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The Mysteries of Cinema: Movies And Imagination
by Peter ConradRanging from the late nineteenth century to the present day, this exhilarating survey by cultural critic Peter Conrad explores the ways film has changed how we see the world. This is a thematic roller-coaster ride through cinema history, with film expert Peter Conrad in the seat beside you. Thoroughly international, this book ranges from Fay Wray to Satyajit Ray, from Buster Keaton to Kurosawa, from westerns to nouvelle vague. Conrad explores the medium’s relationship to speed, technology, fantasy, horror, dream, color, sound, light, and shadow with reference to scores of films, from the earliest nineteenth-century silent experiments to the latest multisensory Hollywood blockbusters. The author’s insights are amplified by voices from inside and outside the industry: directors and critics are included alongside artists, writers, philosophers, and historians ranging from Leo Tolstoy to Salvador Dalí, Theodor Adorno to Philip Roth. Arranged by topics, such as “Meta-Movie” and “The Physics of Film,” rather than chronological events, The Mysteries of Cinema focuses on film’s otherworldly, hypnotic, and magical qualities. Perfect for both movie fans who will discover new films and directors, and for students of film who will see familiar classics in a new light, this volume is full of unique insights into the genre. Combining his vast knowledge with a forensic eye for a director’s every quirk and mannerism, Conrad offers a fascinating and thrilling exploration of film.
The Mysterious Romance of Murder: Crime, Detection, and the Spirit of Noir
by David LehmanFrom Sherlock Holmes to Sam Spade; Nick and Nora Charles to Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin; Harry Lime to Gilda, Madeleine Elster, and other femmes fatales—crime and crime solving in fiction and film captivate us. Why do we keep returning to Agatha Christie's ingenious puzzles and Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled murder mysteries? What do spy thrillers teach us, and what accounts for the renewed popularity of morally ambiguous noirs? In The Mysterious Romance of Murder, the poet and critic David Lehman explores a wide variety of outstanding books and movies—some famous (The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity), some known mainly to aficionados—with style, wit, and passion.Lehman revisits the smoke-filled jazz clubs from the classic noir films of the 1940s, the iconic set pieces that defined Hitchcock's America, the interwar intrigue of Eric Ambler's best fictions, and the intensity of attraction between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. He also considers the evocative elements of noir—cigarettes, cocktails, wisecracks, and jazz standards—and offers five original noir poems (including a pantoum inspired by the 1944 film Laura) and ironic astrological profiles of Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich, and Graham Greene. Written by a connoisseur with an uncanny feel for the language and mood of mystery, espionage, and noir, The Mysterious Romance of Murder will delight fans of the genre and newcomers alike.
The Mystery at the Alamo (Boxcar Children #58)
by Gertrude Chandler Warner Charles TangThe Aldens are asked to be extras in a movie while visiting the Alamo but things are not picture perfect. They have to discover who stole a precious ring from the beautiful star, Claire, and they find out many people are jealous of her.
The Mystery of Samba: Popular Music and National Identity in Brazil
by Hermano Vianna John C. ChasteenSamba is Brazil's "national rhythm," the foremost symbol of its culture and nationhood. To the outsider, samba and the famous pre-Lenten carnival of which it is the centerpiece seem to showcase the country's African heritage. Within Brazil, however, samba symbolizes the racial and cultural mixture that, since the 1930s, most Brazilians have come to believe defines their unique national identity. But how did Brazil become "the Kingdom of Samba" only a few decades after abolishing slavery in 1888? Typically, samba is represented as having changed spontaneously, mysteriously, from a "repressed" music of the marginal and impoverished to a national symbol cherished by all Brazilians. Here, however, Hermano Vianna shows that the nationalization of samba actually rested on a long history of relations between different social groups-poor and rich, weak and powerful-often working at cross-purposes to one another. A fascinating exploration of the "invention of tradition,"The Mystery of Sambais an excellent introduction to Brazil's ongoing conversation on race, popular culture, and national identity.
The Mystery of the Missing Pop Idol (The Boxcar Children #138)
by Gertrude Chandler WarnerIt's a big day at the Silver City Mall, where hundreds of people are lined up to audition for the show Pop Star Sensation! The Aldens are in line, too, because Violet wants to meet one of the judges--her favorite pop star, Madlynn Rose. But just before the show starts, Madlynn vanishes! Can the Aldens track down the superstar before it's too late?
