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Comedy, Seriously
by Dmitri NikulinComedy, Seriously provides a philosophical interpretation of comedy and argues that comedy displays a particular kind of rationality that reflects philosophical thinking. In particular, that comedy is defined not so much by laughter or jokes, but rather the structure of its plot, which is isomorphic with that of the philosophical argument. Comedy allows for the resolution of a conflict and the achievement of well-being and equality through action that follows the comic plot. Moreover, such action is propelled by the 'thinker on stage, ' who, as socially and politically oppressed, contributes to the liberation of all and the achievement of the good life. Comedy, therefore, establishes the universal pattern for justice and well-being and allows us to rethink the notion of subjectivity not as the modern isolated subject, but rather as integrated with others through shared action and dialogical involvement.
Comedy/Cinema/Theory
by Andrew HortonThe nature of comedy has interested many thinkers, from Plato to Freud, but film comedy has not received much theoretical attention in recent years. The essays in Comedy/Cinema/Theory use a range of critical and theoretical approaches to explore this curious and fascinating subject. The result is a stimulating, informative book for anyone interested in film, humor, and the art of bringing the two together.Comedy remains a central human preoccupation, despite the vagaries in form that it has assumed over the centuries in different media. In his introduction, Horton surveys the history of the study of comedy, from Aristophanes to the present, and he also offers a perspective on other related comic forms: printed fiction, comic books, TV sitcoms, jokes and gags.Some essays in the collection focus on general issues concerning comedy and cinema. In lively (and often humorous) prose, such scholars as Lucy Fischer, Noel Carroll, Peter Lehman, and Brian Henderson employ feminist, post-Freudian, neo-Marxist, and Bakhtinian methodologies. The remaining essays bring theoretical considerations to bear on specific works and comic filmmakers. Peter Brunette, William Paul, Scott Bukatman, Dana Polan, Charles Eidsvik, Ruth Perlmutter, Stephen Mamber, and Andrew Horton provide different perspectives for analyzing The Three Stooges, Chaplin, Jerry Lewis, Woody Allen, Dusan Makavejev, and Alfred Hitchcock's sole comedy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, as well as the peculiar genre of cynical humor from Eastern Europe.As editor Horton notes, an over-arching theory of film comedy does not emanate from these essays. Yet the diversity and originality of the contributions reflect vital and growing interest in the subject, and both students of film and general moviegoers will relish the results.
Comfort Sequels: The Psychology of Movie Sequels from the 80s and 90s
by Emily MarinelliThis sneaky memoir celebrates the campiness and nostalgia of some of the more infamous (some might say underappreciated) sequels of the eighties and nineties, with brand-new interviews with cast and creative team members, while at the same time emphatically conveying the restorative power these films had on the author's traumatic -- sometimes even dangerous -- upbringing. In the late eighties and early nineties, while other kids were playing softball, Emily was sporting a Pink Ladies jacket, perfecting Michelle Pfeiffer&’s &“Cool Rider&” choreography from Grease 2, and wearing out the VHS player. Comfort Sequels: The Psychology of Movie Sequels from the 80s and 90s tells stories from Emily's life, through the movie sequels of their childhood. When a film touches us, makes us deep-belly laugh, and has that feel-good spirit, we want more of it. We want the continuing story. We want the same story even, just recycled and offered in a slightly new way. What felt so good about the original can come back twofold and be the same, but different. Comfort Sequels examines the psychology behind what makes certain movie sequels memorable, safe, predictable, and comforting. These sequels are more of the universe we love—exploring something new while maintaining that which is familiar. Comfort Sequels is a sneaky memoir, celebrating the campiness and nostalgia that these films evoke. Every chapter is a love letter to a specific movie sequel. As a licensed psychotherapist and psychology professor, Emily interprets characters, story arcs, and major themes in a unique voice from a unique perspective while sharing fun and random behind-the-scenes facts about each film. Featuring interviews with Muppeteer Steve Whitmire (creator of Rizzo the Rat from The Great Muppet Caper), Christine Ebersole (My Girl 2), Stuart Pankin (Mannequin 2: On the Move), Peter Mosen (Ghostbusters II), Christopher McDonald and Leif Green (Grease 2), and the &“Cool Rider&” himself, Maxwell Caulfield (Michael, also from Grease 2). Comfort Sequels covers the following twelve comfort sequels; Grease 2, My Girl 2, Karate Kid: Part II, The Great Muppet Caper, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze, Ghostbusters II, Batman Returns, Dream a Little Dream 2, Mannequin 2: On the Move, The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter, and The Evening Star.
