Synopses & Reviews
Provides an authoritative overview of the surface chemistry and tribological properties of organic films, coatings, and solid lubricants. Looks at techniques traditionally used by surface scientists rather than mechanical engineers. Offers novel and theoretical approaches to studying friction,
wear, tribochemistry, lubrication at the molecular level, and lubricant-surface interaction. Leading scientists from industry, government, and academia offer an interdisciplinary approach that will appeal to tribologists, chemical and mechanical engineers, materials and surface scientists, and
physicists.
Review
"A time period's appropriation of Shakespeare often reveals many of its literary preconceptions and values. Unfortunately, Lanier's book fails to capture our own moment. Part of the failure arises from the fluctuation of definition: Lanier so often defines and revises his sense of 'popular'
that the reader is left in a muddle. Certainly, any such definition must remain open to qualification; but Lanier's attempts at certainty, followed by implicit disregard for what was ascertained, erode the book's cohesion. The obverse is the occasional appearance of an explicit Marxist prejudice, which does no useful interpretive work. Nonetheless, the book has strong points. Lanier finds a multitude of strange and wonderful instances of how our culture uses Shakespeare, the quirkiest being William Shatner's 'No Tears for Caesar,' a rap adaptation of Mark Antony's funeral speech. Lanier deftly avoids lambasting even the oddest or most commercial appropriation, preferring to distance himself from highbrow nostalgia and discern what such seemingly bastardized uses of Shakespeare show about our culture. The reader finally takes away this use of Shakespeare, by academics, by directors, by artists, and by advertisers. Rather than an icon to be reverently encountered and interpreted, Shakespeare is a tool. This book would serve well as a primer to the subject of modern Shakespeare appropriation, perfect for upper-level undergraduates. But graduates and professional academics will use it merely as a springboard to investigations of more depth." Reviewed by Andrew Witmer, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [168]-182) and index.
Synopsis
Our notions of Shakespeare have been shaped partly by his diffuse presence in films, comics, television, popular novels, kitsch, and advertising. Through a series of case studies, Douglas Lanier examines how modern popular culture has appropriated and refashioned Shakespeare as a cultural icon.
Table of Contents
1. Where No Bard Has Gone Before
2. Unpopularizing Shakespeare: A Short History
3. According to Shakespeare: Allusion and Citation
4. Recasting the Plays: Homage, Adaptation, Parody
5. A Will to Reinvent: Biography and Mythology
6. Shakespeare Tourism and Festivals
Further Reading