Books published by John Libbey & Co

Rituals mark significant moments in our lives--perhaps none more significant than moments of lightheartedness, joy, and play. The rituals that bond humanity create our most transcendent experiences and meaningful memories. Rituals of play are among the most sacred of any of the rites in which humanity may engage. Although we may fail to recognize rituals of play, they are always present in culture, providing a kind of psychological release for their participants, child and adult alike. Ritual is central to storytelling. Story and practice are symbiotic. Their relationship reflects the vitality of the soul. Disneyland is an example of the kind of container necessary for the construction of rituals of play. This work explores the original Disney theme park in Anaheim as a temple cult. It challenges the disciplines of mythological studies, religious studies, film studies, and depth psychology to broaden traditional definitions of the kind of cultural apparatus that constitute temple culture and ritual. It does so by suggesting that Hollywood's entertainment industry has developed a platform for mythic ritual. After setting the ritualized "stage," this book turns to the practices in Disneyland proper, analyzing the patron's traditions within the framework of the park and beyond. It explores Disneyland's spectacles, through selected shows and parades, and concludes with an exploration of the park's participation in ritual renewal.

Floriane Place-Verghnes examines the work of this great American animator. Focusing primarily on four facets of AveryΓÇÖs work, the author first concentrates on AveryΓÇÖs ability to depict the American attempt both to retrieve the past nostalgically and to catch the Zeitgeist of 1940s America, which confronts the questions of violence and survival. She also analyzes issues of sex and gender and the crucial role Hollywood played in reshaping the image of womanhood, reducing it to a bipolar opposition. Thirdly, she examines the comic language developed by Avery which, although drawing on the work of the Marx Brothers and Chaplin (among others), transcended their conventions. Finally, Place-Verghnes considers AveryΓÇÖs place in the history of cartoon-making technique.

Philip Hayward is editor of the Island Studies journal Shima and holds adjunct professor positions at the University of Technology Sydney and at Southern Cross University (Australia). He has previously published books on topics such as horror cinema and cultural heritage in the Pacific. He is also a member of audio-visual ensemble The Moviolas and was co-curator of an exhibition entitled Making a Splash: Mermaids and Modernity being held at Sydney¿s Macquarie University Art Gallery in mid-2017 to accompany the launch of this volume.

Dafna Ruppin holds a PhD in Media and Performance Studies from Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Her research on the exhibition, consumption and production of early cinema in the Netherlands Indies forms part of the research project "The Nation and Its Other" funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

In the years before the First World War, showmen, entrepreneurs, educators, and scientists used magic lanterns and cinematographs in many contexts and many venues. To employ these silent screen technologies to deliver diverse and complex programs usually demanded audio accompaniment, creating a performance of both sound and image. These shows might include live music, song, lectures, narration, and synchronized sound effects provided by any available partyΓÇöprojectionist, local talent, accompanist or backstage crewΓÇöand would often borrow techniques from shadow plays and tableaux vivants. The performances were not immune to the influence of social and cultural forces, such as censorship or reform movements. This collection of essays considers the ways in which different visual practices carried out at the turn of the 20th century shaped performances on and beside the screen.

Before the Movies is the first book about American screen entertainment in the pre-movie era. A groundbreaking study, lavishly illustrated with 330 color pictures, it is a comprehensive survey of the American artists who created early magic-lantern stories and songs for the screen. The book emphasizes the work of Joseph Boggs Beale, a pioneer in the field and demonstrates that Beale almost single-handedly created American-made screen entertainment for the generation before the movies. His lifetime output was 2,073 images in 258 setsΓÇöthe screen-time equivalent of 14 full-length filmsΓÇöwhich millions enjoyed every year. The provenance, attribution, and dates of BealeΓÇÖs lantern slides are discussed in detail, and a comprehensive catalog of his lantern images makes Before the Movies an essential reference volume.

The visionaries of early motion pictures thought that movies could do more than just entertain. They imagined the medium had the potential to educate and motivate the audience. In national and local contexts from Europe, North America, and around the world, early filmmakers entered the domains of science and health education, social and religious uplift, labor organizing and political campaigning. Beyond the Screen captures this pioneering vision of the future of cinema.

This anthology explores the pioneering period of the British video art form that has become a hallmark of contemporary art. Drawing on interviews, ephemera, archived tapes, and installations from the period, Rewind brings together leading scholars in the field to lay the groundwork for a history of the people, activities, institutions, and interventions that made video art the one true avant-garde genre in 20th-century Great Britain.

David E. James is on the faculty of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. His books include The Most Typical Avant-Garde: History and Geography of Minor Cinemas in Los Angeles.Adam Hyman has been Executive Director and Programmer for Los Angeles Filmforum since 2003. A documentary filmmaker, he has produced and/or written a variety of historical and archeological films that have aired on PBS, the History Channel, the Learning Channel, and others.

Jonathan Dennis (1953ΓÇô2002), was the creative and talented founding director of the New Zealand Film Archive. As a Pakeha (non-Maori/indigenous New Zealander) with a strong sense of social justice, Dennis became a conduit for tension and debate over the preservation and presentation of indigenous and non-indigenous film archival materials from the time the Archive opened in 1981. His work resulted in a film archive and curatorship practice which differed significantly from that of the North American and European archives he originally sought to emulate. He supported a philosophical shift in archival practice by engaging indigenous peoples in developing creative and innovative exhibitions from the 1980s until his death, recognizing that much of the expertise required to work with archival materials rested with the communities outside archival walls. This book presents new interviews gathered by the author, as well as an examination of existing interviews, films and broadcasts about and with Jonathan Dennis, to consider the narrative of a life and work in relation to film archiving.

Italy was a vibrant center of video art production and experimentation throughout the 1970s and 1980s, attracting artists from all over the world and laying the foundation for video art as a concept in the global art and film communities. With vibrant illustrations, compelling interviews, and essays by leading scholars in the field, this collection highlights ItalyΓÇÖs key place in the history of video as an art form.

Animation is at the crossroads of the visual arts, music, dance and literature. It is an artistic, creative activity in the first place, but it is also a pedagogical tool for teaching and learning. This book guides you through the different production steps of animated film making, from the creative impulse to the final editing of picture and sound. Learn the specific language of animationΓÇöits grammar and vocabulary; create your own charactersΓÇömake them act to express a range of feelings. Over 20 different animation techniques are proposed. For each technique you will find the list of the necessary material, practical hints, and the tricks-of-the-trade. Whether you work with traditional film cameras or with computer software, this book is a practical guide for students and teachers.

The current digital revolution has sparked a renewed interest in the origins and trajectory of modern media, particularly in the years around 1900 when the technology was rapidly developing. This collection aims to broaden our understanding of early cinem