Refiguring American Film Genres: Theory and History

by Nick Browne (Editor)

Overview

This collection of essays by leading American film scholars charts a whole new territory in genre film criticism. Rather than assuming that genres are self-evident categories, the contributors offer innovative ways to think about types of films, and patterns within films, in a historical context. Challenging familiar attitudes, the essays offer new conceptual frameworks and a fresh look at how popular culture functions in American society.

The range of essays is exceptional, from David J. Russell's insights into the horror genre to Carol J. Clover's provocative take on "trial films" to Leo Braudy's argument for the subject of nature as a genre. Also included are essays on melodrama, race, film noir, and the industrial context of genre production.

The contributors confront the poststructuralist critique of genre head-on; together they are certain to shape future debates concerning the viability and vitality of genre in studying American cinema.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520207318
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	04/22/1998
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	347
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Nick Browne is Professor of Film at the University of California, Los Angeles, and coeditor of New Chinese Cinemas: Forms, Identities, Politics (1994).

Table of Contents

CONTRIBUTORS:
Rick Altman
Leo Braudy
Carol J. Clover
George Lipsitz
Michael Rogin
David J. Russell
Thomas Schatz
Vivian Sobchack
Linda Williams