Comfort and Domestic Space in Modern Spain (Toronto Iberic #91)
by Susan LarsonComfort and domestic space are complex narratives that can help draw our attention to everything from urban planning, everyday objects, and new technologies to class conflict, racial and ethnic segregation, and the gendering of domestic labour. Comfort and Domestic Space in Modern Spain delves into the history of ideas surrounding the modern home. It explores how the collective experience of domestic space has been shaped by government ideologues, technocrats, and artists as well as working- and middle-class Spaniards since the late nineteenth century. The book focuses on the social and cultural meanings of domestic space in ways that invite us to cross boundaries between private and public, the particular and the general, the local and the global, and to pay attention to the role of the cultural imagination in making a house into a home. Considering a wide variety of voices and perspectives that have resulted in new ideas about how to inhabit domestic space, Comfort and Domestic Space in Modern Spain brings together an international, interdisciplinary group of scholars to illuminate the cultural history of everyday life.
Comfort from a Country Quilt
by Reba McentireThe New York Times Bestseller That Reads Like a Back-Porch Conversation with Reba!In a dazzling career, Reba McEntire has become a true country superstar--and a trailblazing businesswoman with her own multimedia entertainment corporation. Yet she is a rare celebrity who is also beloved by her millions of fans for the way she lives her life. For Reba has balanced the demands of career and family, succeeded in show business without sacrificing her values, and kept up with the times without abandoning her country roots.Here Reba writes about the roles a modern woman tries to fill, roles as many and varied as the fabric pieces of an heirloom quilt. Facing the challenges of being a wife, mother, stepmother, daughter, sister, performer, executive, community member, and Christian, Reba has found inspiration and comfort in the values of her past as an Oklahoma ranch girl. In this generous and wise book, she shows how you can keep traditional values fresh and vital in your own search for a fulfilling life.Whether you read it for instant warmth or lasting inspiration, Comfort from a Country Quilt is a book that will make your spirits soar like the sweet high notes of a Reba McEntire song.
Comic Acting and Portraiture in Late-Georgian and Regency England
by Jim DavisThe popularity of the comic performers of late-Georgian and Regency England and their frequent depiction in portraits, caricatures and prints is beyond dispute, yet until now little has been written on the subject. In this unique study Jim Davis considers the representation of English low comic actors, such as Joseph Munden, John Liston, Charles Mathews and John Emery, in the visual arts of the period, the ways in which such representations became part of the visual culture of their time, and the impact of visual representation and art theory on prose descriptions of comic actors. Davis reveals how many of the actors discussed also exhibited or collected paintings and used painterly techniques to evoke the world around them. Drawing particularly on the influence of Hogarth and Wilkie, he goes on to examine portraiture as critique and what the actors themselves represented in terms of notions of national and regional identity.
Comic Book Movies (Quick Takes: Movies and Popular Culture)
by Blair DavisComic Book Movies explores how this genre serves as a source for modern-day myths, sometimes even incorporating ancient mythic figures like Thor and Wonder Woman’s Amazons, while engaging with the questions that haunt a post-9/11 world: How do we define heroism and morality today? How far are we willing to go when fighting terror? How can we resist a dystopian state? Film scholar Blair Davis also considers how the genre’s visual style is equally important as its weighty themes, and he details how advances in digital effects have allowed filmmakers to incorporate elements of comic book art in innovative ways. As he reveals, comic book movies have inspired just as many innovations to Hollywood’s business model, with film franchises and transmedia storytelling helping to ensure that the genre will continue its reign over popular culture for years to come.
