This book was shortlisted for the 2015 BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize. Comedy is currently enjoying unprecedented growth within the British culture industries. Defying the recent economic downturn, it has exploded into a booming billion-pound industry both on TV and on the live circuit. Despite this, academia has either ignored comedy or focused solely on analysing comedians or comic texts. This scholarship tends to assume that through analysing an artist's intentions or techniques, we can somehow understand what is and what isn't funny. But this poses a fundamental question - funny to whom? How can we definitively discern how audiences react to comedy? Comedy and Distinction shifts the focus to provide the first ever empirical examination of British comedy taste. Drawing on a large-scale survey and in-depth interviews carried out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the book explores what types of comedy people like (and dislike), what their preferences reveal about their sense of humour, how comedy taste lubricates everyday interaction, and how issues of social class, gender, ethnicity and geographical location interact with patterns of comic taste. Friedman asks: Are some types of comedy valued higher than others in British society? Does more 'legitimate' comedy taste act as a tangible resource in social life - a form of cultural capital? What role does humour play in policing class boundaries in contemporary Britain? This book will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, social class, social theory, cultural studies and comedy studies.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, acclaimed horse trainer and show rider Martha Crawford Cantarini was among the busiest of Hollywood's elite corps of female stunt riders. She was the regular stunt double for such actresses as Eleanor Parker, Anne Baxter and Shirley MacLaine, appearing in films ranging from Elvis Presley's debut feature Love Me Tender to the epic Western The Big Country. Martha also hosted a Las Vegas television program in the 1960s, while her palomino Frosty gained fame as "the gambling horse" after rolling a seven at the Thunderbird Casino craps table.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

The official behind-the-scenes guide to the making of the movie about the life and music of Whitney Houston, one of the greatest female R&B pop vocalists of the 20th century. The film I Wanna Dance with Somebody tells the joyous, emotional, and heartbreaking story of Whitney Houston's journey from obscurity to musical super stardom. This stunning accompanying volume tells the story of bringing Whitney's life to the big screen, with behind-the-scenes photography and interviews with key cast members including star Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Tamara Tunie (Flight, The Devil's Advocate), and Nafessa Williams (Black Lightning), as well as key members of the production crew. Learn how the pivotal moments and places in Whitney's history, as well as her spectacular wardrobe and her look, were recreated for the film, with additional insight about the film from director Kasi Lemmons and about Whitney herself from producer Pat Houston. It is the ultimate book for the Whitney Houston fan. A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK: Rare production stills and behind-the-scenes photography show how a monumental movie like this is made. INTERVIEWS WITH STARS AND CREW give an intimate portrait of what it was like to portray people such as Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford, and what it took to re-create those characters with hair, makeup, and costume. OFFICIAL MOVIE TIE-IN with exclusive content including production and film stills, interviews, and script excerpts.

These 11 short stage-combat plays about piracy, brigandry, and heartrobbery combine tongue-in-cheek word-play with swashbuckling swordplay in stories revolving around buccaneers, mutineers, damsels, fops, conquistadors, gladiatrixes and rapscallions of all shapes and sizes. This unique collection of playlets can be used to create a full night of entertainment, as well as in the classroom for teaching stage combat techniques. Of special note is that these combat scenes contain roles for both male and female actors. Contents: The Legends of Robin Hood and Little John Mutiny on the Booty The Trojan Diplomat Don Juan's Wantons The Harlot and the Hypocrite Monsieur Latoit's Lesson Arc's Angels Flouncy's Fancy Gladiatrix Gossip The Prince in the Poppies My Conquistador

Reading Westworld is the first volume to explore the cultural, textual and theoretical significance of the hugely successful HBO TV series Westworld. The essays engage in a series of original enquiries into the central themes of the series including conceptions of the human and posthuman, American history, gaming, memory, surveillance, AI, feminism, imperialism, free will and contemporary capitalism. In its varied critical engagements with the genre, narratives and contexts of Westworld, this volume explores the show's wider and deeper meanings and the questions it poses, as well considering how Westworld reflects on the ethical implications of artificial life and technological innovation for our own futurity. With critical essays that draw on the interdisciplinary strengths and productive intersections of media, cultural and literary studies, Reading Westworld seeks to respond to the show's fundamental question; "Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?" It will be of interest to students, academics and general readers seeking to engage with Westworld and the far-reaching questions it poses about our current engagements with technology.

