Straight Out Of Brooklyn

This book details the author’s Italian-American beginnings in the New York of the 1950s and the profound effect that his extended, working-class family has had on his life. So great has this effect been that, as the author ages, he finds he thinks less of the momentous history through which he has lived, or of the intellectual life he has enjoyed, than of some things far more permanent, profound, and primordial: the people and places he knew as a youth, and that knew him; the baseball he played, the movies he loved (and the movie stars he spotted), the teachers he revered; the English his family learned as well as the Italian he unlearned, or lost in translation; the Mafiosi he met and marked; and the religion of his youth that he abandoned, yet that did not abandon him. Cardullo knows that he can’t go home again: all he can really do is think about it, which he does so eloquently in Straight Out of Brooklyn.

First Published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Brooklyn, New York, a borough of New York City, is known for its distinctive vernacular, its communal feel on the fringes of a booming city, and its famous bridge, a gateway to the unlimited opportunities in Manhattan. Of course, Coney Island deserves a mention as it garners its own fame independent of Brooklyn, its parent locale. New York City moviemaking got its start in Brooklyn when Charles E. Chinnock shot his silent film in 1894. Since then, many films have been made, studios opened and stars born in Brooklyn, contributing to its undeniable influence in the film industry. This work is a collection of essays on the topic of Brooklyn as portrayed in film. It includes a discussion of race relations in films dealing with Brooklyn, the story of Jackie Robinson as shown on film, the changing face of cinematic Brooklyn and some thoughts on a Brooklyn filmgoer's experience. The combination of Brooklyn and baseball in the films of Paul Auster is examined, as well as the typical portrayal of a Brooklyn native in film.

"An evocative, heartfelt rendering of the American home front in 1943, and the coming-of-age of a wife and husband at a time when young people unquestioningly took on expected adult roles, only later to struggle with issues of identity and individual desire. Flying Out of Brooklyn reminds us that simpler times were not necessarily easier times." -Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander and Paint It Black "Flying Out of Brooklyn shines a light on the often neglected home front during World War II. It is spare, fast-paced, and illuminating." -Denise Nicholas, author of the award-winning novel Freshwater Road The world is at war during the sweltering summer of 1943, and on the American home front, Judith Weissman feels trapped by her mundane office job, her lackluster marriage, and the gossipy neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But when her upstairs neighbor unexpectedly takes a step off her fifth-floor fire escape and plunges to her death, Judith suddenly realizes how short life really is-and how much she wants to change it. Judith crosses paths with an old crush from school, returning wounded war hero Bobby Levitt, and she suddenly and desperately wants to regain her romantic dreams. But Bobby has been changed by the war, his injuries, and a guilty secret that tortures and embitters him. In the midst of their passionate affair, Judith questions her identity and her role in this war-torn world and soon realizes that nothing and no one will ever be the same again.

With high-profile Academy Award nominations and an increasing number of big-name actors eager to sign on to promising projects, independent films have been at the forefront in recent years like never before. But the roots of such critical and commercial successes as The Hurt Locker and Precious can be traced to the first boom of independent cinema in the 1960s, when a raft of talented filmmakers emergedto capture the attention of a rapidly growing audience of young viewers. A thorough overview of a thriving area of cultural life, Directory of World Cinema: American Independent chronicles the rise of the independent sector as an outlet for directors who challenge the status quo, yet still produce accessible feature films that not only find wide audiences but enjoy considerable box office appeal—without sacrificing critical legitimacy. Key directors are interviewed and profiled, and a sizeable selection of films are referenced and reviewed. More than a dozen sub-genres—including African American cinema, queer cinema, documentary, familial dysfunction, and exploitation—are individually considered, with an emphasis on their ability to engage with tensions inherent in American society. Copious illustrations and a range of research resources round out the volume, making this a truly comprehensive guide. At a time when independent films are enjoying considerable cultural cachet, this easy-to-use yet authoritative guide will find an eager audience in media historians, film studies scholars, and movie buffs alike.