Comic Book Movies - Virgin Film
by David HughesThe superheroes are back! Since the 1970s, the film world has found inspiration in comic books and graphic novels. These days no summer is complete without a major blockbuster movie based on a comic: Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, Men in Black, Daredevil, and The Hulk. Modern special effects have made large-scale superhero epics possible, but the diversity of the comics being published has made for a wide variety of subjects, as evidenced by Ghost World, From Hell, Akira and Road to Perdition. This book looks in detail at twenty key titles, covering every step of the development from comic book panel to feature film frame. Includes interviews with key creative artists about the evolution of the films from the original comics, and speculates about future films.
Comic Books Incorporated: How the Business of Comics Became the Business of Hollywood
by Shawna KidmanComic Books Incorporated tells the story of the US comic book business, reframing the history of the medium through an industrial and transmedial lens. Comic books wielded their influence from the margins and in-between spaces of the entertainment business for half a century before moving to the center of mainstream film and television production. This extraordinary history begins at the medium’s origin in the 1930s, when comics were a reviled, disorganized, and lowbrow mass medium, and surveys critical moments along the way—market crashes, corporate takeovers, upheavals in distribution, and financial transformations. Shawna Kidman concludes this revisionist history in the early 2000s, when Hollywood had fully incorporated comic book properties and strategies into its business models and transformed the medium into the heavily exploited, exceedingly corporate, and yet highly esteemed niche art form we know so well today.
Comic Genius
by Mel Brooks Matt HoyleThis star-studded tribute to the kings and queens of comedy draws together such legendary names as Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Eddie Murphy, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, and many more. Granted extraordinary access, photographer Matt Hoyle has captured his subjects in portraits that are works of art in themselves--by turns zany and deadpan, laugh-out-loud and contemplative. Accompanying them are first-person reflections from each of the comedians on life and laughter that always cut straight to the heart of comedy: it's funny because it's true. Page after sidesplitting page in Comic Genius offers prose as engaging as each portrait is memorable. Here, in one handsome package, is the gift of laughter itself. Comic Genius is proud to support Save The Children.
Comic Venus: Women And Comedy In American Silent Film (Contemporary Approaches To Film And Media Ser.)
by Kristen Anderson WagnerFor many people the term “silent comedy” conjures up images of Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, Buster Keaton’s Stoneface, or Harold Lloyd hanging precariously from the side of a skyscraper. Even people who have never seen a silent film can recognize these comedians at a glance. But what about the female comedians? Gale Henry, Louise Fazenda, Colleen Moore, Constance Talmadge—these and numerous others were wildly popular during the silent film era, appearing in countless motion pictures and earning top salaries, and yet, their names have been almost entirely forgotten. As a consequence, recovering their history is all the more compelling given that they laid the foundation for generations of funny women, from Lucille Ball to Carol Burnett to Tina Fey. These women constitute an essential and neglected sector of film history, reflecting a turning point in women’s social and political history. Their talent and brave spirit continues to be felt today, and Comic Venus: Women and Comedy in American Silent Film seeks to provide a better understanding of women’s experiences in the early twentieth century, and to better understand and appreciate the unruly and boundary-breaking women who have followed. The diversity and breadth of archival materials explored in Comic Venus illuminate the social and historical period of comediennes and silent film. In four sections, Kristen Anderson Wagner enumerates the relationship between women and comedy, beginning with the question of why historically women weren’t seen as funny or couldn’t possibly be funny in the public and male eye, a question that persists even today. Wagner delves into the idea of women’s “delicate sensibilities,” which presumably prevented them from being funny, and in chapter two traces ideas about feminine beauty and what a woman should express versus what these comedic women did express, as Wagner notes, “comediennes challenged the assumption that beauty was a fundamental component of ideal femininity.” In chapter three, Wagner discusses how comediennes such as Clara Bow, Marie Dressler, and Colleen Moore used humor to gain recognition and power through performances of sexuality and desire. Women comedians presented “sexuality as fun and playful, suggesting that personal relationships could be fluid rather than stable.” Chapter four examines silent comediennes’ relationships to the modern world and argues that these women exemplified modernity and new womanhood. The final chapter of Comic Venus brings readers to understand comediennes and their impact on silent-era cinema, as well as their lasting influence on later generations of funny women. Comic Venus is the first book to explore the overlooked contributions made by comediennes in American silent film. Those with a taste for film and representations of femininity in comedy will be fascinated by the analytical connections and thoroughly researched histories of these women and their groundbreaking movements in comedy and stage.