This book examines queer visibility in reality television, which is arguably the most prolific space of gay, lesbian, transgender and otherwise queer media representation. It explores almost two decades of reality programming, from Big Brother to I Am Cait, American Idol to RuPaul's Drag Race, arguing that the specific conventions of reality TV-its intimacy and emotion, its investments in celebrity and the ideal of authenticity-have inextricably shaped the ways in which queer people have become visible in reality shows. By challenging popular judgements on reality shows as damaging spaces of queer representation, this book argues that reality TV has pioneered a unique form of queer-inclusive broadcasting, where a desire for authenticity, rather than being heterosexual, is the norm. Across all chapters, this book investigates how reality TV's celebration of 'compulsory authenticity' has circulated 'acceptable' and 'unacceptable' ways of being queer, demonstrating how possibilities for queer visibility are shaped by broader anxieties and around selfhood, identity and the real in contemporary cultural life.

Writing for Visual Media provides writers with an understanding of the nature of visual writing behind all visual media. Such writing is vital for directors, actors, and producers to communicate content to audiences. Friedmann provides an extended investigation into dramatic theory and how entertainment narrative works, illustrated by examples and detailed analysis of scenes, scripts, techniques, and storylines. This new edition has a finger on the pulse of the rapidly evolving media ecosystem and explains it in the context of writing and creating content. Friedmann lays out many of the complex professional, creative, and commercial issues that a writer needs to understand in order to tell engaging stories and construct effective and professional screenplays. This new edition includes: A new chapter on storytelling A fresh examination of dramatic theory and how to apply it to constructing screenplays Updated discussion of mobile platforms A lengthened discussion of copyright, ethics, and professional development issues An updated companion website with sample scripts and corresponding videos, an interactive glossary, sample storyboards and screenplays, links to industry resources, and materials for instructors such as slides, a syllabus, and a test bank.

Presenting an alternative perspective, this book proposes that performing arts forge an emotional bond between the performer and the audience, making the act of performance a therapeutic and restorative experience, and not merely recreational. Studying the life-experiences of six artists, and their unique engagement with three art forms - music, drama and dance - the book highlights the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual effects of performing arts both on the performers and the audience. More importantly, it takes the current understanding of the therapeutic role of arts beyond a deficit model of health that focuses on their use in curing illnesses, disabilities and imbalances, towards a more positive growth-centric model that relates them to promoting holistic mental health, well-being and happiness. It thus bridges the gap between the theoretical understanding of creative arts therapy and the practical experience of performing arts in non-therapeutic settings. Further, it assumes increasing relevance with respect to fast-changing lifestyles to which stress and ill-health are often attributed. The book will appeal to artists, educators and researchers of performing arts, applied psychology, counselling and therapy, and cultural studies, as well as interested general readers.

Semiotics offers a systematic approach to analysing the stylistic structure of film. When this study was originally published in 1983 this was a recent addition to the methods of film study and it presents an explanation of film semiotics with direct application to comparative film research. It takes as its representative subject one trilogy of films and applies semiology, with careful textual analysis. The book begins with a basic introduction to semiotics and the ideas of Christian Metz on cinesemiotics. It then presents a syntagmatic analysis of each of the three Dollars films, with an outline of autonomous segments for each and a discussion of the findings before undertaking a wider analysis of the trilogy as a whole with commentary on the stylistic unity of the director's work. This book, an enduring detailed study of these three films, also outlines clearly this method of classifying the formal structuring codes of film communication.

This is a study of nine key film-makers who came into prominence in the early '70s: Claude Chabrol, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Lindsay Anderson, Stanley Kubrick, Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey, Satyajit Ray, Miklos Jancso, and Dusan Makavejev - representing seven film-producing countries. In this book John Russell Taylor does for the 1970s what his earlier book Cinema Eye, Cinema Ear did for the 1960s: he disentangles some of the major talents from the minor, and subjects them to close critical scrutiny, documenting their careers, detailing their development as individual creators, and placing them in their social and artistic context. Thus the book provides an invaluable synopsis and guide for all who are interested in the development of modern cinema. It includes a comprehensive bibliography and fully detailed filmographies.

Given Herzog's own pronouncement that 'film is not the art of scholars, but of illiterates,' it is not surprising that his work has aroused ambivalent and contradictory responses. Visually and philosophically ambitious and at the same time provocatively eccentric, Herzog's films have been greeted equally by extreme adulation and extreme condemnation. Even as Herzog's rebellious images have gained him a reputation as a master of the German New Wave, he has been attacked for indulging in a romantic naivete and wilful self-absorption. To his hardest critics, Herzog's films appear as little more than Hollywood fantasies disguised as high seriousness. This book is an attempt to illuminate these contradictions. It gathers essays that focus from a variety of angles on Herzog and his work. The contributors move beyond the myths of Herzog to investigate the merits of his work and its place in film history. A challenging range of films is covered, from Fata Morgana and Aguirre, the Wrath of God to more recent features such as Nosferatu and Where the Green Ants Dream, offering the reader ways of understanding why, whatever the controversies surrounding Herzog and his films, he remains a major and popular international filmmaker. Orignally published in 1986.

