Synopses & Reviews
Screen performances entertain and delight us but we rarely stop to consider actorsandrsquo; reliance on their craft to create memorable characters. Although film acting may appear effortless, a host of techniques, artistic conventions, and social factors shape the construction of each role. and#160;
The chapters in Acting provide a fascinating, in-depth look at the history of film acting, from its inception in 1895 when spectators thrilled at the sight of vaudeville performers, Wild West stars, and athletes captured in motion, to the present when audiences marvel at the seamless blend of human actors with CGI. Experts in the field take readers behind the silver screen to learn about the craft of film acting in six eras: the silent screen (1895andndash;1928), classical Hollywood (1928andndash;1946), postwar Hollywood (1947andndash;1967), the auteur renaissance (1968andndash;1980), the New Hollywood (1981andndash;1999), and the modern entertainment marketplace (2000andndash;present). The contributors pay special attention to definitive performances by notable film stars, including Lillian Gish, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, Beulah Bondi, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Nicholas Cage, Denzel Washington, and Andy Serkis.
and#160;In six original essays, the contributors to this volume illuminate the dynamic role of acting in the creation and evolving practices of the American film industry. and#160;
and#160;Acting is a volume in the Behind the Silver Screen seriesandmdash;other titles in the series include Animation; Art Direction and Production Design; Cinematography; Costume, Makeup, and Hair; Directing; Editing and Special/Visual Effects; Producing; Screenwriting; and Sound.and#160;
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Synopsis
After the death of James Dean in 1955, the figure of the teen rebel permeated the globe, and its presence is still felt in the twenty-first century. Rebel iconography--which does not have to resemble James Dean himself, but merely incorporates his disaffected attitude--has become an advertising mainstay used to sell an array of merchandise and messages. Despite being overused in advertisements, it still has the power to surprise when used by authors and filmmakers in innovative and provocative ways.The rebel figure has mass appeal precisely because of its ambiguities; it can mean anything to anyone. The global appropriation of rebel iconography has invested it with fresh meanings. Author Claudia Springer succeeds here in analyzing both ends of the spectrum--the rebel icon as a tool in upholding capitalism's cycle of consumption, and as a challenge to that cycle and its accompanying beliefs.In this groundbreaking study of rebel iconography in international popular culture, Springer studies a variety of texts from the United States and abroad that use this imagery in contrasting and thought-provoking ways. Using a cultural studies approach, she analyzes films, fiction, poems, Web sites, and advertisements to determine the extent to which the icon's adaptations have been effective as a response to the actual social problems affecting contemporary adolescents around the world.
Synopsis
The chapters in
Acting provide a fascinating, in-depth look at the history of film acting, from its inception in 1895 when spectators thrilled at the sight of vaudeville performers, wild-west stars, and athletes captured in motion to the present when audiences marvel at the seamless blend of human actors with CGI. In six original essays, the contributors to this volume illuminate the dynamic role of acting in the creation and evolving practices of the American film industry. and#160;and#160;
About the Author
CLAUDIA SPRINGER is in the English department at Framingham State University where she teaches film studies. She is the author ofand#160;
Electronic Eros: Bodies and Desire in the Postindustrial Ageand#160;andand#160;
James Dean Transfigured: The Many Faces of Rebel Iconography.and#160;
JULIE LEVINSON is a professor of film at Babson College. She is the author of The American Success Myth on Film, and the editor of Alexander Payne: Interviews.