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My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves
by Carol Burnett Agnes NixonFrom the Emmy-winning creator and writer of All My Children and One Life to Live, a memoir of her trailblazing rise to the top of the television industry, including behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most beloved soaps of all time Before there was Erica Kane, Adam Chandler, or Victoria Lord, there was Agnes Nixon, a young girl who dreamed up stories for paper dolls. Those tales she imagined--ones filled with ambitions, rivalries, and romances--would soon parallel her own path to success. In a memoir filled with as much drama as the soaps she penned, Nixon shares her journey from Nashville to New York City, as she overcomes the loss of her fiancé in World War II, a father intent on crushing her writing dreams, and the jealousy of her male colleagues on her way to becoming one of the most successful names in television.While fans will delight in Nixon’s own incredible life, they will also love her behind-the-scenes insight into her most popular shows. Inside, she shares the inspiration for Erica Kane and how she cast Susan Lucci in the role; an excerpt from the never-before-seen All My Children story bible; entertaining anecdotes about her shows’ beloved casts and special guests, including Carol Burnett, Kelly Ripa, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett; and more. But My Life to Live is also a portrait of a pioneer. Driven to use her ratings power for good, Nixon fought and broke network taboos by wrestling with controversial social issues ranging from women’s health, interracial relationships, and the Vietnam War to drug addiction, LGBT rights, and AIDS. By infusing her characters with sensitivity, humor, and humanity, she enabled millions to examine an opposite point of view. And long before Shonda Rhimes launched a golden age of female showrunners, Agnes Nixon positioned ABC to become the media giant it is today. She is a true television legend, and her candid and inspiring glimpse behind the curtain of the television industry will charm soap fans and story lovers alike.
My Mortified Life: A Guided Journal to Gauge How Much You've Changed Since Childhood
by David NadelbergHow Much Have YOU Changed Since Childhood?From the makers of the acclaimed Mortified podcast, stage show and documentary series, this interactive diary is part time machine, part confession booth. Discover how much you&’ve changed (and haven&’t) as you answer questions about your:• Love life• Family life• Best days• Worst days• Fears• Vices• Unfortunate fashion history (no, that Hypercolor shirt will never be cool again)• And beyond!With prompts that encourage you to compare your life THEN vs. NOW, My Mortified Life is a cathartic way to relive your past, reflect on your present and figure out whether you&’re still the same wonderful weirdo you were back in the day.
My Rendezvous with Life
by Mary PickfordFirst published in 1935, this book by famous film actress Mary Pickford is an essay on death and her belief in an afterlife and the undying human spirit.“When we stop to consider that all of life, as we understand it, springs from a little seed, then a progression of life beyond this present experience should not seem such a miraculous thing.“The development of a Sequoia tree growing two hundred and fifty feet into the air and living five thousand years is, to me, more amazing than the transition we call death.“And so why do we humans in this world think of our progression out of it as such a great mystery when the wise ones through the ages have assured us that the only part of us that really can be destroyed is our false and limited conception of life?”—Mary Pickford
My Seven Sons and How We Raised Each Other: (They Only Drive Me Crazy 30% of the Time)
by Don DiamontSoap star Don Diamont's most interesting storyline to date is being the real-life father and ringleader of his seven rambunctious boys.Called a "daytime deity" by Soap Opera Digest, Don Diamont is best known as the dashing publishing titan with steel abs, "Dollar Bill Spencer," on the most-watched daytime drama in the world, The Bold and the Beautiful. But all of that takes second place to his most important role to date: father to seven boys. By turns hilarious and poignant, MY SEVEN SONS AND HOW WE RAISED EACH OTHER is a family memoir for our time. Don writes with openness and courage about the ways his family came together: by marriage, divorce, the death of his sister, and marriage again. Today's blended families might look different from the households of even a few decades ago, but the first dates, first cars, busting curfew, talking back, grounding, broken hearts, laughs, tears, and the love are the same. From his childhood growing up in LA, to his Zoolander phase as a model in both Paris and Los Angeles, to the iconic place he now occupies in daytime television, Don also gives us a glimpse into a life that at times could have been scripted for a soap opera. And, with brutal honesty, he tells of the personal devastation he suffered after the deaths of his father, brother, and sister. MY SEVEN SONS is required reading for everyone who is a parent, and all those who have one.