A polemical introduction to the avant-garde and experimental in film (including making and viewing), Materialist Film is a highly original, thought-provoking book. Thirty-seven short chapters work through a series of concepts which will enable the reader to deal imaginatively with the contradictory issues produced by experimental film. Each concept is explored in conjunction with specific films by Andy Warhol, Malcolm LeGrice, Lis Rhodes, Jean-Luc Goddard, Rose Lowder, Kurt Kren, and others. Peter Gidal draws on important politico-aesthetic writings, and uses some of his own previously published essays from Undercut, Screen, October, and Millennium Film Journal to undertake this concrete process of working through abstract concepts. Originally published in 1989.

This complete guide to the Avid S6 console offers the best techniques and practices from a seasoned industry veteran, Curt Schulkey, for utilizing its unique features and functions. The Avid S6 was created to be the industry standard virtual mixing console; however, it is so feature-packed that it can be difficult for new users to navigate. This book provides the ultimate guide to breaking down these amazing features and demonstrating how to use them effectively in your next project, with easy-to-follow instructions, rich illustrations, and general real-world advice from the author. This book takes students from neophyte to high-level intermediate. Readers should begin with a functional knowledge of Pro Tools and general understanding of mixing for cinema, but previous knowledge of mixing surfaces is not necessary as this book provides guidance through rudimentary, basic, and intermediary level workflows.

This book explores the interplay between performing arts, intangible cultural heritage and digital environments through a compendium of essays on emerging practices and case studies, as well as critical, historical and theoretical perspectives. It features essays that engage with varied forms of intangible cultural heritage, from music and storytelling to dance, theatre and martial arts. Cases of digital technology interventions are provided from different geographical and cultural settings, from Europe to Asia and the Americas. Together, the collection reflects on the implications that digital interventions have on intangible cultural heritage engagements, its curation and transmission in diverse localities. The volume is a valuable resource for discovering the multiple ways in which cultural heritage is mediated through digital technologies, and engages with audiences, artists, users and researchers.

Shakespeare's Neighbors focuses on what lay next door to Shakespeare- the theoretical context that, while partially lost on us, was quite likely to inform the perception that Shakespeare's contemporaries (his "neighbors") had of his works. In this series of alternative readings, the primacy of the literary text is set against the backdrop of unexpected or largely ignored theories whose enormous diffusion renders them inescapable terms of comparison. Rocco Coronato advocates the likely as a viable backdrop to literary analysis. The inference has it that the presence of such widely disseminated theories may allow for the study of the literary works through their own codes and imagery, without implying a rigidly ideological transmission between social and literary domains. While written with literary criticism in mind, Coronato manages to avoid convoluted jargon, striving in the process to translate the terms of otherwise esoteric discourses into a generally accessible language form, for the benefit of a non-specialist audience as well.

Women and Comedy: History, Theory, Practice presents the most current international scholarship on the complexity and subversive potential of women's comedic speech, literature, and performance. Earlier comedy theorists such as Freud and Bergson did not envision women as either the agents or audiences of comedy, only as its targets. Only more recently have scholarly studies of comedy begun to recognize and historicize women's contributions to-and political uses of-comedy. The essays collected here demonstrate the breadth of current scholarship on gender and comedy, spanning centuries of literature and a diversity of methodologies. Through a reconsideration of literary, theatrical, and mass media texts from the Classical period to the present, Women and Comedy: History, Theory, Practice responds to the historical marginalization and/or trivialization of both women and comedy. The essays collected in this volume assert the importance of recognizing the role of women and comedy in order to understand these texts, their historical contexts, and their possibilities and limits as models for social engagement. In the spirit of comedy itself, these analyses allow for opportunities to challenge and reevaluate the theoretical approaches themselves.

