With his thumbprint on the most ubiquitous films of childhood, Walt Disney is widely considered to be the most conventional of all major American moviemakers. The adjective "Disneyfied" has become shorthand for a creative work that has abandoned any controversial or substantial content to find commercial success.
But does Disney deserve that reputation? Douglas Brode overturns the idea of Disney as a middlebrow filmmaker by detailing how Disney movies played a key role in transforming children of the Eisenhower era into the radical youth of the Age of Aquarius. Using close readings...
With his thumbprint on the most ubiquitous films of childhood, Walt Disney is widely considered to be the most conventional of all major American m...
In his latest iconoclastic work, Douglas Brode--the only academic author/scholar who dares to defend Disney entertainment--argues that "Uncle Walt's" output of films, television shows, theme parks, and spin-off items promoted diversity decades before such a concept gained popular currency in the 1990s. Fully understood, It's a Small World--one of the most popular attractions at the Disney theme parks--encapsulates Disney's prophetic vision of an appealingly varied world, each race respecting the uniqueness of all the others while simultaneously celebrating a common human core....
In his latest iconoclastic work, Douglas Brode--the only academic author/scholar who dares to defend Disney entertainment--argues that "Uncle Walt'...
Though Elvis Presley's music is widely credited as starting a sea change in American popular culture, his films are often dismissed as superficial. Beyond the formulaic plotlines and the increasingly weaker songs, however, the films are rich with resonance to the changing times in which they were produced (roughly 1955-1970). They were also a means by which Elvis communicated deeply felt autobiographical material to his fan base, although in the guise of lighthearted escapist fare. This work takes a new stand, maintaining that Elvis's 31 Hollywood features and two documentaries reveal a...
Though Elvis Presley's music is widely credited as starting a sea change in American popular culture, his films are often dismissed as superficial. Be...
Almost as long as cinema has existed, vampires have appeared on screen. Symbolizing an unholy union between sex and death, the vampire--male or female--has represented the libido, a "repressed force" that consumed its victims. Early iconic representations of male vampires were seen in Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931), but not until Dracula's Daughter in 1936 did a female "sex vampire" assume the lead. Other female vampires followed, perhaps most provocatively in the Hammer films of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Later incarnations, in such films as Near Dark (1987) and From Dusk till Dawn...
Almost as long as cinema has existed, vampires have appeared on screen. Symbolizing an unholy union between sex and death, the vampire--male or female...
Since the beginning of television, Westerns have been playing on the small screen. From the mid-1950s until the early 1960s, they were one of TV's most popular genres, with millions of viewers tuning in to such popular shows as Rawhide, Gunsmoke, and Disney's Davy Crockett. Though the cultural revolution of the later 1960s contributed to the demise of traditional Western programs, the Western never actually disappeared from TV. Instead, it took on new forms, such as the highly popular Lonesome Dove and Deadwood, while...
Since the beginning of television, Westerns have been playing on the small screen. From the mid-1950s until the early 1960s, they were one of TV's ...
In 1977, Star Wars blazed across the screen to become one of the highest grossing and most beloved movies of all time. It was followed by two sequels and three prequels, all of which became blockbusters. Comic books, novels, graphic novels, and magazines devoted to the films have added to the mythology of George Lucas's creation. Despite the impact of the franchise on popular culture, however, discussion of the films from a scholarly perspective has not kept pace with the films. In Myth, Media, and Culture in Star Wars: An Anthology, Douglas Brode and Leah Deyneka have assembled an intriguing...
In 1977, Star Wars blazed across the screen to become one of the highest grossing and most beloved movies of all time. It was followed by two sequels ...
While political liberals celebrated the end of "cowboy politics" with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, political conservatives in the Tea Party and other like-minded groups still vociferously support "cowboy" values such as small government, low taxes, free-market capitalism, and the right to bear arms. Yet, as Douglas Brode argues in this paradigm-shifting book, these supposedly cowboy or "Old West" values hail not so much from the actual American frontier of the nineteenth century as from Hollywood's portrayal of it in the twentieth century. And a close reading of Western...
While political liberals celebrated the end of "cowboy politics" with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency, political conservatives in th...
As one of the most influential shows of all time, Star Trek continues to engage fans around the world. But its cultural impact has grown far beyond the scope of the original seventy-nine episodes. The show spawned an unprecedented progeny, beginning with Star Trek: The Next Generation, followed by three additional series of space exploration. Film versions featuring Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and other original crew members first appeared in 1979, followed by a number of successful sequels and ultimately a reboot of the original show. From the modest ambitions of the show's creator, Gene...
As one of the most influential shows of all time, Star Trek continues to engage fans around the world. But its cultural impact has grown far beyond th...
When it premiered on NBC in September 1966, Star Trek was described by its creator, Gene Roddenberry, as "Wagon Train to the stars." Featuring a racially diverse cast, trips to exotic planets, and encounters with an array of alien beings who could be either friendly or hostile, the program opened up new vistas for television. Along with The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, Star Trek represented one of the small screen's rare ventures into science fiction during the 1960s. Although the original series was a modest success during its three-year run, its afterlife has been nothing less than a...
When it premiered on NBC in September 1966, Star Trek was described by its creator, Gene Roddenberry, as "Wagon Train to the stars." Featuring a racia...
Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George Melies' 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time.
Brode's list ranges from today's blockbusters...
Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produ...