Mythical Beasts & Beings: A Visual Guide to the Creatures of Folklore (Xist Children's Books)
by Lisa GravesA Mythical Creatures Guide with Stunning Illustrations Lisa Graves takes on monsters, fairies, gods and dragons in this illustrated guide to mythological creatures. Featuring legends from around the world, this collection provides information for fans of mythology, magic and more in a lovely volume.
Mythopoetic Cinema: On the Ruins of European Identity
by Kriss Ravetto-BiagioliIn Mythopoetic Cinema, Kriss Ravetto-Biagioli explores how contemporary European filmmakers treat mythopoetics as a critical practice that questions the constant need to provide new identities, a new Europe, and with it a new European cinema after the fall of the Soviet Union. Mythopoetic cinema questions the perpetual branding of movements, ideas, and individuals. Examining the work of Jean-Luc Godard, Alexander Sokurov, Marina Abramović, and Theodoros Angelopoulos, Ravetto-Biagioli argues that these disparate artists provide a critical reflection on what constitutes Europe in the age of neoliberalism. Their films reflect not only the violence of recent years but also help question dominant models of nation building that result in the general failure to respond ethically to rising ethnocentrism.In close readings of such films as Sokurov's Russian Ark (2002) and Godard's Notre Musique (2004), Ravetto-Biagioli demonstrates the ways in which these filmmakers engage and evaluate the recent reconceptualization of Europe's borders, mythic figures, and identity paradoxes. Her work not only analyzes how these filmmakers thematically treat the idea of Europe but also how their work questions the ability of the moving image to challenge conventional ways of understanding history.
N. W. A the Aftermath: Exclusive Interviews With Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Jerry Heller, Yella and Westside Connection (Behind The Music Tales #Vol. 4)
by Harris Rosen Ben KinkeadN.W.A: The Aftermath is the fourth book from the In Their Own Words: Behind the Music Tales of Truth, Fiction & Desire series. The interviews provide first-hand knowledge and the state of mind of these legendary figures who existed within the heart of arguably the most infamous and dark period in music history. Each chapter will unravel the truth and give you new insight. Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn what really happened. What was Eazy-E's all consuming desire? How did Jerry Heller feel after listening to "No Vaseline"? When did Yella find out Eazy-E had AIDS? What really happened in the Ice Cube Vs Cypress Hill war? What really went on behind the scenes at Death Row? What did Dr. Dre think of Snoop Doggy Dogg's Tha Doggfather album? Why did people say Dr. Dre fell off? Who had the money lined up to produce an N.W.A movie in 2006? How did Ice Cube go from burning to turning Hollywood? And much more Much of what you will read here has been sensationalized by others in a manner of journalistic psycho-speak. N.W.A: The Aftermath is as close to the truth as one can get. Alternately triumphant and tragic, lively, uplifting, and resentful, each tells a distinct story, creating an intimate portrait as fearless as its subjects.
Name That Show: 100 Illustrated T.V. Puzzles
by Paul RogersIt's never been easier to discover and binge on new and classic TV shows, and never before have so many great series been available on screens large and small. This entertaining puzzle book by the author of Name That Movie celebrates the current golden age of television viewership with wit and style. Celebrated illustrator Paul Rogers tests readers' visual knowledge to identify each of 100 series through a sequence of six line drawings depicting places, vehicles, objects, and even fashion details ranging from the obscure to the iconic. Complete with answer key and index, this ebook is as fun to play solo as it is with fellow TV fans.
Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative, Fourth Edition
by Mieke BalSince its first publication in English in 1985, Mieke Bal's Narratology has become an international classic and the comprehensive introduction to the theory of narrative texts, both literary and non-literary. Providing insights into how readers interpret narrative text, the fourth edition of Narratology is a guide for students and scholars seeking to analyze narratives of any language, period, and region with clear, systematic and reliable concepts. With the addition of in-depth analysis of literary nuances and methods, award-wining cultural theorist Mieke Bal continues to present narrative concepts with clarity. Bal uses a systematic framework to better explain how narratives function, are formed, and eventually interpreted by the reader, while presenting a comprehensive study of the surface perception of language, the perceived narrative world, point of view, and characterization.
National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame: Celebrating 30 Years (Excelsior Editions)
by Lisa Schlansker KolosekThe only museum in the United States dedicated entirely to the art form of dance, the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame opened in June 1987, after a short preview season the summer before. This unique and special place celebrates its thirtieth anniversary in 2017. To commemorate this milestone, Lisa Schlansker Kolosek has created a rich pictorial history tracing not only the museum's remarkable evolution but the relevance of the museum to the city of Saratoga Springs, New York.Kolosek tells the story of the museum's origins, from its notable founders' grand idea to the selection and complete renovation of a historic 1920s bath house as its home. Combining a complete survey of exhibitions presented by the museum and the incredible history of the Hall of Fame, which recognizes dance luminaries across multiple genres, this book offers an in-depth look at the museum's expansive collection of costumes, visual art, and archival materials. The book also covers the history of the museum's Lewis A. Swyer Studios and School of the Arts, a leader in dance education. Beautifully illustrated with more than four hundred photographs, this book pays tribute to the immense impact of the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame.
Natural Disaster: I Cover them. I am one.
by Ginger ZeeGinger grew up in small-town Michigan where she developed an obsession with weather as a young girl. Ginger opens up about her lifelong battle with crippling depression, her romances that range from misguided to dangerous, and her tumultuous professional path.
Nevertheless: A Memoir
by Alec Baldwin“A thorough and sophisticated effort to answer an interesting question: How did an indifferently raised, self-flagellating kid from a just-making-ends-meet, desultorily functioning Long Island family, in Massapequa, turn into Alec Baldwin, gifted actor, familiar public figure, impressively thoughtful person, notorious pugilist? . . . Beautifully written and unexpectedly moving . . . . Baldwin writes with great knowledge about old films, the art of acting, what he has learned from other actors, and about the differences among television, film and theater. . . . He’s a highly literate and fluent writer.”—New York TimesOne of the most accomplished and outspoken actors today chronicles the highs and lows of his life in this beautifully written, candid memoir.Over the past three decades, Alec Baldwin has established himself as one of Hollywood’s most gifted, hilarious, and controversial leading men. From his work in popular movies, including Beetlejuice, Working Girl, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Cooler, and Martin Scorsese’s The Departed to his role as Jack Donaghy on Tina Fey’s irreverent series 30 Rock—for which he won two Emmys, three Golden Globes, and seven Screen Actors Guild Awards—and as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, he’s both a household name and a deeply respected actor.In Nevertheless, Baldwin transcends his public persona, making public facets of his life he has long kept private. In this honest, affecting memoir, he introduces us to the Long Island child who felt burdened by his family’s financial strains and his parents’ unhappy marriage; the Washington, DC, college student gearing up for a career in politics; the self-named "Love Taxi" who helped friends solve their romantic problems while neglecting his own; the young soap actor learning from giants of the theatre; the addict drawn to drugs and alcohol who struggles with sobriety; the husband and father who acknowledges his failings and battles to overcome them; and the consummate professional for whom the work is everything. Throughout Nevertheless, one constant emerges: the fearlessness that defines and drives Baldwin’s life. Told with his signature candor, astute observational savvy, and devastating wit, Nevertheless reveals an Alec Baldwin we have never fully seen before.
