[PDF] Analyzing Christmas In Film eBook

Author : Lauren Rosewarne
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 559 pages
File Size : 11,29 MB
Release : 2017-12-06
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1498541828

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Film plays a vital role in the celebration of Christmas. For decades, it has taught audiences about what the celebration of the season looks like – from the decorations to the costumes and to the expected snowy weather – as well as mirrors our own festivities back to us. Films like It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone have come to play key roles in real-life domestic celebrations: watching such titles has become, for many families, every bit as important as tree-trimming and leaving cookies out for Santa. These films have exported the American take on the holiday far and wide and helped us conjure an image of the perfect holiday. Rather than settling the ‘what is a Christmas film?’ debate – indeed, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are discussed within – Analyzing Christmas in Film: Santa to the Supernatural focuses on the how Christmas is presented on the deluge of occasions when it appears. While most Christmas films are secular, religion makes many cameos, appearing through Nativity references, storylines involving spiritual rebirth, the framing of Santa as a Christ-like figure and the all-importance of family, be it the Holy family or just those gathered around the dining table. Also explored are popular narratives involving battles with stress and melancholy, single parents and Christmas martyrs, visits from ghosts and angels, big cities and small towns, break-ups and make-ups and the ticking clock of mortality. Nearly 1000 films are analyzed in this volume to determine what the portrayal of Christmas reveals about culture, society and faith as well as sex roles, consumerism, aesthetics and aspiration.

Author : Matthew C. DuPée
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 371 pages
File Size : 15,10 MB
Release : 2022-06-03
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 1476679991

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Controversial yet beloved among audiences, Christmas-themed horror movies emerged in the early 1970s and gained a notorious reputation with Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), depicting Santa as an ax-wielding maniac. Some parents and conservative groups condemned the film, while others embraced the portrayal of Yuletide as a backdrop for fear and dread. Drawing on interviews with directors, producers, special effects artists, photographers and actors, this book celebrates the sordid, colorful history of the Christmas horror subgenre. Psycho Santa films such as Christmas Evil (1980) and 3615 code Pere Noel (1989) are examined, along with "Yule-Die" slashers like The Dorm that Dripped Blood (1982), Black Christmas (1974) and Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972). Commercial successes like Gremlins (1984) and Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) are covered, as well as more recent releases such as Better Watch Out (2016), Red Christmas (2016) and Deathcember (2019). Rare photographs, promotional materials and an annotated filmography are provided.

Author : Sun Hee Teresa Lee
Publisher : ABDO
Page : 114 pages
File Size : 42,58 MB
Release : 2011-08-01
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1617876380

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This title explores the creative works of famous director Tim Burton. Films analyzed include Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, and Alice in Wonderland. Clear, comprehensive text gives background biographical information of Burton. "You Critique It" feature invites readers to analyze other creative works on their own. A table of contents, timeline, list of works, resources, source notes, glossary, and an index are also included. Essential Critiques is a series in Essential Library, an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

Author : Nicholas Daly
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 22,91 MB
Release : 2020-01-15
Category :
ISBN : 0198836600

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This is a book about the long cultural shadow cast by a single bestselling novel, Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), which introduced Ruritania, a colourful pocket kingdom. In this swashbuckling tale, Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll impersonates the king of Ruritania to foil a coup, but faces a dilemma when he falls for the lovely Princess Flavia. Hope's novel inspired stage and screen adaptations, place names, and even a board game, but it also launched a whole new subgenre, the "Ruritanian romance". The new form offered swordplay, royal romance, and splendid uniforms and gowns in such settings as Alasia, Balaria, and Cadonia. This study explores both the original appeal of The Prisoner of Zenda, and the extraordinary longevity and adaptability of the Ruritanian formula, which, it is argued, has been rooted in a lingering fascination with royalty, and the pocket kingdom's capacity to hold a looking glass up to Britain and later the United States. Individual chapters look at Hope's novel and its stage and film adaptations; at the forgotten American versions of Ruritania; at the chocolate-box principalities of the musical stage; at Cold War reworkings of the formula; and at Ruritania's recent reappearance in young adult fiction and made-for-television Christmas movies. The adventures of Ruritania have involved a diverse list of contributors, including John Buchan, P.G Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Vladimir Nabokov, and Ian Fleming among the writers; Sigmund Romberg and Ivor Novello among the composers; Erich Von Stroheim and David O. Selznick among the film-makers; and Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Peter Ustinov, Peter Sellers, and Anne Hathaway among the performers.

