Class, Language, and American Film Comedy

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521002097
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Class, Language, and American Film Comedy by : Christopher Beach

Download or read book Class, Language, and American Film Comedy written by Christopher Beach and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-02-11 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the use of class in the American film comedy, from the 1930s to present.

Film Comedy and the American Dream

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 135160029X
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis Film Comedy and the American Dream by : Zach Sands

Download or read book Film Comedy and the American Dream written by Zach Sands and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-13 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Film Comedy and the American Dream is an examination of national identity in the era of the American superpower as projected in popular comedic films that center on issues of upward mobility. It is the story of what made audiences laugh and why, and what this says about the changing shape of the American Dream from the end of the Second World War through the first part of the twenty-first century. Through a combination of narrative and thematic analyses of popular comedic films, contextualized within a dynamic historical framework, the book traces the increasing disillusionment with this central ideology in the face of multiple forms of systemic exclusion. It argues that film comedy is a major component of the discourse surrounding the American Dream because these movies often evoke humor by highlighting the incongruities that exist between the ideals that define this nation versus the actual lived experiences of its citizens.

Comedy and Cultural Critique in American Film

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Author :
Publisher : Edinburgh University Press
ISBN 13 : 0748677828
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (486 download)

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Book Synopsis Comedy and Cultural Critique in American Film by : Ryan Bishop

Download or read book Comedy and Cultural Critique in American Film written by Ryan Bishop and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2014-11-28 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book uses large scale social and cultural trends and major world events to analyse the American comedy film.

Considering Class

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Publisher : LIT Verlag Münster
ISBN 13 : 3825802590
Total Pages : 219 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (258 download)

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Book Synopsis Considering Class by : Kevin Cahill

Download or read book Considering Class written by Kevin Cahill and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2007 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 21st century hardly any aspects of human existence are left unexplored by postmodern theories and discourses of subjectivity and individuality, of hybridity and identity, of race, gender and ethnicity. Conspicuous, however, among these critical inquiries is the relatively little attention devoted to the category of class. This absence is particularly alarming at a time when neo-liberalism and post- capitalism feed on cultural fragmentation and ideological relativism. The contributions in Considering Class: Essays on the Discourse of the American Dream address the (dys)functional position of class in American socio-political and cultural reality from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. While it is open to debate whether class is more resistant to being relativized than other categories, there is increasing recognition that class remains a critical category with the potential to transcend the rifts and divisions that run along lines of race, ethnicity and gender, and with the potential to reconfigure the current American political landscape.

Movies in American History [3 volumes]

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1598842978
Total Pages : 1505 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (988 download)

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Book Synopsis Movies in American History [3 volumes] by : Philip C. DiMare

Download or read book Movies in American History [3 volumes] written by Philip C. DiMare and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-06-17 with total page 1505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This provocative three-volume encyclopedia is a valuable resource for readers seeking an understanding of how movies have both reflected and helped engender America's political, economic, and social history. Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia is a reference text focused on the relationship between American society and movies and filmmaking in the United States from the late 19th century through the present. Beyond discussing many important American films ranging from Birth of a Nation to Star Wars to the Harry Potter film series, the essays included in the volumes explore sensitive issues in cinema related to race, class, and gender, authored by international scholars who provide unique perspectives on American cinema and history. Written by a diverse group of distinguished scholars with backgrounds in history, film studies, culture studies, science, religion, and politics, this reference guide will appeal to readers new to cinema studies as well as film experts. Each encyclopedic entry provides data about the film, an explanation of the film's cultural significance and influence, information about significant individuals involved with that work, and resources for further study.

ReFocus: The Films of Preston Sturges

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Publisher : Edinburgh University Press
ISBN 13 : 1474406572
Total Pages : 493 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (744 download)

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Book Synopsis ReFocus: The Films of Preston Sturges by : Jaeckle Jeff Jaeckle

Download or read book ReFocus: The Films of Preston Sturges written by Jaeckle Jeff Jaeckle and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-08 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Director, screenwriter and comic genius, Preston Sturges has been an influence on filmmakers ranging from Orson Welles to the Coen brothers. The first person to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, he wrote and directed some of the most bizarre, controversial, and downright hilarious comedies of the 1940s, including Sullivan's Travels and Hail the Conquering Hero. He may be the most talented Hollywood filmmaker yet to receive the critical recognition he deserves. The Films of Preston Sturges is a pioneering collection of essays by world-famous scholars that chart Sturges' contributions to Hollywood cinema, revealing his pivotal status as an early writer-director, exploring his inimitable style, and making a bold case for his ongoing influence today. Reawakening interest in this filmmaker's life and works, this book will remind readers why Sturges' movies remain not only immensely enjoyable, but of great cultural significance as well.

