Violence and American Cinema (AFI Film Readers) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415928109 ISBN 13: 9780415928106

Publisher: Routledge, 2000

Synopsis

American cinema has always been violent, and never more than now: exploding heads, buses that blow up if they stop, leaking ocean liners, racial attacks, and general mayhem. From slapstick's comic violence to film noir, from the silents to Tarantino, violence has been part of America on screen. Yet violence is traditionally a secondary concern of film criticism. This latest volume in our successful AFI Film Readers series analyzes violence, examining its nature, its effects, and its cinematic and social meaning. Thirteen contributions are organized in three parts: 'Theorizing and Historicizing Hollywood Violence', 'Revisiting Violent Genres' and 'Hollywood Violence and Cultural Politics'.

About this title

Review:

..."insightful collection of essays... thought-provoking."
-Tom Ryan, "The Age

From the Back Cover:

American cinema has always been violent, and never more than now -- exploding heads, buses that blow up if they stop, leaking ocean liners, racial attacks, and general mayhem. From slapstick's comic fisticuffs to film noir, from the silents to Tarantino, violence has been an integral part of American on screen. Although violent media is a hot-button issue for public figures, political and popular, violence is traditionally a secondary concern of film criticism. Ranging from nickelodeons to The Matrix, VIOLENCE AND AMERICAN CINEMA is a pioneering volume that leads the discussion of film violence -- old and new -- to a far-reaching consideration of its nature, its effects, and its cinematic, cultural, and historical meaning.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0415928109
• ISBN 13: 9780415928106
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Slocum J. David