The Mystery of the Stolen Music (Boxcar Children #45)
by Gertrude Chandler Warner Charles TangWhen a famous orchestra comes to the Boxcar children's town they are delighted, especially when they find an genuine Mozart score and discover how it originally disappeared.
The Mystery on Stage (Boxcar Children #43)
by Gertrude Chandler Warner Charles TangThe Aldens become involved in a community theater production of "The Wizard of Oz," which is systematically and mysteriously being sabotaged.
The Myth of Colorblindness: Race and Ethnicity in American Cinema
by Sarah E. Turner Sarah NilsenThis book explores representations of race and ethnicity in contemporary cinema and the ways in which these depictions all too often promulgate an important racial ideology: the myth of colorblindness. Colorblindness is a discursive framework employed by mainstream, neoliberal media to celebrate a multicultural society while simultaneously disregarding its systemic and institutionalized racism. This collection is unique in its examination of such films as Ex Machina, The Lone Ranger, The Blind Side, Zootopia, The Fast and the Furious franchise, and Dope, which celebrate the myth of colorblindness, yet perpetuate and entrench the racism and racial inequities that persist in contemporary society. While the #OscarsSoWhite movement has been essential to bringing about structural changes to media industries and offers the opportunity for a wide diversity of voices to alter and transform the dominant, colorblind narratives continue to proliferate. As this book demonstrates, Hollywood still has a long way to go.
The Mythic Warrior's Handbook: Outsmart Athena, Slay Medusa, Impress Zeus, and Claim Your Place in the Pantheon of the Gods
by Chiron The CentaurBack when lightning-throwing gods and multiheaded monsters ruled a world in constant chaos, there was one man who stood on four hooves against it all. He was Chiron the Centaur, the wise(-cracking) teacher to amateur heroes. He turned cowardly boys into powerful warriors, helped them achieve greatness, and overcome their Daddy issues--seriously, how many kids back then were waiting for Zeus to come by and play catch?Now, thousands of years later, Chiron's textbook has been unearthed. And it's your chance to join the ranks of Ancient Greece's finest. Be forewarned: It's no simple task. You have a lot to learn. Inside lies the necessary knowledge to start a quest as epic as one of the great's--from the inner workings of Mt. Olympus to the ins-and-outs of the Underworld to the Achilles' heel of each brutal beast you'll battle along the way. This handbook is as important as the sword in your hand and the shield on your back.
The Mythology of Grimm
by Nathan Robert BrownGET INSIDE GRIMM. NBC's hit television series Grimm pits modern detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police against a cast of terrifying villains--lifted directly from the pages of classic fairytales. In the world of the show, the classic stories are actually a document of real events, and Nick himself is descended from a long line of guardians, or Grimms, charged with defending humanity from the mythological creatures of the world. From The Big Bad Wolf to Sleeping Beauty, The Mythology of Grimm explores the history and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick's incredible battles and investigations--tapping into elements of mythology that have captured our imaginations for centuries.
The Mythology of Supernatural
by Nathan Robert BrownA look into the paranormal legends and lore features on the hit television show Supernatural. From angels to demons, The Mythology of Supernatural explores the religious roots and the ancient folklore of the otherworldly entities that brothers Sam and Dean Winchester face on the hit television show Supernatural-and that have inhabited the shadows of human imagination across countless cultures and centuries.
The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music
by Tim Smith Michael Tilson ThomasFor the beginner or the devotee--it's everything the classical music buff needs to know. The major composers from Bach and Bartok to Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky Significant performers from Maurice Andre and Leornard Bernstein to Georg Solti and Yo Yo Ma The landmark works from Appalachian Spring to Don Juan A concise history of classical music A deconstruction of the art form The language of classical music Valuable resources for the Curious Listener
The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection (2nd edition)
by Ted LibbeyBerlioz. Vaughan Williams. Schubert and Schumann. Mozart after the Jupiter Symphony, Bach beyond the Brandenburg Concertos, opera after The Magic Flute. National Public Radio's Ted Libbey takes listeners by the hand through the classical repertory to build a music library. For the second edition, with five years of new performances to consider, five years of new releases to review, and five years of reissues to re-evaluate--the author has completely revised and updated the book. While sticking to the essential 300 works, there are now one-third new selections and reviews, and a 50% change in discography to keep all suggested CDs up to date.