New African Cinema
by Valérie K. OrlandoNew African Cinema examines the pressing social, cultural, economic, and historical issues explored by African filmmakers from the early post-colonial years into the new millennium. Offering an overview of the development of postcolonial African cinema since the 1960s, Valérie K. Orlando highlights the variations in content and themes that reflect the socio-cultural and political environments of filmmakers and the cultures they depict in their films. Orlando illuminates the diverse themes evident in the works of filmmakers such as Ousmane Sembène’s Ceddo (Senegal, 1977), Sarah Maldoror’s Sambizanga (Angola, 1972), Assia Djebar’s La Nouba des femmes de Mont Chenoua (The Circle of women of Mount Chenoua, Algeria, 1978), Zézé Gamboa’s The Hero (Angola, 2004) and Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu (Mauritania, 2014), among others. Orlando also considers the influence of major African film schools and their traditions, as well as European and American influences on the marketing and distribution of African film. For those familiar with the polemics of African film, or new to them, Orlando offers a cogent analytical approach that is engaging.
The New Digital Storytelling: Creating Narratives With New Media
by Bryan AlexanderWritten for everyone interested in the communication potential of digital media, including educators, marketers, communication professionals, and community activists, this is the ultimate guide to harnessing technology for storytelling. No other book covers the digital storytelling movement as thoroughly as this updated second edition of a popular work, nor does any incorporate as many technologies, from video to augmented reality, mobile devices to virtual reality. <p><p> The book combines history, analysis, and practical guidance about digital storytelling. It begins with a history that encompasses an exploration of storytelling itself, as well as a description of narratives using digital tools from the 1980s through 2000. From there, the author dives into modern digital storytelling, offering analysis and guidance regarding the use of digital video, podcasting, social media, gaming, mobile devices, and virtual and augmented reality. The work concludes with practical advice about how to create and share digital stories using the most current tools so even the new would-be storyteller can create their first digital narrative. <p> Of course, the second edition is updated to take into account the many ways the field has advanced since the original book appeared. With many new examples of digital stories, this edition's evidence base is current and fresh. New or transformed technologies are also addressed, including virtual reality; mobile devices that have become mainstream tools for creating, sharing, and experiencing digital stories; and the wide variety of new storytelling apps and services.
The New Girl: A Trans Girl Tells It Like It Is
by Rhyannon Styles'Inspiring and heart-wrenching' Paloma Faith 'Love Rhyannon. Love this book' Grace Dent The remarkable transgender memoir you won't stop hearing about. Rhyannon Styles will do for transgender what Matt Haig did for mental health. Elle columnist Rhyannon Styles tells her unforgettable life story in THE NEW GIRL, reflecting on her past and charting her incredible journey from male to female. A raw, frank and utterly moving celebration of life.Imagine feeling lost in your own body. Imagine spending years living a lie, denying what makes you 'you'. This was Ryan's reality. He had to choose: die as a man or live as a woman.In 2012, Ryan chose Rhyannon. At the age of thirty she began her transition, taking the first steps on the long road to her true self.Rhyannon holds nothing back in THE NEW GIRL, a heartbreakingly honest telling of her life. Through her catastrophic lows and incredible highs, she paints a glorious technicolour picture of what it's like to be transgender. From cabaret drag acts, brushes with celebrity and Parisian clown school, to struggles with addiction and crippling depression, Rhyannon's story is like nothing you've read before.Narrated with searing honesty, humour and poignancy, THE NEW GIRL is a powerful book about being true to ourselves, for anyone who's ever felt a little lost.
