Download Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema
Download Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema
Yeah, the web content of this publication includes simple words, very easy language designs, as well as easy sensation to recognize. When you have found this recommended publication to read, one to do is just by examining it in the web link as well as get it. You have to begin immediately due to the fact that there are likewise many individuals who have got and read Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema So, you will certainly not be left back to know even more about this book content.
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema
Download Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema
Only for you today! Discover your favourite publication here by downloading and install and getting the soft data of guide Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema This is not your time to typically visit the publication stores to purchase a publication. Right here, selections of e-book Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema and also collections are offered to download. One of them is this Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema as your preferred book. Getting this book Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema by on the internet in this website can be realized now by going to the link web page to download. It will be simple. Why should be right here?
By spending couple of times in a day to check out Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema, some experiences and also lessons will certainly be gotten. It will certainly not associate with just how you need to or take the tasks, yet take the benefits of how the lesson as well as perception t obtain. In this instance, this offered book really ends up being ideas for the people as you. You will always need brand-new experience, won't you? However, occasionally you have no sufficient time and money to undertake it. This is why, through this book, you can get rid of the desire.
If you can see how the book is advised, you might should understand who writes this publication and also publish it. It will really influence the just how individuals will be appreciated to read this book. As right here, Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema can be gotten by looking for in some stores. Or, if you wish to obtain very easy and also quick way, simply get it in this website. Below, we not only offer you the simplicity of checking out material, however likewise quick way to get it. When you require some days to wait to get the book, you will certainly obtain the rapid respond here.
After obtaining the outstanding chance of the book right here, you can not disregard that Visions Of The Apocalypse: Spectacles Of Destruction In American Cinema becomes one of the books that you will certainly pick. Yet, you may not take the book currently due to some problems. When you're actually certain concerning the lesson and impression received from this publication, you have to start reviewing as soon as possible. It is what that makes you always feel awesome and amazed when understanding a brand-new lessons about a publication.
Review
"Wheeler Winston Dixon's Visions of the Apocalypse explores American cinema and its fascination with spectacles of destruction, while simultaneously commenting on the ways in which Hollywood has created a culture of sameness where conformity rules. Lucid and eloquent and a relatively easy read for those unaccustomed to film academia, Dixon's knowledge and reasoned argument provide an intelligent and endlessly fascinating examination of some of the key issues that face us as we confront an increasingly insecure future." - Kirsty Fairclough, Popmatters"By unflinchingly critiquing the contemporary culture of self-destruction, Wheeler Winston Dixon presents a serious contribution to the heroic effort for which he calls. The book deftly negotiates between moments of personal reflection and presentations of factual information, between precise analyses of single texts and broader generalizations about cultural dynamics. In this way, Dixon provides an engaging and provocative argument about the contemporary cultural setting and its underlying propellant forces. If the book presents a challenge to the reader, it is not a result of the style of the book, as the writing is clear and accessible throughout. The challenge of this book is to follow Dixon in thinking beyond commercial culture and creating alternatives to our own annihilation." - Daniel Herbert, Film-Philosophy
Read more
About the Author
Wheeler Winston Dixon is the James Ryan Professor of Film Studies, Coordinator of the Film Studies Program, Professor of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and, with Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, editor of the new book series Quick Takes: Movies and Popular Culture for Rutgers University Press. He is the author of more than thirty books on film history, theory and criticism, as well as more than 100 articles in various academic journals. He is also an active experimental filmmaker, whose works are in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art.His recent books include Black & White Cinema: A Short History (2015); Streaming: Movies, Media and Instant Access (2013); Death of the Moguls: The End of Classical Hollywood (2012); 21st Century Hollywood: Movies in the Era of Transformation (2011, co-authored with Gwendolyn Audrey Foster); A History of Horror (2010); and Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia (2009). Dixon's book A Short History of Film (2008, co-authored with Gwendolyn Audrey Foster) was reprinted six times through 2012. A second, revised edition was published in 2013; a third, revised edition was published in 2018. The book is a required text in universities throughout the world.Visit wheelerwinstondixon.com for more details on Dixon's books, films, and articles.
