Film stars are central to today’s celebrity-obsessed culture. Yet, in the early decades of cinema, the industry faced disincentives to using the identities of performers for publicity. For over 12 ...years after the invention of the projector, the major production centres of the world made fiction films without the use of constructed star personas. Explaining then the reasons why and how film companies in North America and Europe created ‘stars,’ in the years 1909-1911, Andrew Shail here responds to Richard deCordova’s comprehensive and landmark account, which argued that the development of the Hollywood star system was indebted to precise collaboration between the American press and movie industry. Assembling evidence from a multitude of unused and little-used archives, Shail reveals how this major aspect of show business actually originated in France. uFrthermore, Shail reassesses this key period of early cinema history to explore character-based series films. His astute analysis demonstrates how such characters both prefigured and precipitated the star system, that series characters and the ‘constellation’ of film stars are functionally equivalent and finally argues that openly fictional characters still provide the primary model for ‘real’ film stars today. Writing with clarity on complex new revelations, this revisionary cultural history is an invaluable addition to the study of stardom at the start of the 20th century and a vital tool to understanding the use of star personas through time.
Olympia Downing, Taylor
2012, 2017, 2019-07-25, 2012-02-13
eBook
Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia (1938) is one of the most controversial films ever made. Capitalising on the success of Triumph of the Will (1935), her propaganda film for the Nazi Party, Riefenstahl ...secured Hitler's approval for her grandiose plans to film the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The result was a work as notorious for its politics as celebrated for its aesthetic power. This revised edition includes new material on Riefenstahl's film-making career before Olympia and her close relationship with Hitler. Taylor Downing also discusses newly-available evidence on the background to the film's production that conclusively proves that the film was directly commissioned by Hitler and funded through Goebbels's Ministry of Propaganda and not, as Riefenstahl later claimed, commissioned independently from the Nazi state by the Olympic authorities. In writing this edition, Taylor Downing has been given access to a magnificent new restoration of the original version of the film by the International Olympic Committee.
Offering a fresh perspective on The General, arguably one of the most successful American films of the silent era, this insightful text analyses its initial critical reception and the thematic and ...stylistic characteristics of the film that made it difficult for critics to appreciate at the time, but led to its celebration by later generations.
Revolution and Rebellion in Mexican Film examines Mexican films of political conflict from the early studio Revolutionary films of the 1930-50s up to the campaigning Zapatista films of the 2000s. ...Mapping this evolution out for the first time, the author takes three key events under consideration: the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920); the student movement and massacre in 1968; and, finally, the more recent Zapatista Rebellion (1994-present). Analyzing films such as Vamanos con Pancho Villa (1936), El Grito (1968), and Corazon del Tiempo (2008), the author uses the term ‘political conflict’ to refer to those violent disturbances, dramatic periods of confrontation, injury and death, which characterize particular historical events involving state and non-state actors that may have a finite duration, but have a long-lasting legacy on the nation. These conflicts have been an important component of Mexican film since its inception and include studio productions, documentaries, and independent films.
The Decade of the Great War critically reviews Japan's diplomatic, military, and transnational relations, demonstrating the breadth of Japan's new international relations before and after WWI.
This book illuminates, in the form of a clear, well-paced and student-friendly analytical narrative, the functioning of the European states system in its heyday, the crucial century between the ...defeat of Napoleon in 1814 and the outbreak of the First World War just one hundred years later. In this substantially revised and expanded version of the text, the author has included the results of the latest research, a body of additional information and a number of carefully designed maps that will make the subject even more accessible to readers.
Nurses have always played a vital role in the response to outbreaks of deadly illnesses. The story of Alberta nurses' heroic efforts in the face of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918-19, in the ...absence of public health infrastructure, reminds us of the importance of preparedness. The virus, which accompanied soldiers returning from Europe after the First World War, spread quickly along transportation routes from Eastern Canada to the West. Although many nurses had not yet returned from war service, or were assisting in Halifax following the explosion of 1917, those who were available in Alberta volunteered without hesitation to care for victims of the virus. In the absence of cure, good nursing care was usually the only treatment for the illness. Recognition of the need for planned response to crises, availability of resources and excellent skills and knowledge prompted nursing leaders to lobby the government for a formal public health system and contributed to the organization of professional nursing associations, in the likely event of another global influenza pandemic, nurses may draw upon the lessons of the past as they once again face the complex challenges of a modern health crisis. In Canada in 1918, no central source of advice or control existed that could respond to the evolving crisis. However, as a result of persistent and articulate lobbying by women's groups, the province of Alberta had implemented a fortuitous pre-emptive strategy in 1916, when three nurses were hired to work in the field of public health (RossKerr, 1998). By 1918, a Public Health Nursing Service, comprising four staff nurses, had been established (Ross-Kerr, J.C., 1998). It had been recognized that nurses could provide not only symptomatic relief from the infectious diseases of the day, but also preventive measures and education that would be beneficial to improving the overall health of the Canadian population (Pen- , ney, 1996; Ross-Kerr, 1998). One of the first challenges for these public health nurses would be to find ways to cope with the arrival of influenza in Alberta, where one in 10 would become ill and as many as 4,000 would die (Pettigrew, 1983; Schartner, 1982). With many nurses still overseas, and others assisting with the aftermath of the Halifax disaster, there were few available to organize care efforts at home (McGinnis, 1976; McPherson, 1996). Nurses were urgently called upon, across the country, to offer services to their communities (Penney, 1996; Quiney, 2002). Schools, churches, businesses and other public gathering places were closed by order of the government; teachers and ministers were enlisted to care for the ill (Quiney). Emergency hospitals were quickly established in schools, church halls, hotels, tents and homes - anywhere sick and dying people could be accommodated (Cashman, 1966). Typically, a trained nurse coordinated and directed the care given by retired and practical nurses, Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses and other volunteers, often without the advice or direction of a physician (Poelman, n.d.; Smith, 1919). Once again, the world is faced with the threat of a new influenza pandemic. Recently, the 1918 HlNl virus was reconstructed in the laboratory and its similarity to the modern H5N1 (avian influenza) virus that is affecting poultry and migratory bird populations has been noted (Tumpey et al, 2005). Many authorities predict that mutation of the H5N1 virus may result in sufficient virulence to affect the human population, and that another pandemic is imminent (World Health Organization WHO, 2005a). In September 2004, the Canadian government launched the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and appointed a chief public health officer to lead the new agency in the promotion and protection of the health of Canadians. Surveillance activities are undertaken by the agency, which produces the weekly or biweekly FluWatch report on influenza activity across the country (www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/fluwatch/index.html). The PHAC continues to revise and update the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan (www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cpip-pdpi), a guide to the preparation for and response to the anticipated outbreak of influenza in this country. At an international meeting of health ministers hosted by Canada in October 2005, an agreement was reached that outlined a plan for cooperation among nations in surveillance and other activities associated with the anticipation of a pandemic (Health Canada, 2005). Many challenges will be faced by governments in their attempts to control a contemporary pandemic; for example, it is expected that air travel will hasten the spread of the illness, while reducing the time available to set into motion the response plan (WHO, 2005b). Nevertheless, significant resources are being committed to anticipating the problems and preparing a coordinated and relevant response.