The Naked And The Undead
by Cynthia FreelandHorror is often dismissed as mass art or lowbrow entertainment that produces only short-term thrills. Horror films can be bloody, gory, and disturbing, so some people argue that they have bad moral effects, inciting viewers to imitate cinematic violence or desensitizing them to atrocities. In The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror, Cynthia A. Freeland seeks to counter both aesthetic disdain and moral condemnation by focusing on a select body of important and revealing films, demonstrating how the genre is capable of deep philosophical reflection about the existence and nature of evil-both human and cosmic. In exploring these films, the author argues against a purely psychoanalytic approach and opts for both feminist and philosophical understandings. She looks at what it is in these movies that serves to elicit specific reactions in viewers and why such responses as fear and disgust are ultimately pleasurable. The author is particularly interested in showing how gender figures into screen presentations of evil.The book is divided into three sections: Mad Scientists and Monstrous Mothers, which looks into the implications of male, rationalistic, scientific technology gone awry; The Vampire's Seduction, which explores the attraction of evil and the human ability (or inability) to distinguish active from passive, subject from object, and virtue from vice; and Sublime Spectacles of Disaster, which examines the human fascination with horror spectacle. This section concludes with a chapter on graphic horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Written for both students and film enthusiasts, the book examines a wide array of films including: The Silence of the Lambs, Repulsion, Frankenstein, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Alien, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, Frenzy, The Shining, Eraserhead, Hellraiser, and many others.
The Naked Truth: A Life in Parts
by Graeme BlundellTHE NAKED TRUTH is Graeme Blundell's personal insight into the early years of truly indepedent local theatre, the wild film industry of the seventies, the controversial rise of Australian television, and his role in each of them.
The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.: A Biography
by Peter Ames CarlinAn electrifying cultural biography of the greatest and last American rock band of the millennium, whose music ignited a generation—and reasserted the power of rock and roll"[Carlin's] unique gift for capturing the sweep and tenor of a cultural moment...is here on brilliant display." —Michael ChabonIn the spring of 1980, an unexpected group of musical eccentrics came together to play their very first performance at a college party in Athens, Georgia. Within a few short years, they had taken over the world – with smash records like Out of Time, Automatic for the People, Monster and Green. Raw, outrageous, and expressive, R.E.M.&’s distinctive musical flair was unmatched, and a string of mega-successes solidified them as generational spokesmen. In the tumultuous transition between the wide-open 80s and the anxiety of the early 90s, R.E.M. challenged the corporate and social order, chasing a vision and cultivating a magnetic, transgressive sound.In this rich, intimate biography, critically acclaimed author Peter Ames Carlin looks beyond the sex, drugs, and rock&’n&’roll to open a window into the fascinating lives of four college friends – Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry – who stuck together at any cost, until the end. Deeply descriptive and remarkably poetic, steeped in 80s and 90s nostalgia, The Name of This Band is R.E.M. paints a cultural history of the commercial peak and near-total collapse of a great music era, and the story of the generation that came of age at the apotheosis of rock.
The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones
by Anthony BourdainEssays from the long time chef and host of his travel show and author of Kitchen Confidential.
