The chroniclers of medieval Rus were monks, who celebrated the divine services of the Byzantine church throughout every day. This study is the first to analyze how these rituals shaped their writing of the Rus Primary Chronicle, the first written history of the East Slavs. During the eleventh century, chroniclers in Kiev learned about the conversion of the Roman Empire by celebrating a series of distinctively Byzantine liturgical feasts. When the services concluded, and the clerics sought to compose a native history for their own people, they instinctively drew on the sacred stories that they sang at church. The result was a myth of Christian origins for Rus - a myth promulgated even today by the Russian government - which reproduced the Christian origins myth of the Byzantine Empire. The book uncovers this ritual subtext and reconstructs the intricate web of liturgical narratives that underlie this foundational text of pre-modern Slavic civilization.

Queer Cinema, The Film Reader examines the relationship between cinematic representations of sexuality and their social, historical, and industrial contexts. Clearly divided into an introductory overview and four topic areas, the Reader explores how recent critical thinking has approached queer sexualities in relation to the cinema. The four sections discuss: Authorship - examining the role of sexuality in the work of queer filmmakers such as George Cukor, Dorothy Arzner, Barbara Hammer, and the directors of New Queer Cinema Forms - exploring how genres such as the horror film, the musical, film noir, and the animated film construct queer cinematic spaces Camp - looking at how this reception strategy and mode of textual production, initially practised by pre-Stonewall queers, retains its critical charge even in contemporary mainstream popular culture Reception - considering three specific historical case-studies of how queer fans have interacted with media texts from Judy Garland to Star Trek. The Reader concludes with an essay that queerly rethinks classical gaze theory and allows students and scholars of the subject to draw their own conclusions in their studies.

Queer Cinema, The Film Reader examines the relationship between cinematic representations of sexuality and their social, historical, and industrial contexts. Clearly divided into an introductory overview and four topic areas, the Reader explores how recent critical thinking has approached queer sexualities in relation to the cinema. The four sections discuss: Authorship - examining the role of sexuality in the work of queer filmmakers such as George Cukor, Dorothy Arzner, Barbara Hammer, and the directors of New Queer Cinema Forms - exploring how genres such as the horror film, the musical, film noir, and the animated film construct queer cinematic spaces Camp - looking at how this reception strategy and mode of textual production, initially practised by pre-Stonewall queers, retains its critical charge even in contemporary mainstream popular culture Reception - considering three specific historical case-studies of how queer fans have interacted with media texts from Judy Garland to Star Trek. The Reader concludes with an essay that queerly rethinks classical gaze theory and allows students and scholars of the subject to draw their own conclusions in their studies.

The chroniclers of medieval Rus were monks, who celebrated the divine services of the Byzantine church throughout every day. This study is the first to analyze how these rituals shaped their writing of the Rus Primary Chronicle, the first written history of the East Slavs. During the eleventh century, chroniclers in Kiev learned about the conversion of the Roman Empire by celebrating a series of distinctively Byzantine liturgical feasts. When the services concluded, and the clerics sought to compose a native history for their own people, they instinctively drew on the sacred stories that they sang at church. The result was a myth of Christian origins for Rus - a myth promulgated even today by the Russian government - which reproduced the Christian origins myth of the Byzantine Empire. The book uncovers this ritual subtext and reconstructs the intricate web of liturgical narratives that underlie this foundational text of pre-modern Slavic civilization.

From Thomas Edison's first cinematic experiments to contemporary Hollywood blockbusters, Queer Images chronicles the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer sexualities over one hundred years of American film. The most up-to-date and comprehensive book of its kind, it explores not only the ever-changing images of queer characters onscreen, but also the work of queer filmmakers and the cultural histories of queer audiences. Queer Images surveys a wide variety of films, individuals, and subcultures, including the work of discreetly homosexual filmmakers during Hollywood's Golden Age; classical Hollywood's (failed) attempt to purge "sex perversion" from films; the development of gay male camp in Hollywood cinema; queer exploitation films and gay physique films; the queerness of 1960s Underground Film practice; independent lesbian documentaries and experimental films; cinematic responses to the AIDS crisis; the rise and impact of New Queer Cinema; the growth of LGBT film festivals; and how contemporary Hollywood deals with queer issues. This entertaining and insightful book reveals how the meaning of sexual identity-as reflected on the silver screen-has changed a great deal over the decades, and it celebrates both the pioneers and contemporary practitioners of queer film in America. Queer Images is an essential volume for film buffs and anyone interested in sexuality and culture.