Author : Harry M. Benshoff
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 333 pages
File Size : 19,33 MB
Release : 2015-09-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1136473890

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Film and Television Analysis is especially designed to introduce undergraduate students to the most important qualitative methodologies used to study film and television. The methodologies covered include: ideological analysis auteur theory genre theory semiotics and structuralism psychoanalysis and apparatus theory feminism postmodernism cultural studies (including reception and audience studies) contemporary approaches to race, nation, gender, and sexuality. With each chapter focusing on a distinct methodology, students are introduced to the historical developments of each approach, along with its vocabulary, significant scholars, key concepts and case studies. Other features include: Over 120 color images throughout Questions for discussion at the end of each chapter Suggestions for further reading A glossary of key terms. Written in a reader-friendly manner Film and Television Analysis is a vital textbook for students encountering these concepts for the first time.

Author : Kenneth C. Turino
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 287 pages
File Size : 10,98 MB
Release : 2024-08-19
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1538162954

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Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites offers a wide range of perspectives on Christmas and practical guidance for planning, research, interpretation, and programming by board members, staff, and volunteers involved in the management, research, and interpretation at house museums, historic sites, history museums, and historical societies across the United States. Packed with fresh ideas and approaches by nearly two dozen scholars and leaders in this specialized topic, they can easily be adapted for the unique needs of organizations of various budgets and capacities. An extensive bibliography of books and articles about Christmas published in the last twenty years provides additional resources for museum staff.

Author : Carlen Lavigne
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 243 pages
File Size : 18,44 MB
Release : 2024-03-05
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 1040000320

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This multinational, multidisciplinary collection of essays focuses on Hallmark Channel movies and Hallmark’s position in the changing North American media landscape. This book covers the ‘Countdown to Christmas’ offerings, year-round productions, made-for-TV mysteries and romances, Hallmark’s use of specific filming locations, and its relationship to viewer desires. Chapters examine Hallmark’s position in a changing sociopolitical context and the tensions the company must navigate in creating more “progressive” content; they discuss issues of gender, race, sexuality, and place, as well as analyzing the extensive ranges and reactions of social media participants and interrogating the nature of Hallmark’s popularity. Suitable for scholars and students of film and tv and popular culture studies, this is a multifaceted look at both Hallmark and its viewers at a particular moment of Hallmark’s market dominance.

Author : Lauren Rosewarne
Publisher : Springer
Page : 303 pages
File Size : 45,44 MB
Release : 2019-06-19
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 3030158918

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Sex and Sexuality in Modern Screen Remakes examines how sexiness, sexuality and revisited sexual politics are used to modernize film and TV remakes. This exploration provides insight into the ever-evolving—and ever-contested—role of sex in society, and scrutinizes the politics and economics underpinning modern media reproduction. More nudity, kinky sex, and queer content are increasingly deployed in remakes to attract, and to titillate, a new generation of viewers. While sex in this book refers to increased erotic content, this discussion also incorporates an investigation of other uses of sex and gender to help a remake appear woke and abreast of the zeitgeist including feminist reimaginings and ‘girl power’ make-overs, updated gender roles, female cast-swaps, queer retellings, and repositioned gazes. Though increased sex is often considered a sign of modernity, gratuitous displays of female nudity can sometimes be interpreted as sexist and anachronistic, in turn highlighting that progressiveness around sexuality in contemporary media is not a linear story. Also examined therefore, are remakes that reduce the sexual content to appear cutting-edge and cognizant of the demands of today’s audiences.

Author : Ahmet Atay
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 197 pages
File Size : 44,74 MB
Release : 2023-01-17
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 1666930660

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Millennials and Gen Z in Popular Culture examines media and popular culture forms for and about millennials and Generation Z. In this collection, contributors articulate the need for studying cultural artifacts connected to members of these generations. Rather than focusing on each generation specifically, this collection takes an intergenerational approach, placing them in dialogue with one another by focusing on media and experiences that are geared toward both. Scholars of media studies, popular culture, and sociology will find this book of particular interest.