Homo Ludens as a Comic Character in Selected American Films

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319479679
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (194 download)

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Book Synopsis Homo Ludens as a Comic Character in Selected American Films by : Artur Skweres

Download or read book Homo Ludens as a Comic Character in Selected American Films written by Artur Skweres and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-25 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reveals the hitherto critically disregarded ludic elements in popular American comedy films, building on and expanding the theories developed by Johan Huizinga in his classic study Homo Ludens (1938) and Roger Caillois in Les jeux et les hommes (1958). To address the lack of attention paid to the play principle in film comedy studies, this book focuses exclusively on the elements typical of play that can be found in movies. It introduces two new categories describing play: óneiros and pragma, which allow analysis of how play in comedies is influenced by the relations between the player and non-players. The text is supplemented by the use of the author’s drawings, which, because of their analytical and selective nature, are used as a tool for visual study. The play principle has a long tradition in American humor and the films examined here were chosen for their popularity and wide appeal, often acting as vehicles for Hollywood stars (e.g. Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Goldie Hawn, Mike Myers, Jackie Chan or Chris Tucker). The actors’ status allowed the filmmakers to construct situations in which the protagonists distanced themselves from the fictional situation. It is argued that the playful detachment from reality, typifying many of the fictional characters portrayed by actors with star status, is characteristic of the play principle in film. Another major consideration is the hotly debated notion of the accomplishment of goals in playful activities, and the book strongly supports the position that in narratives, play can (but does not have to) yield important results. The introduction of the categories of óneiros and pragma in play serves to highlight the complex relation between playfulness and practicality in the films discussed. Building on a comprehensive analysis of the ludic elements in selected popular American comedies, the book makes an important contribution to film studies, providing a unique perspective through its focus on the concept of homo ludens as a comic hero.

The American Middle Class [2 volumes]

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1610697588
Total Pages : 1087 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis The American Middle Class [2 volumes] by : Robert S. Rycroft

Download or read book The American Middle Class [2 volumes] written by Robert S. Rycroft and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-05-12 with total page 1087 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the "American Dream"? This book's author argues that contrary to what many believe, it is not achieving the wealth necessary to enter the top one percent but rather becoming members of the great middle class by dint of hard work and self-discipline. Americans of all classes consider themselves to be "middle class." There are Americans who by any objective standard should be considered poor who would insist they are middle class, just as other Americans who should be considered wealthy also insist they are middle class. Thinking of yourself and being thought of by others as middle class is the "American Dream" for tens of millions of people. But an enduring problem of the American middle class is the worry that the "Dream" is coming apart—that forces are lurking in the shadows waiting to steal their progress and throw them back into "poverty." This thought-provoking reference explores a disparate multitude of issues associated with being middle class in America. It addresses a range of questions and subtopics, including the meaning of the term "middle class"; how middle class status is expressed by both the majority and the various minorities that make up the American mosaic; what economic pressures are bearing down on the middle class; and how economists and others attempt to make sense of the economic issues of the day. Readers will also better understand how political institutions and public policies are shaping the way the middle class views the world; how labor, housing, education, and crime-related issues have influenced the development and growth of the middle class; the norms of the middle class versus those of other classes in society; and the role of culture and media in shaping how members of the middle class view themselves—and how they are viewed by others. This two-volume set provides a comprehensive look at the American middle class that supports student research in economics, social studies, cultural studies, and political history. The content supports teachers in their development of lesson plans and assignments that directly align with the Common Core State Standards and the recommendations of the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (NCSS) with respect to all ten NCSS themes.

High Comedy in American Movies

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 9780742526341
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (263 download)

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Book Synopsis High Comedy in American Movies by : Steve Vineberg

Download or read book High Comedy in American Movies written by Steve Vineberg and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2005 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High Comedy in American Movies explores the 'comedy of manners' film throughout the twentieth century, from the advent of movie sound to recent films, and shows how class comedy's inside view of the aristocratic lifestyle has been influenced by the culture and times in which the movies are produced. Outlining the conventions of class comedy, Steve Vineberg discusses its British roots and analyzes how many American filmmakers have modified the genre, creating a distinctly American approach to class. Easily accessible, High Comedy in American Movies makes an engaging supplement to courses in American film, film genre, and film studies.