The Nation's Stage: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
by Michael Kaiser Michael Dolan David M. Rubenstein"There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts. The age of Pericles was also the age of Phidias. The age of Lorenzo de Medici was also the age of Leonardo da Vinci. The age of Elizabeth was also the age of Shakespeare, and the new frontier for which I campaign in public life can also be a new frontier for American art." --John F. Kennedy When the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opened in our nation's capital on September 8, 1971, its mission was to be the "national center for the performing arts." Forty years later the Center has succeeded in that mission and continues to celebrate it--countless times over--in every state and country around the world, and in the hearts and minds of millions of audience members, performers, and artists. In The Nation's Stage, that history comes alive through a stirring historical and pictorial narrative. An incubator and springboard for some of the most memorable and important theater, dance, opera, and musical productions of the past four decades, the Center has hosted plays by Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Tom Stoppard, and August Wilson, as well as theater for young people with Debbie Allen; dance by Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille, Mark Morris, and Jerome Robbins; orchestral scores by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Dmitri Shostakovich, and John Cage; and breathtaking performances from the world's most notable actors, musicians, and dancers. Every year, millions of Americans and people from around the globe gather at the Center to enjoy the arts. This book, an introduction to the Center's accomplishments and abilities and a commemorative artifact for those who have enjoyed those gifts over the years, is a historical narrative with hundreds of colorful archival photos that allow past audiences to relive the most magical moments at the Center. Those who've never been inside receive a backstage pass to all the glamour and wonder this national treasure has to offer.
The Needle and the Lens: Pop Goes to the Movies from Rock 'n' Roll to Synthwave
by Nate PatrinHow the creative use of pop music in film—think Saturday Night Fever or Apocalypse Now—has shaped and shifted music history since the 1960s Quick: What movie do you think of when you hear &“The Sounds of Silence&”? Better yet, what song comes to mind when you think of The Graduate? The link between film and song endures as more than a memory, Nate Patrin suggests with this wide-ranging and energetic book. It is, in fact, a sort of cultural symbiosis that has mutually influenced movies and pop music, a phenomenon Patrin tracks through the past fifty years, revealing the power of music in movies to move the needle in popular culture. Rock &’n&’ roll, reggae, R&B, jazz, techno, and hip-hop: each had its moment—or many—as music deployed in movies emerged as a form of interpretive commentary, making way for the legitimization of pop and rock music as art forms worthy of serious consideration. These commentaries run the gamut from comedic irony to cheap-thrills excitement to deeply felt drama, all of which Patrin examines in pairings such as American Graffiti and &“Do You Want to Dance?&”; Saturday Night Fever and &“Disco Inferno&”; Apocalypse Now and &“The End&”; Wayne&’s World and &“Bohemian Rhapsody&”; and Jackie Brown and &“Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time?&”. What gives power to these individual moments, and how have they shaped and shifted music history, recasting source material or even stirring wider interest in previously niche pop genres? As Patrin surveys the scene—musical and cinematic—across the decades, expanding into the deeper origins, wider connections, and echoed histories that come into play, The Needle and the Lens offers a new way of seeing, and hearing, these iconic soundtrack moments.
The Nerviest Girl in the World
by Melissa WileyA feisty girl from a family of ranchers lands a job as a daredevil stunt girl in the early days of silent film in this adventurous and funny cross between Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken and Ramona.Pearl lives on a ranch where her chores include collecting eggs and feeding ornery ostriches. She has three older brothers, who don't coddle her at all. And she knows a thing or two about horses, too.One day, Pearl's brothers get cushy jobs doing stunts for this new form of entertainment called "moving pictures." They're the Daredevil Donnelly Brothers, a Death-Defying Cowboy Trio. Before she knows it, Pearl has stumbled into being a stunt girl herself--and dreams of becoming a star. The only problem is, her mother has no idea what she's up to. And let's just say she wouldn't be too happy to find out that Pearl's been jumping out of burning buildings in her spare time.Filled with action, humor, and heart--not to mention those pesky ostriches--The Nerviest Girl in the World introduces a spunky heroine whose adventures will have kids on the edge of their seats and whose sense of humor will have them laughing until the very last line.
The Neuro-Image: A Deleuzian Film-Philosophy of Digital Screen Culture
by Patricia PistersArguing that today's viewers move through a character's brain instead of looking through his or her eyes or mental landscape, this book approaches twenty-first-century globalized cinema through the concept of the "neuro-image." Pisters explains why this concept has emerged now, and she elaborates its threefold nature through research from three domains—Deleuzian (schizoanalytic) philosophy, digital networked screen culture, and neuroscientific research. These domains return in the book's tripartite structure. Part One, on the brain as "neuroscreen," suggests rich connections between film theory, mental illness, and cognitive neuroscience. Part Two explores neuro-images from a philosophical perspective, paying close attention to their ontological, epistemological, and aesthetic dimensions. Political and ethical aspects of the neuro-image are discussed in Part Three. Topics covered along the way include the omnipresence of surveillance, the blurring of the false and the real and the affective powers of the neo-baroque, and the use of neuro-images in politics, historical memory, and war.