The New Girl: A Trans Girl Tells It Like It Is
by Rhyannon Styles'Inspiring and heart-wrenching' Paloma Faith 'Love Rhyannon. Love this book' Grace Dent The remarkable transgender memoir you won't stop hearing about. Rhyannon Styles will do for transgender what Matt Haig did for mental health. Elle columnist Rhyannon Styles tells her unforgettable life story in THE NEW GIRL, reflecting on her past and charting her incredible journey from male to female. A raw, frank and utterly moving celebration of life.Imagine feeling lost in your own body. Imagine spending years living a lie, denying what makes you 'you'. This was Ryan's reality. He had to choose: die as a man or live as a woman.In 2012, Ryan chose Rhyannon. At the age of thirty she began her transition, taking the first steps on the long road to her true self.Rhyannon holds nothing back in THE NEW GIRL, a heartbreakingly honest telling of her life. Through her catastrophic lows and incredible highs, she paints a glorious technicolour picture of what it's like to be transgender. From cabaret drag acts, brushes with celebrity and Parisian clown school, to struggles with addiction and crippling depression, Rhyannon's story is like nothing you've read before.Narrated with searing honesty, humour and poignancy, THE NEW GIRL is a powerful book about being true to ourselves, for anyone who's ever felt a little lost.
The New Television Handbook (Media Practice)
by Patricia HollandThe New Television Handbook?provides an exploration of the theory and practice of television at a time when the medium is undergoing radical changes. The book looks at television from the perspective of someone new to the industry, and explores the place of the medium within a?constantly changing digital landscape. This title discusses key skills involved in television production, including: producing, production management, directing, camera, sound, editing and visual effects. Each of these activities is placed within a wider context as it traces the production process from commissioning to post-production. The book outlines the broad political and economic context of the television industry. It gives an account of television genres, in particular narrative, factual programmes and news, and it considers the academic discipline of media studies and the ways in which theorists have analysed and tried to understand the medium. It points to the interplay of theory and practice as it draws on the history of the medium and observes the ways in which the past continues to influence and invigorate the present. The New Television Handbook?includes: contributions from practitioners ranging from established producers to new entrants; a comprehensive list of key texts and television programmes; a revised glossary of specialist terms; a section on training and ways of getting into the industry. By combining theory, real-world advice and a detailed overview of the industry and its history,?The New Television Handbook?is an ideal guide for students of media and television studies and young professionals entering the television industry.
The New Woman's Film: Femme-centric Movies for Smart Chicks
by Hilary RadnerWith the chick flick arguably in decline, film scholars may well ask: what has become of the woman’s film? Little attention has been paid to the proliferation of films, often from the independent sector, that do not sit comfortably in either the category of popular culture or that of high art––films that are perhaps the corollary of the middle-brow novel, or "smart-chick flicks". This book seeks to fill this void by focusing on the steady stream of films about and for women that emerge out of independent American and European cinema, and that are designed to address an international female audience. The new woman's film as a genre includes narratives with strong ties to the woman’s film of classical Hollywood while constituting a new distinctive cycle of female-centered films that in many ways continue the project of second-wave feminism, albeit in a modified form. Topics addressed include: The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood, 1995); the feature-length films of Nicole Holofcener, 1996-2013; the film roles of Tilda Swinton; Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008); Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen, 2013); Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2012), Belle (Amma Asante, 2013), Fifty Shades of Grey (Sam Taylor-Johnson, 2015) and Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake (Sundance Channel, 2013-).
The Nine Lives of Michael Todd: The Story Of One Of The Worlda¢â,¬â,¢s Most Fabulous Showmen
by Art CohnSHOW BIZ’ “LAST TYCOON”At eighteen he was president of a $2-million-a-year construction company. At twenty he couldn’t afford a house of his own.When he was thirty-seven he had four plays running simultaneously, netting him $20,000 a week. The following year he went into bankruptcy for over a million dollars.At forty-nine he married Hollywood’s reigning beauty, Elizabeth Taylor, and had the greatest hit in motion-picture history—Around the World in Eighty Days, the first motion picture likely to gross $100 million.Brash, flamboyant, half genius, half conman, he rose from the slums to giddy heights in the roller-coaster worlds of Broadway and Hollywood. Then, as in a script he might have written himself, he met death in a tragic plane crash—along with his biographer, the man who wrote this book.
