With science-fiction movies as part of everyday film culture as stream, DVD or in theaters today, we may forget the humble beginnings of the genre, and with respect to countless technical obstacles of space missions could wonder how films, some almost a century ago, confronted these problems in their times. Paul Meehan’s title stresses “science […]
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Category: B. R. PopCulture
Suzuki Seijun and Postwar Japanese Cinema by William Carroll (2022)
When in 1967 Japanese low-budget director Seijun Suzuki was fired by the Nikkatsu production company, it seemed to be the end of a so far fantastic career in the movies. Between 1956 and 1967 Suzuki made forty films there; some of these were quite successful. While for Nikkatsu Studios, it obviously was just another personnel […]
The Self and Community in Star Trek: Voyager by Susan M. Bernardo (2022)
The three chapters that author Bernardo has created for the book at hand all have their focal point on varying ideas of identity formation, on being either rooted to the past, a memory, in a sense of location, narrative or strong emotional ties – be they human or even Borg in origin. In this Star […]
Soft Electronics: Iconic Retro Designs from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s by Jaro Gielens (2022)
With revolutionary design that met usability, the long sixties left their mark on product design, especially for home appliances and products for everyday use. The many items collected here in Soft Electronics, more than 100, their shape and functionality, notably if considered by their use of bright signal colors such as green, beaming orange, and […]
Marvel Comics Library. Avengers. Vol. 1. 1963–1965 by Kurt Busiek and Kevin Feige (2022)
Merely six months after the last XXL version of the Marvel Comics Library edition – featuring Spiderman – arrived, Taschen is out to surprise us again. This time with an equally massive edition of the most powerful superheroes that joined forces and became THE AVENGERS. Again, the first 20 (!) comic books that feature the […]
To Boldly Stay: Essays on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by Sherry Ginn and Michael G. Cornelius (eds.) ...
When in 1993 the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) aired, it was the beginning of a very unusual show, believed by many Star Trek fans to be the best window into the Federation cosmos. After 176 episodes, set in 2369-2375 and, as such, happening almost simultaneously to the timelines of Star […]
Rock’n’Roll Plays Itself: A Screen History by John Scanlan (2022)
When in the mid-1950s rock’n’roll as both commercial force and incarnation of teenage style invaded the charts and cinema screens, the new category was a bit too much for most common and well-aged (British and American) entertainment shows and representations on screen. In the early days, neither TV nor the film industry would grasp the […]
The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography by Robert Michael Cotter (2021...
No matter how a casting for British Hammer Film Productions – Europe’s epicenter of crude horror and gothic films between the 1950s and 1970s – ended, to be invited in the first place, as an actress, you had to be extremely beautiful with a bosomy figure to remember. And even if those women on the […]
Rural Rhythm: The Story of Old-Time Country Music in 78 Records by Tony Russell (2021)
The label “Old-Time Music” refers to American-made music, instrumental and with vocals, that was performed nationwide in public and privately from roughly the early 1800s until the early 1940s, although it became mostly a regional style in the early 20th century. Those (basically all white) musical groups usually featured string instruments such as mandolins, banjos, […]