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Movies and American Society Steven J. Ross

Movies and American Society By Steven J. Ross

Movies and American Society by Steven J. Ross


Summary

This collection gathers contemporary essays and supporting documents to illustrate the power of movies to change, and be changed by, American society. The readings follow the history of movies, and editorial introductions place them in historical and ideological context.

Movies and American Society Summary

Movies and American Society by Steven J. Ross

This outstanding collection of the best film history scholarship gathers recent essays and supporting documents to illustrate the power of movies to change, and be changed by, American society. The book follows movies from their beginnings in nickelodeons to the current state of Hollywood globalism. It illustrates that movies have played an important role in shaping and reflecting how millions of Americans see and think about their world. The essays show to a great extent exactly how and why movies have a unique influence on all aspects of American culture, including ideology, politics, and race relations. Editorial introductions place these readings in historical and ideological context, and lists of recommended readings and screenings give guidance for further research. This is the ideal collection for anyone interested in film history.

Movies and American Society Reviews

"I know from personal experience that historians have often wanted a good book on American film in the twentieth century to assign in their classes. This is it. It combines excellent primary sources, and stimulating commentary by one of the major historians of film, Steven Ross."--Lary May, University of Minnesota "Steven Ross brings together a compelling mix of essays and contemporaneous documents, which provide essential insights into the collective power of the movies from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first centuries."--Charles Musser, Yale University

About Steven J. Ross

Steven J. Ross is Professor of History at the University of Southern California. He is co-founder and co-director of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities and the author of Workers on the Edge: Work, Leisure, and Politics in Industrializing Cincinnati (1985) and Working-Class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in America (1998), which won the Theater Library Association Book Award.

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Preface. Preface.Acknowledgments. Introduction: Why Movies Matter.1. Going to the Movies: Early Audiences.Introduction to the Article. Article: From The Making of American Audiences: From Stage to Television, 1750 - 1990 (Richard Butsch) Documents: Introduction to the Documents. "The Nickel Madness": Barton W. Carrie.Report of Censorship of Motion Pictures and of Investigation of Motion Picture Theatres of Cleveland (1913): Robert O. Bartholomew."House Fly Panics Pittsburgh Movie Audience".Readings and Screenings.2. Heroes and Heroines of Their Own Entertainment: Progressive-Era Cinema.Introduction to the Article. Article: From The Loud Silents: Origins of the Social Problem Film: Kay Sloan.Documents: Introduction to the Documents. "The Social Uses of the Moving Picture": W. Stephen Bush.Los Angeles Socialist Movie Theater.Readings and Screenings.3. The Rise of Hollywood: Movies, Ideology, and Audiences in the Roaring Twenties:Introduction to the Article. Article: From Working-Class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in America (Steven J. Ross)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. "The Deluxe Picture Palace": Lloyd Lewis."Petting At the Movies": E. J. Mitchell."The Actor's Part": Milton Sills.Readings and Screenings.4. Who Controls What We See?: Censorship and the Attack on Hollywood "Immorality"Introduction to the Article. Article: Hollywood Censored: The Production Code Administration and the Hollywood Film Industry, 1930-1940: Gregory D. Black.Documents: Introduction to the Documents. The Power of the Movies and Debates Over Censorship.Readings and Screenings.5. Confronting the Great Depression: Renewing Democracy in Hard Times.Introduction to the Article. Article: From The Big Tomorrow: Hollywood and the Politics of the American Way (Lary May)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. "The Movies and Political Propaganda": Upton Sinclair.Readings and Screenings.6. Alternative Cinemas: Movies on the Margins.Introduction to the Article. Article: From Hollywood's High Noon: Moviemaking and Society Before Television (Thomas Cripps)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. "The Negro and the Photo-Play": Oscar Micheaux."'The Symbol of the Unconquered, New Play"."Some New American Documentaries: In Defense of Liberty: John H. Winge.Readings and Screenings.7. Seeing Red: Cold War Hollywood.Introduction to the Article. Article: From American Cinema/American Culture (John Belton)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. FBI Report, "Communist Political Influence and Activities in the Motion Picture Business in Hollywood, California.""The Waldorf Statement," issued by the Association of Motion Picture Producers.Readings and Screenings.8. Eisenhower's America: Prosperity and Problems in the 1950s.Introduction to the Article. Article: From American Film and Society Since 1945 (Leonard Quart and Albert Auster)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. Teen Idol: Hedda Hopper Interviews James Dean.Reviews of Rebel Without a Cause. Readings and Screenings.9. Black and White in Color: Race and Film in the 1960s and 1970s.Introduction to the Article. Article: From Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film (Ed Guerrero)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. Variety Reports Reactions to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?. "Blaxploitation Movies: Cheap Thrills That Degrade Blacks": Alvin F. Poussaint. Readings and Screenings.10. Vietnam and the Crisis of American Power: Movies, War, and Militarism:Introduction to the Article. Article: From Camera Politica: The Politics and Ideology of Contemporary Hollywood Film (Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. Correspondence Regarding the Making of The Green Berets. "Platoon "Marks "End of a Cycle" for Oliver Stone."Reunion: Men of a Real Platoon".Readings and Screenings.11. Reagan's America: The Backlash Against Women and Men:Introduction to the Article. Article: From Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women (Susan Faludi)Documents: Introduction to the Documents. Equal Rights Amendment, 1972."A Backlash Manifesto": Phyllis Schlafly. A Film That Gives Feminism a Bad Name.Readings and Screenings.12. Hollywood Goes Global: The Internationalization of American Cinema.Introduction to the Article. Article: Is Hollywood America? The Transnationalization of the American Film Industry (Frederick Wasser)Documents:Introduction to the Documents. Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance of the Committee On Energy and Commerce."Films Without Frontiers": David Puttnam.Readings and Screenings. Index.

Additional information

GOR006217916
9780631219606
0631219609
Movies and American Society by Steven J. Ross
Used - Very Good
Paperback
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
2002-04-12
400
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Movies and American Society