinks during one of the most tumultuous eras in recent history—until the Kinks group was banned from performing there from 1965-69. Many tours and trips later, while living in New Orleans, he experienced a transformative event: the shooting (a result of a botched robbery) that nearly took his life. In Americana, Davies tries to make sense of his long love-hate relationship with the country that both inspired and frustrated him. From his quintessentially English perspective as a Kink, Davies—with candor, humor, and wit—takes us on a very personal road trip through his life and storied career as a rock star, and reveals what music, fame, and America really mean to him. Some of the most fascinating characters in recent pop culture make appearances, from the famous to the perhaps even-more-interesting behind-the-scenes players. The book also includes a photographic insert with images from Daviess own collection from the bands archive.
American–Australian Cinema: Transnational Connections
by Peter C. Kunze Adrian Danks Stephen GaunsonThis edited collection assesses the complex historical and contemporary relationships between US and Australian cinema by tapping directly into discussions of national cinema, transnationalism and global Hollywood. While most equivalent studies aim to define national cinema as independent from or in competition with Hollywood, this collection explores a more porous set of relationships through the varied production, distribution and exhibition associations between Australia and the US. To explore this idea, the book investigates the influence that Australia has had on US cinema through the exportation of its stars, directors and other production personnel to Hollywood, while also charting the sustained influence of US cinema on Australia over the last hundred years. It takes two key points in time--the 1920s and 1930s and the last twenty years--to explore how particular patterns of localism, nationalism, colonialism, transnationalism and globalisation have shaped its course over the last century. The contributors re-examine the concept and definition of Australian cinema in regard to a range of local, international and global practices and trends that blur neat categorisations of national cinema. Although this concentration on US production, or influence, is particularly acute in relation to developments such as the opening of international film studios in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and the Gold Coast over the last thirty years, the book also examines a range of Hollywood financed and/or conceived films shot in Australia since the 1920s.
America’s Most Famous Catholic: Stephen Colbert and American Religion in the Twenty-First Century (Catholic Practice In North America Ser.)
by Stephanie N. BrehmFor nine years, Stephen Colbert’s persona, “Colbert”—a Republican superhero and parody of conservative political pundits—informed audiences on current events, politics, social issues, and religion while lampooning conservative political policy, biblical literalism, and religious hypocrisy. As devout, vocal, and authoritative lay Catholics, religion is central to both the actor and his most famous character. Yet many viewers wonder, “Is Colbert a practicing Catholic in real life or is this part of his act?” America’s Most Famous Catholic (According to Himself) examines the ways in which Colbert challenges perceptions of Catholicism and Catholic mores through his faith and comedy.Religion and the foibles of religious institutions have served as rich fodder for scores of comedians over the years. What set “Colbert” apart on his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, was that his critical observations were made more powerful and harder to ignore because he approached religious material not from the predictable stance of the irreverent secular comedian but from his position as one of the faithful. He is a Catholic celebrity who can bridge critical outsider and participating insider, neither fully reverent nor fully irreverent.Providing a digital media ethnography and rhetorical analysis of Stephen Colbert and his character from 2005 to 2014, author Stephanie N. Brehm examines the intersection between lived religion and mass media, moving from an exploration of how Catholicism shapes Colbert’s life and world toward a conversation about how “Colbert” shapes Catholicism. Brehm provides historical context by discovering how “Colbert” compares to other Catholic figures, such Don Novello, George Carlin, Louis C.K., and Jim Gaffigan, who have each presented their views of Catholicism to Americans through radio, film, and television. The last chapter provides a current glimpse of Colbert on The Late Show, where he continues to be a voice for Catholicism on late night, now to an even broader audience.America’s Most Famous Catholic (According to Himself) also explores how Colbert carved space for Americans who currently define their religious lives through absence, ambivalence, and alternatives. Brehm reflects on the complexity of contemporary American Catholicism as it is lived today in the often-ignored form of Catholic multiplicity: thinking Catholics, cultural Catholics, cafeteria Catholics, and lukewarm Catholics, or what others have called Colbert Catholicism, an emphasis on the joy of religion in concert with the suffering. By examining the humor in religion, Brehm allows us to see clearly the religious elements in the work and life of comedian Stephen Colbert.
Amiri and Odette
by Walter Dean MyersPresents a modern, urban retelling in verse of the ballet in which brave Amiri falls in love with beautiful Odette and fights evil Big Red for her on the streets of the Swan Lake Projects.