The Palgrave Handbook of Music in Comedy Cinema

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3031334221
Total Pages : 792 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (313 download)

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Book Synopsis The Palgrave Handbook of Music in Comedy Cinema by : Emilio Audissino

Download or read book The Palgrave Handbook of Music in Comedy Cinema written by Emilio Audissino and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-11-28 with total page 792 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook tackles the understudied relationship between music and comedy cinema by analysing the nature, perception, and function of music from fresh perspectives. Its approach is not only multidisciplinary, but also interdisciplinary in its close examination of how music and other cinematic devices interact in the creation of comedy. The volume addresses gender representation, national identities, stylistic strategies, and employs inputs from cultural studies, musicology, music theory, psychology, cognitivism, semiotics, formal and stylistic film analysis, and psychoanalysis. It is organised in four sections: general introductions, theoretical investigations, music and comedy within national cinemas, and exemplary case studies of films or authors.

Historical Dictionary of American Cinema

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1538130122
Total Pages : 655 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (381 download)

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Book Synopsis Historical Dictionary of American Cinema by : M. Keith Booker

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of American Cinema written by M. Keith Booker and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-06 with total page 655 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most powerful forces in world culture, American cinema has a long and complex history that stretches through more than a century. This history not only includes a legacy of hundreds of important films but also the evolution of the film industry itself, which is in many ways a microcosm of the history of American society. Historical Dictionary of American Cinema, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 600 cross-referenced entries covering people, films, companies, techniques, themes, and subgenres that have made American cinema such a vital part of world culture.

Working-Class Comic Book Heroes

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Publisher : Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN 13 : 1496816676
Total Pages : 269 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (968 download)

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Book Synopsis Working-Class Comic Book Heroes by : Marc DiPaolo

Download or read book Working-Class Comic Book Heroes written by Marc DiPaolo and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2018-04-19 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contributions by Phil Bevin, Blair Davis, Marc DiPaolo, Michele Fazio, James Gifford, Kelly Kanayama, Orion Ussner Kidder, Christina M. Knopf, Kevin Michael Scott, Andrew Alan Smith, and Terrence R. Wandtke In comic books, superhero stories often depict working-class characters who struggle to make ends meet, lead fulfilling lives, and remain faithful to themselves and their own personal code of ethics. Working-Class Comic Book Heroes: Class Conflict and Populist Politics in Comics examines working-class superheroes and other protagonists who populate heroic narratives in serialized comic books. Essayists analyze and deconstruct these figures, viewing their roles as fictional stand-ins for real-world blue-collar characters. Informed by new working-class studies, the book also discusses how often working-class writers and artists created these characters. Notably Jack Kirby, a working-class Jewish artist, created several of the most recognizable working-class superheroes, including Captain America and the Thing. Contributors weigh industry histories and marketing concerns as well as the fan community's changing attitudes towards class signifiers in superhero adventures. The often financially strapped Spider-Man proves to be a touchstone figure in many of these essays. Grant Morrison's Superman, Marvel's Shamrock, Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta, and The Walking Dead receive thoughtful treatment. While there have been many scholarly works concerned with issues of race and gender in comics, this book stands as the first to deal explicitly with issues of class, cultural capital, and economics as its main themes.

Cinematic Representations of Women in Modern Celebrity Culture, 1900–1950

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000574725
Total Pages : 229 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Cinematic Representations of Women in Modern Celebrity Culture, 1900–1950 by : María Cristina C. Mabrey

Download or read book Cinematic Representations of Women in Modern Celebrity Culture, 1900–1950 written by María Cristina C. Mabrey and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this edited volume is to explore the contributions of women to European, Mexican, American and Indian film industries during the years 1900 to 1950, an important period that signified the rise and consolidation of media technologies. Their pioneering work as film stars, writers, directors, designers and producers as well as their endeavors to bridge the gap between the avant-garde and mass culture are significant aspects of this collection. This intersection will be carefully nuanced through their cinematographic production, performances and artistic creations. Other distinctive features pertain to the interconnection of gender roles and moral values with ways of looking, which paves the way for realigning social and aesthetic conventions of femininity. Based on this thematic and diverse sociocultural context, this study has an international scope, their main audiences being scholars and graduate students that pursue to advance interdisciplinary research in the field of feminist theory, film, gender, media and avant-garde studies. Likewise, historians, art and literature specialists will find the content appealing to the degree that intermedial and cross-cultural approaches are presented.

