American Cinema of the 1990s: Themes and Variations

Book

American Cinema of the 1990s

Themes and Variations

Edited by: Chris Holmlund
With contributions by: Krin Gabbard , Chris Holmlund , Linda Mizejewski , Sharon Willis , Amy Villarejo , Chuck Kleinhans , Diane Waldman , Timothy Shary , Debra White-Stanley , Caryl Flinn and José Capino

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2008

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This book is in the series

Screen Decades: American Culture/America

About this book

With the U.S. economy booming under President Bill Clinton and the cold war finally over, many Americans experienced peace and prosperity in the nineties. Digital technologies gained popularity, with nearly one billion people online by the end of the decade. The film industry wondered what the effect on cinema would be.

The essays in American Cinema of the 1990s examine the big-budget blockbusters and critically acclaimed independent films that defined the decade. The 1990s' most popular genre, action, channeled anxieties about global threats such as AIDS and foreign terrorist attacks into escapist entertainment movies. Horror films and thrillers were on the rise, but family-friendly pictures and feel-good romances netted big audiences too. Meanwhile, independent films captured hearts, engaged minds, and invaded Hollywood: by decade's end every studio boasted its own "art film" affiliate.

Author / Editor information

CHRIS HOLMLUND is a professor of cinema studies, women's studies, and French at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She is also chair of the Cinema Studies Program and the author of several books on film.

Reviews

“There is nothing like this series. Screen Decades firmly situates American cinema in the realms of material culture, popular culture, cultural narrative, reception analysis, and industrial history.”

— American Quarterly

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Arts Genres Genres, other

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Timeline: The 1990s Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction: Movies and the 1990s Chris Holmlund Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
1990 Movies and the Off-White Gangster Linda Mizejewski Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	24
1991 Movies and Wayward Images Sharon Willis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	45
1992 Movies and the Politics of Authorship Amy Villarejo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	70
1993 Movies and the New Economics of Blockbusters and Indies Chuck Kleinhans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	91
1994 Movies and Partisan Politics Diane Waldman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	115
1995 Movies,Teens,Tots, and Tech Timothy Shary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	137
1996 Movies and Homeland Insecurity Debra White-Stanley and Caryl Flinn Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	157
1997 Movies and the Usable Past José B. Capino Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	180
1998 Movies, Dying Fathers, and a Few Survivors Krin Gabbard Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	203
1999 Movies and Millennial Masculinity Chris Holmlund Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	225
Select Academy Awards, 1990–1999 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	249
Works Cited and Consulted Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	255
Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	271
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	273

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

October 11, 2008

eBook ISBN:

9780813545783

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Main content:

304

Other:

33

https://doi.org/10.36019/9780813545783

eBook ISBN: 9780813545783

Keywords for this book

United States; US; cinema; movies; film; film industry; movie industry; American Cinema; American movies; American film; economy; Bill Clinton; Clinton; peace; prosperity; nineties; 90s; 1990s; digital technology; technology; blockbuster; independent films; movie genres; action movies; global threat; worry; AIDS; foreign; terrorist; attacks; escapist; entertainment; horror films; horror movies; thrillers; romance movies; audience; Hollywood; studio

Audience(s) for this book

College/higher education;

American Cinema of the 1990s

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

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Table of contents

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