Action cinema is a popular and familiar form which reflects the cultural, industrial and historical landscape from which it emerges. Lisa Purse analyses the genre's pleasures and complexities in the light of both its cinematic history and the latest critical debates. Focussing on action cinema of the 2000s, this book explores issues of visual style, narrative, representation and the various contexts of production through a diverse series of case studies including Avatar (2009), Casino Royale (2006), The Hurt Locker (2008) and Banlieue 13 (2004).Providing a groundbreaking account of the way that the spectator engages with the action body and the action narrative, and including analyses of areas of representation that have seldom received sustained attention in the past, this comprehensive study is the perfect companion to modern action cinema.Key Features* Provides wide-ranging analyses and interpretation of action cinema* Discusses representations of heroism, gender and ethnicity* Explores the spectator's embodied engagement with the action film* Examines the effect of 9/11 and changes in US foreign policy
eBook - PDF
Contemporary Action Cinema
About this book
Trusted by 375,005 students
Access to over 1 million titles for a fair monthly price.
Study more efficiently using our study tools.
Information
36
contemporary
action
cinema
notes
1.
For
example,
see
Schatz
1993
,
Wyatt
1994
,
Gross
2000
,
Dixon
2001
and
Sobchack
2006
.
2.
See
Geoff
King,
who
argues
that
claims
about
spectacle
replacing
narrative
are
‘often
based
on
an
exaggerated
assumption
of
the
extent
to
which
Hollywood
movies
were
ever
dominated
by
a
commitment
to
classical
narrative
norms’
(italics
in
original)
(King
2002
:
180
).
See
also
Gunning
2000
and
Neale
2000
.
3.
The
cat’s
presence
in
the
scene
is
interesting.
Even
a
trained
cat
could
not
perform
(or
indeed
stay
still)
in
the
midst
of
a
building
collapse
achieved
with
practical
effects
(given
the
fright-inducingly
loud
explosions
and
falling
objects
that
that
would
involve),
so
the
cat’s
apparent
interaction
with
other
scenic
elements
is
clearly
constructed
in
post-
production.
Aside
from
introducing
a
comic
element
and
perhaps
also
emphasising
the
fragility
of
animate
forms
when
faced
with
the
onslaught
of
debris
from
the
disintegrating
house,
then,
the
cat’s
purpose
seems
to
be
to
point
reflexively
to
the
presence
and
skill
of
the
digital
compositing
in
the
sequence.
4.
Sarah
Street
ascribes
a
similar
function
to
spectacular
costuming
in
The
Matrix
,
in
that
the
‘spectacular
garments
convince
us
that
the
characters
are
capable
of
undermining
the
Matrix’
(Street
2001
:
99
).
Table of contents
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: ‘Where are we, and how did we get here?’
- Chapter 1 Narrative and the action film
- Chapter 2 The action body
- Chapter 3 The action sequence
- Chapter 4 Action women
- Chapter 5 Action men
- Chapter 6 Race in the action film
- Chapter 7 Homosexuality in the action film
- Chapter 8 Action cinema after 9/11
- Chapter 9 The ‘European connection’
- Afterword
- Bibliography
- Filmography
- Television Series
- Index
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn how to download books offline
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 990+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn about our mission
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more about Read Aloud
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS and Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app
Yes, you can access Contemporary Action Cinema by Lisa Purse in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Mezzi di comunicazione e arti performative & Film e video. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.