Sociology on Film : Postwar Hollywood's Prestige Commodity / / Chris Cagle

• Autore: Cagle Chris <1974->
• Pubblicazione: New Brunswick, NJ : , : Rutgers University Press, , [2016]; ©2016
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (pages cm)
• Disciplina: 791.436556
• Soggetto topico: Social problems in motion pictures; Motion pictures - Social aspects - United States; Motion pictures - United States - History - 20th century
• Note generali: Includes index.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Two Modes of Prestige Film -- 2. Hollywood as Popular Sociology -- 3. Hollywood and the Public Sphere -- 4. A Genre Out of Cycles -- 5. Realist Melodrama -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author
• Sommario/riassunto: After World War II, Hollywood's "social problem films"-tackling topical issues that included racism, crime, mental illness, and drug abuse-were hits with critics and general moviegoers alike. In an era of film famed for its reliance on pop psychology, these movies were a form of popular sociology, bringing the academic discipline's concerns to a much broader audience. Sociology on Film examines how the postwar "problem film" translated contemporary policy debates and intellectual discussions into cinematic form in order to become one of the preeminent genres of prestige drama. Chris Cagle chronicles how these movies were often politically fractious, the work of progressive directors and screenwriters who drew scrutiny from the House Un-American Activities Committee. Yet he also proposes that the genre helped to construct an abstract discourse of "society" that served to unify a middlebrow American audience. As he considers the many forms of print media that served to inspire social problem films, including journalism, realist novels, and sociological texts, Cagle also explores their distinctive cinematic aesthetics. Through a close analysis of films like Gentleman's Agreement, The Lost Weekend, and Intruder in the Dust, he presents a compelling case that the visual style of these films was intimately connected to their more expressly political and sociological aspirations. Sociology on Film demonstrates how the social problem picture both shaped and reflected the middle-class viewer's national self-image, making a lasting impact on Hollywood's aesthetic direction.
• Titolo autorizzato: Sociology on Film
• ISBN: 0-8135-7695-4; 0-8135-7696-2
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910828686903321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II