Coming Attractions: Reading American Movie Trailers
by Lisa KernanStarting from the premise that movie trailers can be considered a film genre, this pioneering book explores the genre's conventions and offers a primer for reading the rhetoric of movie trailers. Lisa Kernan identifies three principal rhetorical strategies that structure trailers: appeals to audience interest in film genres, stories, and/or stars. She also analyzes the trailers for twenty-seven popular Hollywood films from the classical, transitional, and contemporary eras, exploring what the rhetorical appeals within these trailers reveal about Hollywood's changing conceptions of the moviegoing audience. Kernan argues that movie trailers constitute a long-standing hybrid of advertising and cinema and, as such, are precursors to today's heavily commercialized cultural forms in which art and marketing become increasingly indistinguishable.
Coming Clean (Orca Soundings)
by Jeff RossThis could be Rob's big break or the night everything falls apart. Rob wants to be a DJ—more than anything. And when his older brother Adam lands him a gig at a local all-ages club filling in for DJ Sly, Rob is ecstatic. When he finds out that the girl of his dreams will be there that first night, it seems like it is all coming together. But things fall apart—Mary Jane overdoses on Ecstasy provided by Adam, and DJ Sly turns Adam in and implicates Rob. The brothers end up on the run, evading the police while trying to force DJ Sly to tell the truth about the brothers' part in the death and Sly's own role in supplying drugs at the club. This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!
Coming Home to Myself
by Wynonna JuddThe no-holds-barred memoir from the beloved music superstar. From the heart of one of the most beloved performers in music comes a candid memoir of professional triumph, private heartbreak, and personal victory-a coming-of-age account of a very private search for harmony and a very public rise to fame. Coming Home to Myselfis the result of that emotional journey-a song of personal discovery that taught Wynonna Judd to love not just what she does, but who she is. From a truly exceptional woman comes an unexpected memoir of survival, strength, hope, and forgiveness, filled with an exultant and empowering message certain to resonate with those who have dreamed of finding themselves, and who only needed the courage and inspiration to begin their own journey.
Coming Home to Story: Storytelling Beyond Happily Ever After
by Geoff MeadStories take us into other worlds so that we may experience our own more deeply. Master storyteller Geoff Mead brings the reader inside the experience of telling and listening to a story. He shows how stories and storytelling engage our imaginations, strengthen communities and bring adventure and joy into our lives. The narrative is interspersed with consummate retellings of traditional tales from all over the world.
Coming Together: The Cinematic Elaboration of Gay Male Life, 1945-1979
by Ryan PowellIn Coming Together, Ryan Powell captures the social and political vitality of the first wave of movies made by, for, and about male-desiring men in the United States between World War II and the 1980s. From the underground films of Kenneth Anger and the Gay Girls Riding Club to the gay liberation-era hardcore films and domestic dramas of Joe Gage and James Bidgood, Powell illuminates how central filmmaking and exhibition were to gay socializing and worldmaking. Unearthing scores of films and a trove of film-related ephemera, Coming Together persuasively unsettles popular histories that center Stonewall as a ground zero for gay liberation and visibility. Powell asks how this generation of movie-making—which defiantly challenged legal and cultural norms around sexuality and gender—provided, and may still provide, meaningful models for living.