Among The Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom
by Deborah YaffeA “witty, irresistible” account of Jane Austen’s most zealously devoted fans and their lively literary community (Lan Samantha Chang, author of The Family Chao).They walk among us in their bonnets and Empire-waist gowns, clutching their souvenir tote bags and battered paperbacks: the Janeites, Jane Austen’s legion of devoted fans. Who are these obsessed admirers, whose passion has transformed Austen from classic novelist to pop-culture phenomenon? Deborah Yaffe, journalist and Janeite, sets out to answer this question, exploring the remarkable endurance of Austen’s stories, the unusual zeal that their author inspires, and the striking cross-section of lives she has touched.Along the way, Yaffe meets a Florida lawyer with a byzantine theory about hidden subtexts in the novels, a writer of Austen fan fiction who found her own Mr. Darcy while reimagining Pride and Prejudice, and a lit professor whose roller-derby nom de skate is Stone Cold Jane Austen. Yaffe goes where Janeites gather, joining a pilgrimage to historic sites in Britain, chatting online with fellow fans, and attending the annual ball of the Jane Austen Society of North America—in period costume. Part chronicle of a vibrant literary community, part memoir of a lifelong love, Among the Janeites is a funny, touching meditation on the nature of fandom.“[A] playful exploration of Austen obsession. . . . amusing and sometimes mind-boggling.” —Jane Smiley, The New York Times“Explores the dimensions of modern Jane-o-mania . . . Yaffe honors her hero throughout.” —Kirkus Reviews“Lively and insightful . . . Yaffe, who is ‘happiest when curled up alone with Persuasion,’ gamely dons period costume, studies country dancing, and dives into Austen fan fiction to research this subculture.” —Publishers Weekly
Among Us: 100% Unofficial Game Guide (100% Unofficial)
by Matt YeoBased on the smash hit game, Among Us: The Unofficial Game Guide is an in-depth handbook to the world of Among Us!View secret mini-games, discover layered maps, analyze strengths & weaknesses of crewmates and benefits of ghosts, and much more. This unofficial guidebook is a must for fans of the smash hit game Among Us!Among Us is set in space where you and a group of crewmates are given tasks and problems to complete in order to survive. But, among the group lives an imposter whose sole goal is to sabotage the group’s progress and eventually take out every player on that team. It’s up to you and the rest of the crew members to discover who it is!Among Us has quickly become one of the most played games of 2020, with a 10/10 rating on Steam, becoming a hit with over 100 million fans of all ages. It is available for download on iOS, Android, and Windows.
Amor Verdadero
by Jennifer LopezEn Amor verdadero, Lopez explora uno de los períodos más decisivos de su vida: el viaje de transformación que duró dos años, donde ella cuenta cómo, siendo madre y artista, afrentó sus mayores retos, identificó sus miedos más grandes y, en última instancia, terminó siendo una persona más fuerte que nunca antes. Esta publicación, visualmente llamativa, está acompañada de fotografías íntimas, electrizantes y nunca antes vistas. Escrito como un diario personal con lecciones duramente aprendidas y recuerdos sinceros, Amor verdadero es una historia motivadora de auto-reflexión, reencuentro y resiliencia.
Amor verdadero
by Jennifer LopezEn Amor verdadero, Lopez explora uno de los períodos más decisivos de su vida: el viaje de transformación que duró dos años, donde ella cuenta cómo, siendo madre y artista, afrentó sus mayores retos, identificó sus miedos más grandes y, en última instancia, terminó siendo una persona más fuerte que nunca antes. Esta publicación, visualmente llamativa, está acompañada de fotografías íntimas, electrizantes y nunca antes vistas. Escrito como un diario personal con lecciones duramente aprendidas y recuerdos sinceros, Amor verdadero es una historia motivadora de auto-reflexión, reencuentro y resiliencia.
Amos's Killer Concert Caper
by Gary PaulsenAmos is desperate. He's desperate for two tickets to the romantic event of his young life...the Road Kill concert! He'll do anything to get them because he heard from a friend of a friend of a friend of Melissa Hansen that: she's way into Road Kill.
Amplified
by Tara KellyWhen privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . . .In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.
Amputation in Literature and Film: Artificial Limbs, Prosthetic Relations, and the Semiotics of "Loss" (Literary Disability Studies)
by Maren Scheurer Erik GraysonAmputation in Literature and Film: Artificial Limbs, Prosthetic Relations, and the Semiotics of “Loss” explores the many ways in which literature and film have engaged with the subject of amputation. The scholars featured in this volume draw upon a wide variety of texts, both lesser-known and canonical, across historical periods and language traditions to interrogate the intersections of disability studies with social, political, cultural, and philosophical concerns. Whether focusing on ancient texts by Zhuangzi or Ovid, renaissance drama, folktales collected by the Brothers Grimm, novels or silent film, the chapters in this volume highlight the dialectics of “loss” and “gain” in narratives of amputation to encourage critical dialogue and forge an integrated, embodied understanding of experiences of impairment in which mind and body, metaphor and materiality, theory and politics are considered as interrelated and interacting aspects of disability and ability.
