Desperately Seeking Susan Video

An original collection of writings almost as diverse as the Material Girl herself, attempting to uncover as many interpretations of Madonna’s appeal as is possible With voices as diverse as Russell Baker, Sandra Bernhard, Art Buchwald, Al Hirschfeld, Camille Paglia, and Andrew Greeley, Desperately Seeking Madonna sheds new light on one of the world’s most famous—and infamous—women. Essays, cartoons, horoscope, tabloid journalism, academic essays, comic book art, a David Letterman top-ten list, and every year’s Rolling Stone polls collected here tell the complete story behind the story of Madonna’s illustrious career. “A fascinating compendium of Madonnathink.”—Vogue

'Brilliant' Mail on Sunday Take a trip back to the era of troubled teens and awesome soundtracks; of Reagan, rap and Ridgemont High; of MTV, VHS and 'Axel F'; of outsiders, lost boys and dead poets; of Bill and Ted, Brooke Shields and the Brat Pack; of three Porky's, two Coreys and one summer when everyone called her Baby . . . Fast Times and Excellent Adventures goes behind the scenes of a genre where cult hits mingled with studio blockbusters, where giants like Spielberg and Coppola rubbed shoulders with baby-faced first-timers and where ambitious future superstars Sean, Demi and Tom all got their big break. Music, comedy and politics - all play a part in the surprisingly complex history of the '80s teen movie. And while the films might have been aimed primarily at adolescents, the best tackle universal issues and remain a magnet to all ages. Time of your life, huh kid? From a late '70s Hollywood in flux to an early '90s indie scene that gave youth cinema a timely reboot, respected film expert James King smartly highlights the personal struggles, the social changes and the boardroom shake-ups that produced an iconic time in movie history.

Madonna has long been accepted as a pop culture icon, but this text postulates a greater cultural importance by analyzing her as a postmodern myth. This work examines how Madonna methodically discovered and constructed herself (often rewriting her past), the nature and extent of her ambition and the means she used to reach her goals. It also details the way in which she organized her own cult (borrowing from the gay community), devised her artistic output, and cunningly targeted different audiences. It also studies the fundamental contradiction--virgin or vamp? saint or prostitute?--that fuels Madonna's career and describes how Madonna reflects today's society, its contradictions and its attitudes toward sexuality and religion.

The first significant collection of new and classic texts on video, bringing together some of the leading international cultural and music critics writing today.

2006 American Book Award, presented by the Before Columbus Foundation Southern Italian emigration to the United States peaked a full century ago—;descendents are now fourth and fifth generation, dispersed from their old industrial neighborhoods, professionalized, and fully integrated into the “melting pot.” Surely the social historians are right: Italian Americans are fading into the twilight of their ethnicity. So, why is the American imagination enthralled by The Sopranos, and other portraits of Italian-ness? Italian American identity, now a mix of history and fantasy, flesh-and-bone people and all-too-familiar caricature, still has something to teach us, including why each of us, as citizens of the U.S. twentieth century and its persisting cultures, are to some extent already Italian. Contending that the media has become the primary vehicle of Italian sensibilities, Ferraro explores a series of books, movies, paintings, and records in ten dramatic vignettes. Featured cultural artifacts run the gamut, from the paintings of Joseph Stella and the music of Frank Sinatra to The Godfather’s enduring popularity and Madonna’s Italian background. In a prose style as vivid as his subjects, Ferraro fashions a sardonic love song to the art and iconography of Italian America.

There are two ages in the history of television: before HBO and after HBO. Before the launch of Home Box Office in 1972, the industry had changed little since the birth of broadcast network television in the late 1940s. The arrival of the premium cable channel began a revolution in the business and programming of TV. For the generation that has grown up with the vast array of viewing choices available today, it is almost inconceivable that our ever-expanding media universe began with a few hours of unimpressive programming on a single cable channel. Written by an insider, this is the story of HBO's reconfiguration of television and the company's continual reinvention of itself in a competitive and dynamic industry.

This collection of essays examines how New York and Los Angeles are depicted in noir and neo-noir films from the 1940s through the 21st century. These essays consider how the architectural sights and city sounds inform such films as Cotton Comes to Harlem, Drive, Kiss of Death, Naked City, and Nightcrawler, among others.