Steven Peacock – författare

The British television director Alan Clarke is primarily associated with the visceral social realism of such works as his banned borstal play 'Scum', and his study of football hooliganism, 'The Firm'. This book uncovers the full range of his work from the mythic fantasy of Penda’s Fen, to the radical short film on terrorism, 'Elephant'. Dave Rolinson uses original research to examine the development of Clarke’s career from the theatre and the ‘studio system’ of provocative television play strands of the 1960s and 1970s, to the increasingly personal work of the 1980s, which established him as one of Britain’s greatest auteur directors.'Alan Clarke' examines techniques of television direction, and proposes new methodologies as it questions the critical neglect of directors in what is traditionally seen as a writer’s medium. It raises crucial issues in television studies, including aesthetics, authorship, censorship, the convergence of film and television, drama-documentary form, narrative and realism.

Colour remains one of the few uncharted territories in writing about film style. Colour is the first monograph to deal with the close criticism of film colour across decades and countries. Through detailed explorations of films such as Three Colours: White and The Green Ray, this study offers a way of approaching, interpreting, and appreciating cinematic colour. The book also considers film’s ability to place colour in a shifting relationship with all other points of style including camerawork, editing, performance, music, and lighting. Accessible and inventive in its approach, Colour invites the reader to see films differently, providing a fresh perspective of this overlooked element of cinema aesthetics.

Swedish crime fiction became an international phenomenon in the first decade of the twenty-first century, starting first with novels but then percolating through Swedish-language television serials and films on to English-language BBC productions and Hollywood remakes. This book looks at the rich history of ‘Nordic noir’, examines the appeal of this particular genre and attempts to reveal why it is distinct from the plethora of other crime fictions.Examining the popularity of Stieg Larsson’s international success with his Millennium trilogy, as well as Henning Mankell’s Wallander across the various media, Peacock also tracks some lesser-known novels and television programmes. He illustrates how the bleakness of the country’s ‘noirs’ reflects particular events and cultural and political changes, with the clash of national characteristics becoming a key feature.It will appeal to students and researchers of crime fiction and of film and television studies, as well as the many fans of the novels and dramatic representations.

Although Film Studies has successfully (re)turned attention to matters of style and interpretation, its sibling discipline has left the territory uncharted - until now. The question of how television operates on a stylistic level has been critically underexplored, despite being fundamental to our viewing experience. This significant new work redresses a vital gap in Television Studies by engaging with the stylistic dynamics of TV; exploring the aesthetic properties and values of both the medium and particular types of output (specific programmes); and raising important questions about the way we judge television as both cultural artifact and art form. Global Television: Aesthetics and Style provides a unique and vital intervention in the field, raising key questions about television's artistic properties and possibilities. Through a series of case-studies by internationally renowned scholars, the collection takes a radical step forward in understanding TV's stylistic achievements.

When "24" exploded onto TV screens in 2001, "Time" magazine called it one of the 'Best Television Events of the Decade'. "24" has gone on to establish itself as groundbreaking and controversial entertainment that has changed the face of television. Each season of "24" traces the events of a single day in the life of CTU Field Agent Jack Bauer. Racing against the clock, Bauer battles assassination attempts, germ warfare and terrorist factions to 'save the day'. "24" presents the nail-biting events of each day through its use of split-screen and 'real-time' devices. Dramatically explosive and visually dynamic, "24" taps into a global sense of uncertainty and suspicion with its provocative depiction of America's role on the world stage and of terrorist activity and political double-dealing. "Reading '24'" is the first book to bring together critical discussions of "24" from a wide range of perspectives. Entertaining and illuminating, the book looks in detail at the creative and controversial features of "24". It considers, for example, "24"'s stylistic innovations, its engagement post 9/11 with the 'War on Terror', and its masking of identities.The pioneering spirit of the show is matched by the original arguments on display here, celebrating and censuring "24" - TV on the edge.

This book is the first to focus on the role of European television crime drama on the international market. As a genre, the television crime drama has enjoyed a long and successful career, routinely serving as a prism from which to observe the local, national and even transnational issues that are prevalent in society. This extensive volume explores a wide range of countries, from the US to European countries such as Spain, Italy, the Scandinavian countries, Germany, England and Wales, in order to reveal the very currencies that are at work in the global production and circulation of the TV crime drama. The chapters, all written by leading television and crime fiction scholars, provide readings of crime dramas such as the Swedish-Danish The Bridge, the Welsh Hinterland, the Spanish Under Suspicion, the Italian Gomorrah, the German Tatort and the Turkish Cinayet. By examining both European texts and the ‘European-ness’ of various international dramas, this book ultimately demonstrates that transnationalism is at the very core of TV crime drama in Europe and beyond.

This book is the first to focus on the role of European television crime drama on the international market.

Colour remains one of the few uncharted territories in writing about film style. Colour is the first monograph to deal with the close criticism of film colour across decades and countries. Through detailed explorations of films such as Three Colours: White and The Green Ray, this study offers a way of approaching, interpreting, and appreciating cinematic colour. The book also considers film’s ability to place colour in a shifting relationship with all other points of style including camerawork, editing, performance, music, and lighting. Accessible and inventive in its approach, Colour invites the reader to see films differently, providing a fresh perspective of this overlooked element of cinema aesthetics.