Download or read book Trivializing America written by Norman Corwin and published by Carol Publishing Corporation. This book was released on 1986 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Making America written by Luther S. Luedtke and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 1992 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this richly interdisciplinary work twenty-eight of the nation's leading critics and scholars offer a comprehensive exploration of American society and culture. Each outstanding in his or her own field, the contributors address "America" from a diversit
Download or read book Trivializing America written by Norman Corwin and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 1983 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book American Culture American Tastes written by Michael Kammen and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2012-10-03 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans have a long history of public arguments about taste, the uses of leisure, and what is culturally appropriate in a democracy that has a strong work ethic. Michael Kammen surveys these debates as well as our changing taste preferences, especially in the past century, and the shifting perceptions that have accompanied them. Professor Kammen shows how the post-traditional popular culture that flourished after the 1880s became full-blown mass culture after World War II, in an era of unprecedented affluence and travel. He charts the influence of advertising and opinion polling; the development of standardized products, shopping centers, and mass-marketing; the separation of youth and adult culture; the gradual repudiation of the genteel tradition; and the commercialization of organized entertainment. He stresses the significance of television in the shaping of mass culture, and of consumerism in its reconfiguration over the past two decades. Focusing on our own time, Kammen discusses the use of the fluid nature of cultural taste to enlarge audiences and increase revenues, and reveals how the public role of intellectuals and cultural critics has declined as the power of corporate sponsors and promoters has risen. As a result of this diminution of cultural authority, he says, definitive pronouncements have been replaced by divergent points of view, and there is, as well, a tendency to blur fact and fiction, reality and illusion. An important commentary on the often conflicting ways Americans have understood, defined, and talked about their changing culture in the twentieth century.
Download or read book Indecent Liberties written by Robert Schmuhl and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2000-08-01 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This series of eight provocative essays examines why Americans have a penchant for going to extremes in their arts, popular culture, politics, social movements, and other aspects of life. Robert Schmuhl considers historical examples (the hunting of the buffalo in the West, Prohibition, business ventures in the Gilded Age) but concentrates on contemporary subjects, including the emphasis on what shocks the audience as entertainment today, tensions among specific groups, the decline of private life, and the excesses of news media coverage in the O.J. Simpson and Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky stories. Indecent Liberties explores the dangers and consequences of carrying fundamental American freedoms too far. In this environment, achieving a public good can get lost in a frenzy of private gain or a worthwhile idea can be pushed to unrecognizable boundaries, producing the opposite of its intended effect. When an attitude of "anything goes" takes hold, a sense of limits gets lost, and it is different to achieve harmony or a center that holds. Especially as we face a new century with talk of "hyperdemocracy" and "hypercommunications" common in intellectual circles, Indecent Liberties argues that seeking equilibrium should be a central objective for all Americans. To go to wretched excess can lead to "indecent liberties" and wretched results that throw the country off balance and endanger the future. This book asks questions about today and yesterday that require answers for tomorrow. This insightful analysis of a distinct American characteristic is for every reader concerned with America's penchant for going to extremes in ways that produce debatable, even deplorable, consequences.
Download or read book Norman Corwin s One World Flight written by Norman Corwin and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chiefly the transcript of the CBS thirteen-part radio series, One world flight, that first aired in January,1947; provides a perspective of Corwin's travels to 37 countries in 1946, in the immediate post-World War era.
Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Old Time Radio written by Jon D. Swartz and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2007-11-12 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The term Old Time Radio refers to the relatively brief period from 1926, when the National Broadcasting Company first began network broadcasting, until approximately 1960, when television became the dominant communication medium in the United States. During this time, radio was as popular and ubiquitous as television is today. It was amazingly varied in the types of programming it offered; many characters and programs were so popular that virtually everyone was familiar with them. Even today, recorded versions of these programs are still extremely popular and widely available, both from commercial outlets and from hobbyists. Behind the production of these programs was a complex technological and financial infrastructure that had to be developed virtually from scratch in a world unaccustomed to the rapid communication and technological marvels that we take for granted today. The Historical Dictionary of Old Time Radio provides essential facts and information on the Golden Age of Radio. This is accomplished through the use of a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on the radio networks, programs, directors, producers, writers, actors, radio series, and radio stations. Entries on your favorite shows_The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Dragnet, and Suspense_and actors_Bob Hope, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Edgar Bergen_will have you jumping from one entry to the next as you relive old favorites and discover hidden treasures from the Golden Age of Radio.