No Is a Four-Letter Word: How I Failed Spelling but Succeeded in Life
by Chris Jericho Paul StanleyThree-time New York Times bestselling author and six-time WWE champion Chris Jericho shares 20 of his most valuable lessons for achieving your goals and living the life you want, jam-packed with fantastic stories and the classic off-the-wall, laugh-out-loud Jericho references he's famous for, with a foreword by Paul Stanley.Chris Jericho has known what he wanted out of life since he was a teenager: to be a pro wrestler and to be in a rock 'n' roll band. Most of his high school friends felt that he lacked the tools necessary to get into either, but Chris believed in himself. With the wise words of Master Yoda echoing through his head ("Do or do not. There is no try."), he made it happen. As a result, Chris has spent a lifetime doing instead of merely trying, managing to achieve his dreams while learning dozens of invaluable lessons along the way.No Is a Four-Letter Word distills more than two decades of showbiz wisdom and advice into twenty easy-to-carry chapters. From developing a strong work ethic thanks to WWE chairman Vince McMahon, remembering to always look like a star from Gene Simmons of KISS, learning to let it go when the America's Funniest Home Videos hosting gig goes to his rival, adopting a sense of perpetual reinvention from the late David Bowie, making sure to sell himself like his NHL-legend father Ted Irvine taught him, or going the extra mile to meet Keith Richards (with an assist from Jimmy Fallon), Chris has learned countless lessons during his decades-long career. Now, in the hopes that those same principles might help and inspire his legions of fans, Chris has decided to share them while recounting the fantastic and hilarious stories that led to the birth of these rules. The result is a fun, entertaining, practical, and inspiring book from the man with many scarves but only one drive: to be the best. After reading No Is a Four-Letter Word, you'll discover that you might have what it takes to succeed as well...you just need to get out there and do it. That's what Jericho would do.
No Second Chances
by Kate EvangelistaFull of high society debutantes, impossible tasks, and featuring a heroine who has confidence to spare, the final novel in the Dodge Cove trilogy is a modern twist on a classic fairy tale.Natasha was devastated when Jackson, her first love, disappeared without a word only to pop up months later as a famous DJ. But now she's over it—over him!—and ready to move on with her life. Isn't she?Jackson thought he was leaving Dodge Cove behind forever when he set off to LA to start his DJ career. But the one thing he hasn’t been able to leave behind is the memory of his first love, Natasha, and now that he's proven his success, he’s coming home to win her back...Don’t miss No Second Chances, the final book in Kate Evangelista’s romantic young adult Dodge Cove trilogy. Praise for The Dodge Cove Trilogy:No Holding Back:“Charming to the max.” —Lola, Hit or Miss BooksNo Love Allowed:“It’s like a modern fairy tale.” —Camelle, reader on SwoonReads.com"Evangelista takes a familiar story of young love and makes it fresh." —VOYA"Given the growing awareness towards understanding the stigmas, issues and concerns surrounding mental illness, I find it refreshing that this book doesn’t preach about what to do or how to be—it just tells a story of two people who fall in love and who just also happen to struggle with issues that deserve a place to be talked about." —Whatsageek.com“The romance was incredible. There was also a great set of secondary characters. Nathan was my favorite. And I'm so thrilled that he's going to get his own story too. I can't wait for it. The perfect YA contemporary romance for me. It had humor, romance, awesome characters and great writing. Pretty much everything I want in a book.” —Stephanie, Bookfever
Noah as Antihero: Darren Aronofsky’s Cinematic Deluge (Routledge Studies in Religion and Film)
by Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch Jon MorganThis collection of essays by biblical scholars is the first book-length treatment of the 2014 film Noah, directed by Darren Aronofsky. The film has proved to be of great interest to scholars working on the interface between the Bible and popular culture, not only because it was heralded as the first of a new generation of biblical blockbusters, but also because of its bold, provocative, and yet unusually nuanced approach to the interpretation and use of the Noah tradition, in both its biblical and extra-biblical forms. The book’s chapters, written by both well-established and up-and-coming scholars, engage with and analyze a broad range of issues raised by the film, including: its employment and interpretation of the ancient Noah traditions; its engagement with contemporary environmental themes and representation of non-human animals; its place within the history of cinematic depictions of the flood, status as an ‘epic’, and associated relationship to spectacle; the theological implications of its representation of a hidden and silent Creator and responses to perceived revelation; the controversies surrounding its reception among religious audiences, especially in the Muslim world; and the nature and implications of its convoluted racial and gender politics. Noah as Antihero will be of considerable interest to scholars conducting research in the areas of religion and film, contemporary hermeneutics, reception history, religion and popular culture, feminist criticism, and ecological ethics.
