The Hollywood Horror Film, 1931-1941
Merchant: Oxfam
Merchant's Category: Media> Books
In February 1931, Universal Studios released Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. As a result of the film's considerable-and unexpected-success, Universal and the other Hollywood studios quickly cashed in on this genre. In the following decade such classics as Freaks, Frankenstein, King Kong, White Zombie, The Mummy, The Wolfman, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, along with a number of lesser known but significant works, were produced. But these films tend to be neglected as a serious object of study. The main interest shown in them comes from fanzines whose critics often place the accent on the anecdotal at the expense of analysis. And serious studies undertaken by sociologists and specialists in cultural studies either prefer themes and content or choose to study the films as reflecting the concerns, albeit unconsciously, of the period. In The Hollywood Horror Film, 1931-1941: Madness in a Social Landscape, Reynold Humphries analyzes representative films of this era and discusses their impact upon audiences at the time. He evaluates what their success says about the society that consumed them and about the filmmakers who produced them-particularly the unconscious dimension of the films and their ideological ramifications. According to Humphries, prejudices of a social, racial, and sexual nature on the part of Hollywood's censors and the press went hand in hand with a sense of growing unease at what was being portrayed on the screen. Concentrating on abnormal and often sadistic acts, on an unbridled striving after power, and on the mad doctor/scientist's indifference to others, horror films of the era act out society's division along lines of class and economics. Brutal exploitation went beyond the monstrous acts of an individual to assume a social dimension where collective interests come to the fore by the way they are trampled on. One of the aims of this book is to pinpoint how the "political unconscious" of the films in question reveals points of contact
More details from Oxfam
Follow Oxfam to get news updates and products on your homepage.
Oxfam is being followed by 0 people.
Follow Oxfam
Delivery Details
Specific details for this product: No specific details given.General Delivery details for Oxfam:
Oxfam delivers only to the UK
�3.95 flat fee and free returns.
- UK Delivery only
- Free returns
No review added yet - be the first!
Reviews and Comments
If you own this product already, please write a quick review to help others:
Current Special Offer at Oxfam:
Comments and Feedback
This is an experimental quick comments form. Please use it to point out a mistake, tell us about a closed shop or a quick comment about the page you are on. Any comment/feedback left here may be added to the page if it is helpful.
Oxfam
Read more about Oxfam
Shop at Oxfam online! There are the usual Oxfam goodies as well as a huge selection of second hand and vintage clothes, music, dvds, books and homewares. Also find wedding favours, rare books, ceramics, stamps and coins.