Every year on September first, young witches and wizards board the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 3/4 and make the journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first in a collectible new series, Harry Potter: Travel Magic: Platform 9 3/4: Artifacts from the Wizarding World contains over a dozen removable prop replicas from the Harry Potter films as well as stickers, postcards, and other stationery supplies. Inside, fans will learn all about Platform 9 3/4 and the Hogwarts Express, relive magical moments from the Harry Potter films, and delve into the behind-the-scenes magic that brought Harry Potter to life on the big screen. Inside readers will find: * Over a dozen removable reproductions of props from the Harry Potter films, including Harry's Hogwarts Acceptance letter and supply list, Platform 9 3/4 ticket, Chocolate Frog box, and more * Stickers, bookmarks, postcards, booklets, and other stationery supplies-all themed to Platform 9 3/4 and the Hogwarts Express * Behind-the-scenes facts and insights about the Harry Potter films * Stunning set photography and concept art

This collection of essays reveals the extent to which politics is fundamental to our understanding of Samuel Beckett's life and writing. Bringing together internationally established and emerging scholars, Beckett and Politics considers Beckett's work as it relates to three broad areas of political discourse: language politics, biopolitics and geopolitics. Through a range of critical approaches, including performance studies, political theory, gender theory, historicizing approaches and language theory, the book demonstrates how politics is more than just another thematic lens: it is fundamentally and structurally intrinsic to Beckett's life, his texts and subsequent interpretations of them. This important collection of essays demonstrates that Beckett's work is not only ripe for political engagement, but also contains significant opportunities for understanding and illuminating the broader relationships between literature, culture and politics.

The MOM crew is at it again "MOMologues2: Off to School" offers a frank and funny look at the true tales of motherhood, from homework hell to multitasking mania. Four separate characters tell their individual stories, either directly to the audience in monologues, or in scenes with each other. Moms everywhere will laugh in recognition at the playdates gone wrong, the crazy way to get a Mom day off, how to stalk a potential babysitter, and much more.

Full Service is the ultimate guilty pleasure, revealing for the first time the shadow lives of the people who created popular culture, told by the man who was so central to fulfilling their desires. Scotty Bowers, a dashing young ex-Marine exuding sex appeal, arrived in Hollywood in 1946 and quickly caught the attention of many of the town's stars. Working out of a gas station on Hollywood Boulevard, Bowers soon became the go-to guy for anyone looking for a bespoke sexual partner; no matter how outlandish the tastes, Scotty could find someone for everyone... In his thirty years 'tricking' and arranging tricks for LA's rich and famous, Bowers went to bed with thousands of people and engineered sexual liaisons of all flavours for countless more.

Today's successful cinematographer must be equal parts artist, technician, and business-person. The cinematographer needs to master the arts of lighting, composition, framing and other aesthetic considerations, as well as the technology of digital cameras, recorders, and workflows, and must know how to choose the right tools (within their budget) to get the job done. David Stump's Digital Cinematography focuses on the tools and technology of the trade, looking at how digital cameras work, the ramifications of choosing one camera versus another, and how those choices help creative cinematographers to tell a story. This book empowers the reader to correctly choose the appropriate camera and workflow for their project from today's incredibly varied options, as well as understand the ins and outs of implementing those options. Veteran ASC cinematographer David Stump has updated this edition with the latest technology for cameras, lenses, and recorders, as well as included a new section on future cinematographic trends. Ideal for advanced cinematography students as well as working professionals looking for a resource to stay on top of the latest trends, this book is a must read.

BILLY, the ground-breaking biography of the nation's favourite iconoclast, gave millions of readers a fascinating insight into the personal and professional life of the genius that is Billy Connolly. Then, in the sequel to that bestselling book, the award-winning Pamela Stephenson celebrated life with the Scottish beastie as he hit the big six-oh. In it we relive colourful and epic moments from Billy's early life in Glasgow - the background to an intimate portrait of his marriage with Pamela and his life in Scotland, LA and the rest of the world. Witty, insightful and intimate, BRAVEMOUTH draws the reader into two very different worlds - hers of international sexology and the serious psychology of humorists, his of incontinence pants, being married to a shrink... and the finer points of banjo playing.

This book explores the growing trend of intermediality in cinematic representations of the Holocaust. It turns to the in-betweens that characterise the cinematic experience to discover how the different elements involved in film and its viewing collaborate to produce Holocaust memory. Cinematic Intermedialities is a work of film-philosophy that places a number of different forms of screen media, such as films that reassemble archive footage, animations, apps and museum installations, in dialogue with the writing of Deleuze and Guattari, art critic-cum-philosopher Georges Didi-Huberman and film phenomenologies. The result is a careful and unique examination of how Holocaust memory can emerge from the relationship between different media, objects and bodies during the film experience. This work challenges the existing concentration on representation in writing about Holocaust films, turning instead to the materials of screen works and the spectatorial experience to highlight the powerful contribution of the cinematic to Holocaust memory.