Since its famed introduction of the “boiled bunny,” Fatal Attraction (1987) established itself as one of American cinema’s most controversial films. This insightful new book surveys the film's formal features and its ideological impact, paying special attention to the film’s signature mix of sexuality, fear, and family values. Features detailed breakdowns of the formal techniques the film employs to create suspense, such as turning ordinary household objects into agents of terrorConsiders the film’s mixed-genre status as a thriller, melodrama, horror picture, and film noirOffers an explanation and analysis of the cultural storm ignited by the film, especially due to its treatment of single career womenInvestigates the film’s handling of extramarital sexuality, pregnancy, birth control, and AIDSDiscusses the film’s lasting role in shaping American gender politics

A movie that swept the 1934 Academy Awards and captivated Depression-era America, It Happened One Night challenged the ways Americans imagined marriage, romance, gender, and class difference. This book examines key scenes and formal features of It Happened One Night, and explores its lasting importance in film history and in cultural studies. Consideration of the film’s role in establishing the genre of the romantic comedy filmInvestigations into the film’s persistent sexuality and its creativity in avoiding Depression-era censorshipEstablishment of the cultural, economic, and political context of a film that directly addresses the Depression and class issuesExploration of how the film invokes and develops the stardom of Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and how this stardom intersects with the film’s topics of gender, genre, sexuality, and class

Miami Vice captures the glitter and glamour embodied by Crockett and Tubbs and offers students an anatomy of a ground-breaking work in the police procedural genre. Explores Miami Vice's combination of disparate influences (MTV, film noir, soap opera, 'high concept' action films) as well as the social, cultural and industrial moments when it burst onto the networkIntroduces readers to major components of televisual analysis--style, storytelling, the television show as commodity and ideological critique--that illustrate the show’s unique featuresProvides a model for students' own assessment of other shows, and confirms precisely how--and on what terms--Miami Vice redefined the police drama and an era

There are certain films and shows that resonate with audiences everywhere—they generate discussion and debate about everything from gender, class, citizenship and race, to consumerism and social identity. This new 'teachable canon' of film and television introduces students to alternative classics that range from silent film to CSI. Magnolia is one of those films students know and love. From the over-the-top performances by male and female leads to the "ripped from the pages of the Old Testament" conclusion, it is a cult favorite in American cinemaThis is the first book to examine the diverse themes, performances, and influences on this polarizing film, encouraging students to look beyond the film's style in order to fully engage with questions about its substanceLane develops a careful analysis of the film, its director, as well as the contemporary context in which it was produced - exploring topics including the role of the auteur, what constitutes cinema / media literacy in the digital age, the politics of postmodernism, and the film's critique of the mass media - in order to challenge students to ask themselves why they are so riveted by this controversial and unusual film

Top Hat is the first volume to spotlight this classic Hollywood film, probing the musical genre, notions of romance and subjectivity, as well as the contested relations between the sexes. Offers a detailed analysis of one of Hollywood's greatest musicals, including a comprehensive survey of the film's production, promotion and reception, all measured against the background of 1930s socio-political contexts in the USAExplores the musical genre and questions of (gendered) national identity, romance, subjectivity and the notion of the coupleWritten in a clear, accessible style, Top Hat probes text and context carefully to appeal to the student and teacher of the musical and of Hollywood film history, as well as the film-loving general reader

Top Hat is the first volume to spotlight this classic Hollywood film, probing the musical genre, notions of romance and subjectivity, as well as the contested relations between the sexes. Offers a detailed analysis of one of Hollywood's greatest musicals, including a comprehensive survey of the film's production, promotion and reception, all measured against the background of 1930s socio-political contexts in the USAExplores the musical genre and questions of (gendered) national identity, romance, subjectivity and the notion of the coupleWritten in a clear, accessible style, Top Hat probes text and context carefully to appeal to the student and teacher of the musical and of Hollywood film history, as well as the film-loving general reader

By reconsidering assumptions about mainstream popular culture and its revolutionary possibilities, author Dana Heller reveals that John Waters' popular 1988 film Hairspray is the director's most subversive movie. Represents the first scholarly work on any of film director John Waters' filmsIncorporates original interview material with the directorReveals meanings embedded in the film's narrative treatment of racial and sexual politics

Since its famed introduction of the “boiled bunny,” Fatal Attraction (1987) established itself as one of American cinema’s most controversial films. This insightful new book surveys the film's formal features and its ideological impact, paying special attention to the film’s signature mix of sexuality, fear, and family values. Features detailed breakdowns of the formal techniques the film employs to create suspense, such as turning ordinary household objects into agents of terrorConsiders the film’s mixed-genre status as a thriller, melodrama, horror picture, and film noirOffers an explanation and analysis of the cultural storm ignited by the film, especially due to its treatment of single career womenInvestigates the film’s handling of extramarital sexuality, pregnancy, birth control, and AIDSDiscusses the film’s lasting role in shaping American gender politics