The voices of Brooklyn: “I’m a Brooklyn guy, it’s in my bones and it’s there in Brooklyn. There’s a certain rhythm you get growing up there. Every Brooklyn kid has it. Always on the right beat. The Bronx, no; Queens, you were out of it; but Brooklyn, that was it.” —Mel Brooks, Williamsburg “Everyone got along because we had one major thing that held everyone in Brooklyn…together: the emergence of big-time sports that happened after World War I. You could be an Irishman, an Italian, and a Jew and you could all be in Ebbets Field, sitting together, rooting for the Dodgers.” —Pete Hamill, Park Slope “I never really saw anyplace in the world as a kid except Brooklyn, so to me Brooklyn was the world. Every avenue was another country. It was a rough place, to be sure. You could say the wrong thing, make the wrong turn and be rubbed or killed, and I guess I was lucky because I had a talent that enabled me to get out . . . A part of me will always be that kid shooting hoops, with a dream in my hand as much as a basketball.” —Stephon Marbury, Coney Island “Both my parents were hard, hands-on workers, and that was the foundation of everything for me. Their work ethic was just over the top, and as a result of that I worked hard no matter what level job I had in the media. I was that tough Brooklyn girl pushing my way to the front, which eventually became the top. I was never afraid of hard work; I was always a go-getter, and that was something that came directly out of being born in Brooklyn. I cherish that, as I cherish my entire upbringing in Brooklyn.” —Maria Bartiromo, Bay Ridge A captivating oral portrait of America's favorite borough, in the words of those who know Brooklyn best—Mel Brooks, Spike Lee, Arthur Miller, Joan Rivers, Norman Mailer, Cousin Brucie, Maria Bartiromo, Pete Hamill, and many other current and former inhabitants. Song of Brooklyn gathers the oral testimony of nearly one hundred Brooklynites past and present, famous and unknown, about a mythic borough that is also an indisputably real place. These witnesses speak eloquently of what it was like back then, when the Dodgers played in Ebbets Field; later, when the borough fell on hard times; and now, when it has come roaring back on the tracks of a real-estate boom, giving it celebrity chic and hipster cred. With this surprising and inspiring renaissance in full swing, the story of Brooklyn is one of the great and still ongoing chapters of the American urban experience, and Song of Brooklyn sings that tune in pitch-perfect key.

This book is about what movies do for us. It is about how movies exhibit the contradictions, truths, and fantasies surrounding our bedrock American beliefs in things held sacred, including, in this case, our creed of family. It is about why we again and again attend the dark universal tabernacles in which these sermons are offered. The depth of analysis offered here will also bring new insights to those concerned with parenting issues, self understanding, and media consciousness - all increasingly relevant areas of concern in contemporary life. And, for those interested in telling stories that will truly "move" the rest of us, this book will serve as a secret doorway to the inner sanctum of human characters responding to the places and times of their lives. Finally, this book will bring revelation and liberation to reader's lives by showing them how to look through movies into themselves as they have never done before. In the specific examples of archetypal life journeys illuminated through these films, they will experience empathy with the ineffability of their existence. And, in transubstantiating with these movie characters amidst history, culture, and family, they will journey through their own conundrums in arcs that bring them moments of at-one-ment.

The villain called Ultimatum is here - and New York doesn't know what hit it! But while chasing this mysterious man from a mysterious place, Miles Morales finds himself in a very awkward situation involving his uncle. And when something huge happens, the young Spider-Man is faced with a dilemma that could threaten everything he holds dear! Caught in the middle of a war between Ultimatum and the old guard, Miles is about to cross paths with a monumental, classic Spidey villain - and the lives of more than one Morales are on the line! Plus, it's thirteen miles from Washington Heights to Brooklyn, and Miles' uncle Aaron is a wanted man. Racing against the clock and out of web-fluid - with only their wits and their fists, can Spider-Man and the Prowler make it home? COLLECTING: MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN (2018) 11-16