Book description
There are certain films and shows that resonate with audiences
everywhere-they generate discussion and debate about everything from
gender, class, citizenship and race, to consumerism and social identity.
This new 'teachable canon' of film and television introduces students to
alternative classics that range from silent film to CSI.
- Magnolia is one of those films students know and love. From the
over-the-top performances by male and female leads to the
"ripped from the pages of the Old Testament" conclusion,
it is a cult favorite in American cinema
- This is the first book to examine the diverse themes,
performances, and influences on this polarizing film, encouraging
students to look beyond the film's style in order to fully engage
with questions about its substance
- Lane develops a careful analysis of the film, its director, as
well as the contemporary context in which it was produced -
exploring topics including the role of the auteur, what constitutes
cinema / media literacy in the digital age, the politics of
postmodernism, and the film's critique of the mass media - in order
to challenge students to ask themselves why they are so riveted by
this controversial and unusual film
Christina Lane
is Assistant Professor in the Motion Picture Program at the University
of Miami. She is the author of
Feminist Hollywood: From Born in
Flames to Point Break
(Wayne State UP, 2000). She has published essays in
Culture, Trauma,
and Conflict: Cultural Studies Perspectives on the War
(Cambridge Scholars, 2007),
Contemporary American Independent Film
(Routledge, 2004), and
Authorship and Film
(Routledge, 2003).