Commedia Dell'Arte: A Handbook for Troupes
by John Rudlin Oliver CrickA companion to John Rudlin's best-selling Commedia dell'Arte: A Handbook for Actors, this book covers both the history and professional practice of commedia dell'arte companies from 1568 to the present day. Indispensable for both the beginner and the professional, it contains historical and contemporary company case histories, details on company organisation, and tips on practical stagecraft. Essential for students and practitioners, this book enables the reader to understand how successful commedia dell'arte companies function, and how we can learn from past and current practice to create a lively and dynamic form of theatre. Includes tips on: * writing a scenario * mask-making * building a stage * designing a backdrop * costume * music. _
Commedia Dell'arte An Actor's Handbook: An Actor's Handbook
by John RudlinThere has been an enormous revival of interest in Commedia dell'arte. And it remians a central part of many drama school courses. In Commedia dell'arte in the Twentieth Century John Rublin first examines the orgins of this vital theatrical form and charts its recent revival through the work of companies like Tag, Theatre de Complicite and the influential methods of Jacques Lecoq. The second part of the book provides a unique practical guide for would-be practitioners: demonstrating how to approach the roles of Zanni, Arlecchion, Brighella, Pantalone, Dottore, and the Lovers in terms of movement, mask-work and voice. As well as offering a range of lazzi or comic business, improvisation exercises, sample monologues, and dialogues. No other book so clearly outlines the specific culture of Commedia or provides such a practical guide to its techniques. This immensely timely and useful handbook will be an essential purchase for all actors, students, and teachers.
Commedia dell'Arte Scenarios
by Olly Crick Sergio CostolaCommedia dell'Arte Scenarios gathers together a collection of scenarios from some of the most important Commedia dell'Arte manuscripts, many of which have never been published in English before. Each script is accompanied by an editorial commentary that sets out its historical context and the backstory of its composition and dramaturgical strategies, as well as scene summaries, and character and properties lists. These supplementary materials not only create a comprehensive picture of each script’s performance methods but also offer a blueprint for readers looking to perform the scenarios as part of their own study or professional practice. This collection offers scholars, performers and students a wealth of original performance texts that brig to life one of the most foundational performance genres in world theatre.
Commedia dell'Arte, its Structure and Tradition: Antonio Fava in Conversation with John Rudlin
by John Rudlin Antonio FavaCommedia dell'Arte, its Structure and Tradition chronicles a series of discussions between two renowned experts in commedia dell'arte – master practitioners Antonio Fava and John Rudlin. These discussions were recorded during three recent visits by Fava to Rudlin’s rural retreat in south west France. They take in all of commedia dell'arte's most striking and enduring elements – its masks, its scripts and scenarios, and most outstandingly, its cast of characters. Fava explores the role of each stock Commedia character and their subsequent incarnations in popular culture, as well as their roots in prominent figures of their time. The lively and wide-ranging conversations also take in methods of staging commedia dell'arte for contemporary audiences, the evolution of its gestures, and the collective nature of its theatre-making. This is an essential book for any student or practitioner of commedia dell'arte – provocative, expansive wisdom from the modern world's foremost exponent of the craft.
