Books in the Quick Takes: Movies & Popular Culture series

Examines the tradition of the private eye as it evolves in films, books, and television shows set in Los Angeles from the 1930s to the present. The book takes a closer look at narratives in which detectives travel the streets of LA, uncovering corruption, moral ambiguity, and greed, while always ultimately finding truth and redemption.

Explores the intersection between movies, reality, and fantasy; between subjective and objective representation. The book shows that surreal fantasies ground their images, sounds, and narratives in quotidian reality. On the other hand, even the most realistic documentaries rely on creative structures that are products of the human imagination.

Describes the traditional formulas that have made sports movies such crowd-pleasers, including stock figures like the disgraced athlete on a quest for redemption, or the wise old coaches who help mentor the heroes to victory. Lester Friedman also explores how the genre's attitudes have changed over time.

As simulations of war become more integrated into both popular culture and military practice, how do they shape our apprehension of the traumatic realities of warfare? War Games is an essential guide for anyone seeking to understand the militarization of American culture, offering a comprehensive look at how we play with images of war.

Gives readers the big picture of how trans people have been depicted on screen. The book examines a plethora of trans portrayals that emerged from varied media outlets, including documentary films, television serials, and world cinema. Along the way, it analyzes milestones in trans representation.

Tracking the revitalization of the British horror film industry over the past two decades, media expert Steven Gerrard investigates why audiences have flocked to these movies. Offering in-depth analysis of numerous films, this book takes readers on a lively tour of the genre's highlights, while provocatively exploring how these films reflect viewers' gravest fears about the state of the nation.

Takes a long view on the figure of the femme fatale, exploring her style, language, and stories from silent cinema to contemporary television. Julie Grossman explores the notions of female ambition, frustration, and intelligence that undergird the power and fascination of the femme fatale across time and media.