Read more
Product details
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Wallflower Press; 1st Paperback Edition edition (September 17, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1903364744
ISBN-13: 978-1903364741
Product Dimensions:
6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
2.7 out of 5 stars
3 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#1,640,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Those readers looking for a book solely about apocalyptic films will only be partially satisfied by this intelligent, incisive book. While it does delve into the ways apocalypse is presented in American films, covering quite a few of them, it's more an examination of American culture itself & its fascination with destruction. Nor does the author restrict himself to images & fantasies, which he demonstrates are both fed by a consumerist culture while helping to create & maintain that same culture. He goes more deeply, examining the power of the almighty dollar in creating increasingly shallow but visually spectacular films that have immediate visceral appeal, much as a roller coaster does, while avoiding any food for thought afterwards. These films aren't designed to make the viewer think, but simply to feel -- as intensely & vividly & shallowly as possible. In their pursuit of pure sensation, they approach a kind of emotional pornography of immediate gratification: raw, exhilarating, and constantly lowering the lowest common denominator. This, the author suggests, is indicative of our consumerist culture as a whole.Further, he shows how this seething rush of garish, giddy trauma affects political & social discourse -- or more precisely, how it short-circuits rational discourse in favor of an easily manipulated blaze of jittery emotion in need of a focus, a target, a scapegoat. And of course there are more than enough groups ready & eager to provide that focus, in order to serve their own financial & political purposes. One of the artistic prices of this approach, of course, is the death of film as potential art & its replacement as nothing but commodity. He even delves into the physical replacement of film by digital technology, and how that adds to both the profit margin & the fear margin.While this is fascinating material for any thoughtful reader, let me hasten to add that the author never succumbs to convoluted jargon. He has the knack of handling complexity in an accessible manner, never dumbing it down, always making it quite clear & succinct. Considering the spate of jingoistic films we've been getting from Hollywood lately, this is vital reading for anyone concerned about the political & military excesses of the post 9/11 world. Highly recommended!
I always found it fascinating how American audiences (and film makers) love the cinematic spectacles of self destruction. From the great San Francisco to the discreet On the Beach all the way to the more recent Deep Impact (Special Collector's Edition),The Day After Tomorrow (Two-Disc All-Access Collector's Edition),Cloverfield [Theatrical Release] and I Am Legend (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) (not forgetting the once-controversial The Day After, naturally).I, for example, freely admit that I love those films. And I love them perhaps because of my personal taste for (among many other things) the radically different premise they put in front of us: the vision of a world you dot see every day. And more important: it's not for real... no strings attached.And if we decide to focus our study just on that angle alone, I am sure we can identify many trends going on today. And they all represent big meals for those who care to dine. They would all make great subjects for serious study.That was exactly what I was expecting when I bought this great book.Mr. Dixon has a great knowledge of films, meaning that he is an experienced viewer... and he backs everything he says with the right data and the actual numbers. I will not try to summarize the book... but basically, what he offers is a long and valid (but somehow debatable - that's what I think) reflection on how the Hollywood film industry in particular (and all the other cultural industries in general) function today AND they way they drive (and shape) its audience towards certain... let's say "tastes".And Mr Dixon does that very well.The big major flaw, in my modest opinion, is that... from page one all the way to the end, Mr Dixon's very precise analysis left a bitter taste of prejudice and discrimination under my tongue against commercial Cinema. Maybe that's because I myself teach Film Production (and work in that area) and therefore (maybe), have a different view on the matter. What I feel is that Mr. Dixon violently criticizes an Industry (and a system of things) he clearly dislikes without taking some time and distance to see a bigger, broader picture.And that analysis make up for 90% of the book. It IS a great analysis... but it comes from someone who seems to have picked just one side. I agree with him on most everything. But I miss the other side. I believe the things Mr. Dixon criticizes have their own reason of existing. They do fill some void. He and I may not like them (it may not be our personal taste). But we have to understand why they are there.Sometimes, the great scholar becomes a (I wish I wouldn't have to use the word) snob critic when he starts throwing adjectives like "awful" to films that are much more than JUST that. At a certain point, several films and people get classified upon adjectives and terms that seems prejudicial. I'm not saying one cannot express his own feelings. But hardly that easily in the middle of such a great analysis.I was expecting a different book... specially because the analysis of today's big self destruction spectacles was not fully accomplished.BUT I still strongly recommend this book because (even after all I've pointed) Mr. Dixon DOES give us an astounding job. Really. It's a great book. His reflections on 9/11, its media coverage and the impact it had on American Cinema is top notch. His views on War Cinema are quite excellent.Again: a great book.
The title of this book is misleading. The author discusses the Cold War (including films of the Cold War period), the contemporary threat of terrorism, the decline of the film industry and U.S. society in general, contemporary politics, and dozens of films that have nothing to do with the apocalyptic genre. However, he barely discusses what he title proclaims, "visions of the apocalypse / spectacles of destruction in American cinema," and he discusses no recent apocalyptic films whatsoever. I wonder if the title was chosen just to make the book sell better.
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema PDF
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema EPub
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema Doc
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema iBooks
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema rtf
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema Mobipocket
Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema Kindle