Download or read book The A to Z of Old Time Radio written by Robert C. Reinehr and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2010 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The A to Z of Old Time Radio provides essential facts and information on the "golden age of radio" through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on the radio networks, programs, directors, producers, writers, actors, radio series, and radio stations. Entries on popular shows--The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Dragnet, and Suspense--and actors--Bob Hope, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Edgar Bergen--will have you jumping from one entry to the next as you relive old favorites and discover hidden treasures.
Download or read book Proceedings written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Picoeconomics written by George Ainslie and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1992-04-24 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr. Ainslie examines an elementary human paradox: that we are endangered by our own wishes.
Download or read book A Do it yourself Dystopia written by Steven Carter and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2002 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essence of life in an oligarchy like George Orwell presents in '1984' is that freedom of choice is virtually non-existent. But what happens when so many trivial and meaningless choices inundate a culture such as our own and freedom itself becomes devalued? In 'A Do-It-Yourself Dystopia', through a variety of essays, Steven Carter addresses this and other issues in a wide-ranging search for hidden oligarchies of the American self.
Download or read book Documentary Vision written by Richard Chisolm and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2023-08-23 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of personal essays that address critical elements involved in the production of nonfiction films. Written by an experienced documentary filmmaker and cinematographer, the book draws upon practical wisdom to explore the nuances and challenges faced by filmmakers and viewers alike. Included in the text are rarely discussed ethical issues, best practices in the field, filmmaker etiquette, and a detailed analysis of interview techniques. The book also provides a candid view of how decisions are made in production that are consequential to a finished film’s meaning and fidelity. Drawing on a wide range of subject matter, it will enhance the reader's understanding of the tremendous power and potential of the documentary medium. The book offers an invaluable insight into documentary filmmaking for professionals who work in the medium and students who are learning the trade and honing their skills.
Download or read book Filmed Television Drama 1952 1958 written by William Hawes and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2001-12-26 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work examines the change from live to filmed television dramas during the period 1952-1958 and the characteristics and programs that are most associated with filmed television drama. Along with many technical changes that had to be made in the industry in order to convert live television to filmed television came an interesting social one. The American society in general was developing a growing interest in the lives of ordinary people, and television moved with them, offering more programs that concentrated on the middle and lower classes. Because of the inherent qualities of filming, television began to feature more documentary-like realism, began to broaden its interpretation of traditional romantic escapism to include more outer space and supernatural science fiction, began to better fulfill materialistic desires through well-designed, enjoyable commercials, and began to offer the best dramas and most popular personalities, often leading viewers to greater self-appreciation and richer lives. This work focuses on the important anthology programs and specials that were on the air from 1952 to 1958 such as Kraft Television Theatre, Philco Television Playhouse, and The Hallmark Hall of Fame, filmed serials like Colgate Theatre, Amos 'n' Andy, and I Love Lucy, and the challenges of converting from live to filmed television drama.
Download or read book Give Me Liberty written by Gerry Spence and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 1999-10-15 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here, in this landmark personal work, Gerry demonstrates how, despite the democratic rhetoric we hear and believe, we have become enslaved. All of us are trapped by a complex web of corporate and governmental behemoths he calls the "New Slave Master" that today controls our airways, educates our children, and manages every facet of our lives. Yet, far from being a pronouncement of gloom, Give Me Liberty! is an inspiring and visionary work. In the spirit of his bestselling How to Argue and Win Every Time, Spence expounds on his philosophy, thus empowering us to: Liberate the slave within, redefine success, unchain the spirit, escape the religions of work and beliefs that enslave us, free ourselves with what he calls our "magical weapon." Like Thomas Paine's Common Sense, Give Me Liberty! captures the underlying malaise of a country, transforming it into a national dialogue that promises a groundswell for a meaningful democracy in America in the coming years.