Since its famed introduction of the “boiled bunny,” Fatal Attraction (1987) established itself as one of American cinema’s most controversial films. This insightful new book surveys the film's formal features and its ideological impact, paying special attention to the film’s signature mix of sexuality, fear, and family values. Features detailed breakdowns of the formal techniques the film employs to create suspense, such as turning ordinary household objects into agents of terrorConsiders the film’s mixed-genre status as a thriller, melodrama, horror picture, and film noirOffers an explanation and analysis of the cultural storm ignited by the film, especially due to its treatment of single career womenInvestigates the film’s handling of extramarital sexuality, pregnancy, birth control, and AIDSDiscusses the film’s lasting role in shaping American gender politics

A movie that swept the 1934 Academy Awards and captivated Depression-era America, It Happened One Night challenged the ways Americans imagined marriage, romance, gender, and class difference. This book examines key scenes and formal features of It Happened One Night, and explores its lasting importance in film history and in cultural studies. Consideration of the film’s role in establishing the genre of the romantic comedy filmInvestigations into the film’s persistent sexuality and its creativity in avoiding Depression-era censorshipEstablishment of the cultural, economic, and political context of a film that directly addresses the Depression and class issuesExploration of how the film invokes and develops the stardom of Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert and how this stardom intersects with the film’s topics of gender, genre, sexuality, and class

Miami Vice captures the glitter and glamour embodied by Crockett and Tubbs and offers students an anatomy of a ground-breaking work in the police procedural genre. Explores Miami Vice's combination of disparate influences (MTV, film noir, soap opera, 'high concept' action films) as well as the social, cultural and industrial moments when it burst onto the networkIntroduces readers to major components of televisual analysis--style, storytelling, the television show as commodity and ideological critique--that illustrate the show’s unique featuresProvides a model for students' own assessment of other shows, and confirms precisely how--and on what terms--Miami Vice redefined the police drama and an era

There are certain films and shows that resonate with audiences everywhere—they generate discussion and debate about everything from gender, class, citizenship and race, to consumerism and social identity. This new 'teachable canon' of film and television introduces students to alternative classics that range from silent film to CSI. Magnolia is one of those films students know and love. From the over-the-top performances by male and female leads to the "ripped from the pages of the Old Testament" conclusion, it is a cult favorite in American cinemaThis is the first book to examine the diverse themes, performances, and influences on this polarizing film, encouraging students to look beyond the film's style in order to fully engage with questions about its substanceLane develops a careful analysis of the film, its director, as well as the contemporary context in which it was produced - exploring topics including the role of the auteur, what constitutes cinema / media literacy in the digital age, the politics of postmodernism, and the film's critique of the mass media - in order to challenge students to ask themselves why they are so riveted by this controversial and unusual film

Top Hat is the first volume to spotlight this classic Hollywood film, probing the musical genre, notions of romance and subjectivity, as well as the contested relations between the sexes. Offers a detailed analysis of one of Hollywood's greatest musicals, including a comprehensive survey of the film's production, promotion and reception, all measured against the background of 1930s socio-political contexts in the USAExplores the musical genre and questions of (gendered) national identity, romance, subjectivity and the notion of the coupleWritten in a clear, accessible style, Top Hat probes text and context carefully to appeal to the student and teacher of the musical and of Hollywood film history, as well as the film-loving general reader

Top Hat is the first volume to spotlight this classic Hollywood film, probing the musical genre, notions of romance and subjectivity, as well as the contested relations between the sexes. Offers a detailed analysis of one of Hollywood's greatest musicals, including a comprehensive survey of the film's production, promotion and reception, all measured against the background of 1930s socio-political contexts in the USAExplores the musical genre and questions of (gendered) national identity, romance, subjectivity and the notion of the coupleWritten in a clear, accessible style, Top Hat probes text and context carefully to appeal to the student and teacher of the musical and of Hollywood film history, as well as the film-loving general reader

By reconsidering assumptions about mainstream popular culture and its revolutionary possibilities, author Dana Heller reveals that John Waters' popular 1988 film Hairspray is the director's most subversive movie. Represents the first scholarly work on any of film director John Waters' filmsIncorporates original interview material with the directorReveals meanings embedded in the film's narrative treatment of racial and sexual politics

Since its famed introduction of the “boiled bunny,” Fatal Attraction (1987) established itself as one of American cinema’s most controversial films. This insightful new book surveys the film's formal features and its ideological impact, paying special attention to the film’s signature mix of sexuality, fear, and family values. Features detailed breakdowns of the formal techniques the film employs to create suspense, such as turning ordinary household objects into agents of terrorConsiders the film’s mixed-genre status as a thriller, melodrama, horror picture, and film noirOffers an explanation and analysis of the cultural storm ignited by the film, especially due to its treatment of single career womenInvestigates the film’s handling of extramarital sexuality, pregnancy, birth control, and AIDSDiscusses the film’s lasting role in shaping American gender politics