Amusing the Million
by John F. KassonAmusing the Million examines the historical context in which Coney Island made its reputation as an amusement park and shows how America's changing social and economic conditions formed the basis of a new mass culture.
Amy Winehouse (Lives of the Musicians)
by Kate SolomonIn her intense, brief life, Amy Winehouse's music spoke directly to millions. And since her death, her fans have only increased.Amy Winehouse is one of those pop stars that comes along so rarely we're not sure we knew what we had when we had her. Her story speaks to us not because the relentless tabloid coverage of her darker days unfolded in real time, but because she tapped into deeply personal yet universal feelings and displayed them to us in all their painful, raw glory. She turned our demons into something we could dance and sing to, and she skewered those who wronged her in ways we could only dream of.
Amy Winehouse (Lives of the Musicians)
by Kate SolomonIn her intense, brief life, Amy Winehouse's music spoke directly to millions. And since her death, her fans have only increased.Amy Winehouse is one of those pop stars that comes along so rarely we're not sure we knew what we had when we had her. Her story speaks to us not because the relentless tabloid coverage of her darker days unfolded in real time, but because she tapped into deeply personal yet universal feelings and displayed them to us in all their painful, raw glory. She turned our demons into something we could dance and sing to, and she skewered those who wronged her in ways we could only dream of.
Amácio Mazzaropi in the Film and Culture of Brazil: After Cinema Novo
by Eva Paulino BuenoAmácio Mazzaropi's work is a unique instance in Brazilian culture - as an artist not connected with the subsidized film industry, he developed a singular voice and represents a segment of the population usually either ignored or viewed with contempt by the established, experimental filmmakers.
An A-Z of Hellraisers: A Comprehensive Compendium of Outrageous Insobriety
by Robert SellersAn A-Z of Hellraisers is the last word on inebriated misbehaviour, and the miscreant mob in this whopper of a book constitute the most amazing grouping to see print: from Alexander the Great, whose drunken revelries once ended with the destruction of an entire city; to W. C. Fields, who passed critical judgement on a brass band by urinating over them from a hotel balcony; Dylan Thomas, who drove a sports car onto Charlie Chaplin's private tennis court; to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, suffocating on his own vomit after consuming forty measures of vodka - what a night out that was!This hilarious volume makes for an ideal bedside companion or pub reading fodder, as it scrutinises and salutes these glorious individuals, from Winston Churchill to Keith Moon, George Best to Ernest Hemingway, Wild Bill Hickok to Sam Peckinpah, Ozzy Osbourne to Errol Flynn. Just thank God we didn't have to live next door to any of them.
An Absolute Casserole: The Taskmaster Compendium
by Alex HorneHow many eggs have been broken in the making of this programme? What is the worst thing Alex has eaten? Are you more likely to win Taskmaster if you wear a hat? Why is the Taskmaster always right?This hilarious compendium celebrates a decade of Taskmaster's inspired chaos. Relive the most outrageous tasks, iconic meltdowns, and ingenious victories from your favourite contestants.Inside you'll find: - Unforgettable challenges: From the brilliantly bizarre to the wonderfully pointless, revisit the tasks that left us howling with laughter. - Comedy gold moments: Contestant blunders, inspired madness and Greg Davies' withering put-downs - Behind the scenes: Get the inside scoop on the show's creation, meet the show's creators and find out which tasks nearly set the Taskmaster house on fire. - Statistical analysis: 17 series, 85 contestants and thousands of smashed eggs - what's the best star sign to be if you want to win? This is the ultimate gift for any Taskmaster fanatic. So grab a cup of 'warm milk' (or something stronger) and relive ten years of comedic chaos!
An Acrobat of the Heart: A Physical Approach to Acting Inspired by the Work of Jerzy Grotowski
by Stephen Wangh"The actor will do, in public, what is considered impossible. " When the renowned Polish director Jerzy Grotowski began his 1967 American workshop with these words, his students were stunned. But within four weeks they themselves had experienced the "impossible. " In An Acrobat of the Heart, teacher-director-playwright Stephen Wangh reveals how Jerzy Grotowski's physical exercises can open a pathway to the actor's inner creativity. Drawing on Grotowski's insights and on the work of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, and others, Wangh bridges the gap between rigorous physical training and practical scene and character technique. Wangh's students give candid descriptions of their struggles and breakthroughs, demonstrating how to transform these remarkable lessons into a personal journey of artistic growth. Courageous and compelling, An Acrobat of the Heartis an invaluable resource for actors, directors, and teachers alike.