Commedia dell’Arte for the 21st Century: Practice and Performance in the Asia-Pacific (Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies)
by Olly Crick Corinna Di NiroThis book discusses the evolution of Commedia dell’Arte in the Asia-Pacific where through the process of reinvention and recreation it has emerged as a variety of hybrids and praxes, all in some ways faithful to the recreated European genre. The contributors in this collection chart their own training in the field and document their strategies for engaging with this form of theatre. In doing so, this book examines the current thoughts, ideas, and perceptions of Commedia – a long-standing theatre genre, originating in a European-based collision between neo-classical drama and oral tradition. The contributing artists, directors, teachers, scholars and theatre-makers give insight into working styles, performance ideas, craft techniques and ways to engage an audience for whom Commedia is not part of their day-to-day culture. The volume presents case studies by current practitioners, some who have trained under known Commedia ‘masters’ (e.g. Lecoq, Boso, Mazzone-Clementi and Fava) and have returned to their country of origin where they have developed their performance and teaching praxis, and others (e.g. travelling from Europe to Japan, Thailand, Singapore and China) who have discovered access points to share or teach Commedia in places where it was previously not known. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in Performing arts, Italian studies, and History as well as practitioners in Commedia dell’Arte.
Comment gagner de l’argent en jouant dans des publicités et des séries télévisées
by Bernard LevineAvez-vous déjà souhaité obtenir un emploi en apparaissant dans des publicités télévisées? ....comme les publicités des téléphones portables Samsung ou Nokia, les publicités de McDonald's ou Coca Cola. Aimeriez-vous jouer un rôle dans une série télévisée ou un feuilleton? Aucune expérience n'est nécessaire. Pour vous, voici venue l'occasion de réaliser vos rêves. C'est tellement amusant et l'argent que vous y gagnerez le vaudra bien!
Commercial Dance: An Essential Guide
by Anthony R. TrahearnThis is an exploration of the vital and rapidly evolving world of Commercial Dance, tracing the evolution and merging of Hip-Hop, Club and Jazz dance styles from the music videos of the early 1980s, to today's huge influence on pop music and dance in a multi-media culture. Chapters including ‘Iconic Moments’ and ‘Main Movers’ contextualise and analyse culturally significant works and choreographers. With direct contributions from an international array of industry leading dancers, choreographers and creatives - including JaQuel Knight (Beyonce’s choreographer), Rich + Tone Talauega (Madonna & Michael Jackson collaborators), Rebbi Rosie (Rihanna’s dancer), Dean Lee (Janet Jackson’s choreographer) and Kiel Tutin (BLACKPINK’s choreographer) - this book shines a light on the creatives in the Commercial Dance industry who have made significant impacts, not just on the world of dance but on popular culture itself. Chapters discussing dance history, copyright law, inclusivity and dance class culture as well as additional contributions from dance scholars enable this book to give credence to Commercial Dance as a legitimate academic area of study. This is a complete and comprehensive textbook for all dance students at any level of study on college, university or conservatory courses.
Common As Muck!: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown
by Roy Chubby BrownBy the time he was nineteen, Royston Vasey had married, divorced, fathered two children, spent two years in Britain's toughest Borstal, served three prison stretches and been stabbed while in the Merchant Navy. He thought his only career choice would be a life of crime. Fifteen years later, he was one of Britain's most successful comics, playing live to half a million fans a year as Roy 'Chubby' Brown. COMMON AS MUCK! tells an incredible story of hardships, heartbreak and, ultimately, success. From an impoverished childhood with his abusive father, to his brand of comedy too rude for television and his determined fight against throat cancer, COMMON AS MUCK! is a frank telling of a remarkable life, laced with Roy's irrepressible humour.
Common As Muck!: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown
by Roy Chubby BrownAbandoned by his mother when he was just nine years old, by the time Royston Vasey was nineteen he had been married, divorced, had two children, spent two years in Borstal and several months in prison, and had been shot at in the Merchant Navy. By the time he was thirty-five, he was one of Britain's most successful comics, playing live to half a million fans a year as Roy 'Chubby' Brown. In Common as Muck he tells his incredible story. Frank, funny and - perhaps unexpectedly - often moving, it is a tale of a man battling to escape his background and become a star. From his impossibly deprived childhood to his controversial comic persona to his more recent battle against throat cancer, Roy 'Chubby' Brown's life is as remarkable and fascinating as the man himself.