Download or read book The Holocaust in American Film written by Judith E. Doneson and published by Syracuse University Press. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work offers insights into how specific films influenced the Americanization of the Holocaust and how the medium per se helped seed that event into the public consciousness. In addition to an in-depth study on films produced for both theatrical release and TV since 1937 - including The Great Dictator, Cabaret, Julia, and the mini-series Holocaust - this work provides an analysis of Schindler's List and the debate over the merit of Spielberg's vision of the Holocaust. It also examines more thoroughly made-for-television movies, such as Escape From Sobibor, Playing For Time, and War and Remembrance. A special chapter on The Diary of Anne Frank discusses the evolution of that singularly European work into a universal symbol. Paying special attention to the tumultuous 1960s in America, it assesses the effect of the era on Holocaust films made during that time. It also discusses how these films helped integrate the Holocaust into the fabric of American society, transforming it into a metaphor for modern suffering. Finally, the work explores cinema in relation to the Americanization of the Jewish image.
Download or read book Crucifying Jesus and Secularizing America written by Paul Peter Jesep and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2008-04-21 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesus is crucified everyday in the United States. Christians, especially conservatives, show greater hostility toward their own faith and contribute far more to the nations secularization than often wrongly accused atheists, liberals, humanists, Democratic activists, or card carrying members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). America must examine what it means to be a country of faith. In doing so, citizens should ask how they come together as one nation under the same God where all are welcomed as part of the same national family. Part politics, theology, and constitutional analysis, the book offers a possible answer that speaks to the American soul.
Download or read book Watching Shakespeare on Television written by Herbert R. Coursen and published by Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Watching Shakespeare on Television looks at Shakespeare as a cultural phenomenon and at the videocassette as "text" - that is, as an object fixed in time as well as in its assumptions about its medium. Even films made to be shown at a cinema are also designed to become cassettes for the vast "secondary" market. H. R. Coursen's study of Shakespearean films and television productions includes such classics as Olivier's Hamlet and Brook's and Welles's King Lear, as well as more recent productions such as Kevin Kline's and Mel Gibson's Hamlets, Kenneth Branagh's Henvy V, and Peter Greenaway's version of The Tempest, Prospero's Books. Shakespeare's scripts are designed to be "open to interpretation." That openness is not the invention of disciples of Foucault or Derrida. The "meaning" of a Shakespeare script can never be fixed; rather, it is a temporal quality that shows how a script reflects, reinterprets, or reemphasizes the cultural and ideological assumptions of a particular moment in history. Shakespeare remains popular, as Branagh's Henry V, Zeffirelli's Hamlet, and a proliferation of Shakespeare's festivals prove. The energy known as Shakespeare cannot be isolated from the culture that constantly reappropriates the scripts and creates new audiences for them. Shakespeare "works" on television because television is a linguistic medium, and because we are becoming accustomed to the diminished scale of the television (and the videocassette), as opposed to the grander dimensions of cinema. Shakespeare survives domestication, but in ways that demand investigation about why and how the scripts can work on television, and about the nature of this medium when it is charged with Shakespearean energy. Watching Shakespeare on Television looks at Gertrude, a character often clear in performance even if "unwritten" in the script, and at Hamlet's disquisition to Yorick's skull, subject to a wide range of options and interpretations. Other subjects covered are "style" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, particularly the 1982 ART production; the advantages film has over studio productions; and editing scripts for television, with a focus on the Nunn Othello and the Kline Hamlet. In the latter production, long takes contrast with the quicksilver montage technique of Zeffirelli's film version. Another chapter examines Othello as a script demanding a black actor in the lead, and it looks at the Nunn and Suzman versions as cases in point. Closure in Hamlet is analyzed as well: television, the modern medium of political closure, tends to include Fortinbras, as opposed to film which usually excludes him. Another chapter evaluates Prospero's Books, where the importation of television to film tends to erase film's field of depth and results in no improvement, regardless of the trumpeted "technological breakthrough" of high-definition television. Finally, the book peers into the future of Shakespeare's moving image, with attention paid to Peter Donaldson's Interactive Archive at M.I.T.