Nordisk Films Kompagni 1906-1924, Volume 5: The Rise and Fall of the Polar Bear
by Isak ThorsenNordisk Films Kompagni 1906–1924: The Rise and Fall of the Polar Bear is the first comprehensive study of the Danish film company, Nordisk Films Kompagni, in the silent era. Based on archival research, primarily in the company’s surviving business archives, this volume of KINtop describes and analyzes how Nordisk Film became one of the leading players in the world market and why the company failed to maintain this position. This volume is written from perspective of Nordisk Film as a business and organization, from its establishment in 1906 until 1924 when founder Ole Olsen stepped back. Among the many topics and themes this volume examines are the competitive advantages Nordisk Film gained in reorganizing the production to multiple-reel films around 1910; the company’s highly efficient film production which anticipated the departmentalized organization of Hollywood; Nordisk Film’s aggressive expansion strategy in Germany, Central-Europe and Russia during the First World War; and the grand plans for taking control of UFA in association with the American Famous Players in the post-war years.
Not According to Plan: Filmmaking under Stalin
by Maria BelodubrovskayaIn Not According to Plan, Maria Belodubrovskaya reveals the limits on the power of even the most repressive totalitarian regimes to create and control propaganda. Belodubrovskaya's revisionist account of Soviet filmmaking between 1930 and 1953 highlights the extent to which the Soviet film industry remained stubbornly artisanal in its methods, especially in contrast to the more industrial approach of the Hollywood studio system. Not According to Plan shows that even though Josef Stalin recognized cinema as a "mighty instrument of mass agitation and propaganda" and strove to harness the Soviet film industry to serve the state, directors such as Eisenstein, Alexandrov, and Pudovkin had far more creative control than did party-appointed executives and censors.
Not Your Average Zombie: Rehumanizing the Undead from Voodoo to Zombie Walks
by Chera KeeThe zombie apocalypse hasn’t happened—yet—but zombies are all over popular culture. From movies and TV shows to video games and zombie walks, the undead stalk through our collective fantasies. What is it about zombies that exerts such a powerful fascination? In Not Your Average Zombie, Chera Kee offers an innovative answer by looking at zombies that don’t conform to the stereotypes of mindless slaves or flesh-eating cannibals. Zombies who think, who speak, and who feel love can be sympathetic and even politically powerful, she asserts. Kee analyzes zombies in popular culture from 1930s depictions of zombies in voodoo rituals to contemporary film and television, comic books, video games, and fan practices such as zombie walks. She discusses how the zombie has embodied our fears of losing the self through slavery and cannibalism and shows how “extra-ordinary” zombies defy that loss of free will by refusing to be dehumanized. By challenging their masters, falling in love, and leading rebellions, “extra-ordinary” zombies become figures of liberation and resistance. Kee also thoroughly investigates how representations of racial and gendered identities in zombie texts offer opportunities for living people to gain agency over their lives. Not Your Average Zombie thus deepens and broadens our understanding of how media producers and consumers take up and use these undead figures to make political interventions in the world of the living.