The New Age of Electronic Dance Music and Club Culture (Music Business Research)
by Martin Lücke Anita JóriThis book offers a comprehensive overview of electronic dance music (EDM) and club culture. To do so, it interlinks a broad range of disciplines, revealing their (at times vastly) differing standpoints on the same subject. Scholars from such diverse fields as cultural studies, economics, linguistics, media studies, musicology, philosophy, and sociology share their perspectives. In addition, the book features articles by practitioners who have been active on the EDM scene for many years and discuss issues like gender and diversity problems in general, and the effects of gentrification on club culture in Berlin. Although the book’s main focus is on Berlin, one of the key centers of EDM and club culture, its findings can also be applied to other hotspots. Though primarily intended for researchers and students, the book will benefit all readers interested in obtaining an interdisciplinary overview of research on electronic dance music.
The New American War Film
by Robert BurgoyneA look at how post-9/11 cinema captures the new face of war in the twenty-first century While the war film has carved out a prominent space within the history of cinema, the twenty-first century has seen a significant shift in the characteristics that define it. Serving as a roadmap to the genre&’s contemporary modes of expression, The New American War Film explores how, in the wake of 9/11, both the nature of military conflict and the symbolic frameworks that surround it have been dramatically reshaped. Featuring in-depth analyses of contemporary films like The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Eye in the Sky, American Sniper, and others, The New American War Film details the genre&’s turn away from previously foundational themes of heroic sacrifice and national glory, instead emphasizing the procedural violence of advanced military technologies and the haptic damage inflicted on individual bodies. Unfolding amid an atmosphere of profound anxiety and disillusionment, the new American war film demonstrates a breakdown of the prevailing cultural narratives that had come to characterize conflict in the previous century. With each chapter highlighting a different facet of war&’s cinematic representation, The New American War Film charts society&’s shifting attitudes toward violent conflict and what is broadly considered to be its acceptable repercussions. Drawing attention to changes in gender dynamics and the focus on war&’s lasting psychological effects within these recent films, Robert Burgoyne analyzes how cinema both reflects and reveals the makeup of the national imaginary.
The New American West in Literature and the Arts: A Journey Across Boundaries (Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Literature)
by Amaia Ibarraran-BigalondoThe story of the American West is that of a journey. It is the story of a movement, of a geographical and human transition, of the delineation of a route that would soon become a rooted myth. The story of the American West has similarly journeyed across boundaries, in a two-way movement, sometimes feeding the idea of that myth, sometimes challenging it. This collection of essays relates to the notion of the traveling essence of the myth of the American West from different geographical and disciplinary standpoints. The volume originates in Europe, in Spain, where the myth traveled, was received, assimilated, and re-presented. It intends to travel back to the West, in a two-way cross-cultural journey, which will hopefully contribute to the delineation of the New—always self-renewing—American West. It includes the work of authors of both sides of the Atlantic ocean who propose a cross-cultural, transdisciplinary dialogue upon the idea, the geography and the representation of the American West.
The New Arts Entrepreneur: Navigating the Arts Ecologies (Discovering the Creative Industries)
by Gary BeckmanThe New Arts Entrepreneur is the first uniquely designed pedagogy for arts entrepreneurship educators and students. Melding an arts-first approach with understandable entrepreneurial concepts and newly formulated tools, the text helps arts students to envision themselves as an entrepreneurial CEO, not simply another random entrepreneur flailing through a maze of well-worn entrepreneurial suggestions that don't fit. At the core of the text are the entrepreneurial ecologies of the arts. The ecologies provide a framework to envision an entrepreneurial horizon for almost any arts-based business, included those ventures seeking to impact the production of art. In addition to this revolutionary framework, the text also introduces tools designed to compliment the ecologies. Designed with arts students in mind, it accomplishes two critical tasks not found in other textbooks: venture sustainability and decision-making. This newly developed approach focuses on the decision-making required to sustain new arts ventures and will be of interest to arts students from all disciplines.