The newly expanded and revised edition of The Hollywood War Machine includes wide-ranging exploration of numerous popular military-themed films that have appeared in the close to a decade since the first edition was published. Within the Hollywood movie community, there has not been even the slightest decline in well-financed pictures focusing on warfare and closely-related motifs. The second edition includes a new chapter on recent popular films and another that analyzes the relationship ...

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent US-led invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 profoundly affected all aspects of society, including cinema. Or did they? Even now, years after those horrific events, debate still rages over their impact on films. At the time many expected Hollywood to tamp down graphic movie violence, while others hoped that filmmakers would finally lay bare volatile socio-political issues fuelling terrorist attacks. In fact, what h...

Sadomasochism, Popular Culture and Revolt: A Pornography of Violence explores powerful connections between violent pornography and current gender wars, generational conflicts, political struggles, and racial and ethnic unrest. Long before these conflicts dominated headlines worldwide, they become embedded and contextualized in popular culture.Tracing the history of today’s popular porn genres, including torture porn, revenge porn, war porn, and fascist porn, Tom Pollard re...

Sex and Violence examines the history and social dynamics of film censorship in the United States. It examines censorship controversies throughout film history, from the beginning of cinema in the 1890s to the present. The book focuses both on formal censorship systems, including state and local censorship boards and industry self-regulation efforts, to unofficial censorship rendered by pressure groups and powerful social movements. It probes beneath the official rhetoric and explanations,...

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.By incorporating these plants into their gardens, individuals can play a crucial role in supporting and restoring local ecosystems. This book offers a comprehensive guide on selecting, planting, and caring for native plants, emphasizing the benefits they bring to the environment. From attracting pollinators to providing habitat for wildlife, native plants are essential for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Readers will learn about the ri...

Timeless Tales for Young Readers: 20 Books Adapted for Children encapsulates an array of literary gems, spanning centuries and continents. This anthology marries the timeless narratives of legends like William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, and Geoffrey Chaucer with the meticulous adaptations by later literary figures tailored for younger audiences. The collection is a tapestry of varied literary styles, from the rich allegories and moral tales of the medieval period to the innovative s...

Vampire characters are ubiquitous in popular culture, serving as metaphors for society's most sensitive subjects--sexuality, gender roles, race, ethnicity, class--and often channeling widespread fears of immigration, crime, terrorism and addiction. This book explores pop culture's vampires variously as sexual seducers, savage monsters, noble protectors and drainers of human power. The author discusses three real-life role models for vampire characters.

Solve a mermaid's problem…Step off the edge of a roof…Dig up a grave at midnight…Take advice from a fortune cookie…Visit the last library…Meet a bridge troll…And more…In one instant, like a bolt of lightning, a single impossible event changes a person's life. And like the trace of lighting in the sky, each is unique and interesting.These wildly different flash stories delight, astonish, scare, and inspire. Enjoy 64 delightfully ecle...