Hollywood Screwball Comedy 1934-1945

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 1501347608
Total Pages : 353 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Hollywood Screwball Comedy 1934-1945 by : Grégoire Halbout

Download or read book Hollywood Screwball Comedy 1934-1945 written by Grégoire Halbout and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2022-01-13 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Love at first sight, whirlwind marriages, break-ups, divorces, remarriage... What accounts for the enduring success of the Hollywood madcap comedies of the 1930s? Directed by masters of comedy (Hawks, LaCava, Leisen, Ruggles...) and featuring the decade's most iconic stars (Colbert, Dunne, Grant, Hepburn...), these films set romantic comedy standards for decades to come. Screwball comedy embarked on two challenging missions: to poke fun at established social norms and to undermine stereotypical depictions of gender roles, putting forward a discourse that postulated the possibility of equality between men and women. Grégoire Halbout's reexamination of screwball comedy provides a comprehensive overview of this (sub)genre, eschewing the auteurist approach and including “minor” works never before analyzed through the screwball lens. His book explains how these screwball stories met the expectations of a booming American middle class eager for the liberalization of morals, with daring plots, verbal humor and slapstick techniques. Building on the work of Cavell, Altman and Gehring, as well as international and French scholarship, Halbout's investigation unfolds in three parts. He first establishes a definition of Hollywood screwball comedy through a cross-sectional analysis of its socio-historical context and an in-depth examination of the genre. He then situates screwball comedy in relation to its institutional context. An exclusive study of archival material explains the emergence of a screwball aesthetic meant to subvert the prohibitions of the 1934 Hollywood Production Code through a verbal and visual rhetoric of diversion and mitigation. Finally, Halbout explores the social function of the genre's placement of romantic intimacy at the center of the public sphere and the democratic debate, confirming that screwball eccentricity upholds America's founding values: freedom of speech, free consent, and contractual engagement.

Film Genre Reader IV

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Publisher : University of Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 0292745745
Total Pages : 785 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (927 download)

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Book Synopsis Film Genre Reader IV by : Barry Keith Grant

Download or read book Film Genre Reader IV written by Barry Keith Grant and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2012-12-01 with total page 785 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From reviews of the third edition: “Film Genre Reader III lives up to the high expectations set by its predecessors, providing an accessible and relatively comprehensive look at genre studies. The anthology’s consideration of the advantages and challenges of genre studies, as well as its inclusion of various film genres and methodological approaches, presents a pedagogically useful overview.” —Scope Since 1986, Film Genre Reader has been the standard reference and classroom text for the study of genre in film, with more than 25,000 copies sold. Barry Keith Grant has again revised and updated the book to reflect the most recent developments in genre study. This fourth edition adds new essays on genre definition and cycles, action movies, science fiction, and heritage films, along with a comprehensive and updated bibliography. The volume includes more than thirty essays by some of film’s most distinguished critics and scholars of popular cinema, including Charles Ramírez Berg, John G. Cawelti, Celestino Deleyto, David Desser, Thomas Elsaesser, Steve Neale, Thomas Schatz, Paul Schrader, Vivian Sobchack, Janet Staiger, Linda Williams, and Robin Wood.

Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes

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Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231547064
Total Pages : 359 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes by : Maggie Hennefeld

Download or read book Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes written by Maggie Hennefeld and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-27 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women explode out of chimneys and melt when sprayed with soda water. Feminist activists play practical jokes to lobby for voting rights, while overworked kitchen maids dismember their limbs to finish their chores on time. In early slapstick films with titles such as Saucy Sue, Mary Jane’s Mishap, Jane on Strike, and The Consequences of Feminism, comediennes exhibit the tensions between joyful laughter and gendered violence. Slapstick comedy often celebrates the exaggeration of make-believe injury. Unlike male clowns, however, these comic actresses use slapstick antics as forms of feminist protest. They spontaneously combust while doing housework, disappear and reappear when sexually assaulted, or transform into men by eating magic seeds—and their absurd metamorphoses evoke the real-life predicaments of female identity in a changing modern world. Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes reveals the gender politics of comedy and the comedic potentials of feminism through close consideration of hundreds of silent films. As Maggie Hennefeld argues, comedienne catastrophes provide disturbing but suggestive images for comprehending gendered social upheavals in the early twentieth century. At the same time, slapstick comediennes were crucial to the emergence of film language. Women’s flexible physicality offered filmmakers blank slates for experimenting with the visual and social potentials of cinema. Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes poses major challenges to the foundations of our ideas about slapstick comedy and film history, showing how this combustible genre blows open age-old debates about laughter, society, and gender politics.

Locating the Voice in Film

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190261137
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Locating the Voice in Film by : Tom Whittaker

Download or read book Locating the Voice in Film written by Tom Whittaker and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book locates the voice in cinema in different national and transnational contexts, to explore how the critical approaches to the voice as well as the practices of sound design, technologies and even reception are often grounded in cultural specificity, to present readings which challenge traditional theories of the voice in film.