Synopses & Reviews
One of the twentieth centuryand#8217;s most significant artists, Cindy Sherman has quietly uprooted conventional understandings of portraiture and art, questioning everything from identity to feminism. Critics around the world have taken Shermanand#8217;s photographs and extensively examined what lies underneath. However, little critical ink has been spilled on Shermanand#8217;s only film,and#160;
Office Killer, a piece that plays a significant role both in Shermanand#8217;s body of work and in American art in the late twentieth century. Dahlia Schweitzer breaks the silence with her trenchant analysis ofand#160;
Office Killerand#160;and explores the film on a variety of levels, combating head-on the art worldand#8217;s reluctance to discuss the movie and arguing instead that it is only through a close reading of the film that we can begin to appreciate the messages underlying all of Shermanand#8217;s work.
The first book on this neglected piece of an esteemed artistand#8217;s oeuvre,and#160;Cindy Shermanand#8217;s and#147;Office Killerand#8221;and#160;rescues the film from critical oblivion and situates it next to the artistand#8217;s other iconic works.
About the Author
Dahlia Schweitzer
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Part 1: Another Kind of Introduction
Why Office Killer Deserves Your Attention (And How It First Grabbed Mine)
Character Reference Guide
Office Killer Plot Synopsis
Part 2: Another kind of Art
Conception: In Art We Trust
Direction: Shermanand#8217;s March
Production: The Big Picture
Part 3: Another Kind of Entertainment
How to Look at Office Killer (And What I Missed the First Time)
Part 4: Another Kind of Commentary
Considerations: Cast, Costumes, and Characters
Conversations: Noir, Horror, and Comedy
Considerations: Disease, Technology, and the Workplace
Comparisons: Working Girl, Basic Instinct, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Part 5: Another Kind of Conclusion
How Office Killer was Absolutely Right about Everything (Yet Still Managed To Fail So Miserably)
Study Guides
Office Killers: Character Crib Notes
Textual Insanity: Relationships to Other Movies
Horrific Experiences: Interviews with Christine Vachon, James Schamus, Todd Thomas, and Tom Kalin
Film Credits and Cast List
Selected References
Notes