Wa l l f l o w e r P r e s s
They Live
D. Harlan Wilson
F o r S a l e Th r o u g h o u t t h e W o r l d
Born out of the cultural flamboyance and anxiety of the 1980s, They Live (1988) is a hallmark of John Carpenter’s singular canon, combining the aesthetics of multiple genres and leveling an attack against the politics of Reaganism and the Cold War. The decision to cast the professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as his protagonist gave Carpenter the additional means to comment on the hypermasculine attitudes and codes indicative of the era. This study traces the development of They Live from its comic book roots to its legacy as a cult masterpiece while evaluating the film in light of the paranoid/postmodern theory that matured in the decidedly “Big 80s.” Directed by a reluctant auteur, the film is examined as a complex work of metafiction that calls attention to the nature of cinematic production and reception as well as the dynamics of the cult landscape. D. Harlan Wilson
is a professor of English at Wright
Latin Hitchcock
How Almodóvar, Amenábar, de la Iglesia, del Toro, and Campanella Became Notorious Dona Kercher
This study explores how five major directors—Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar, Alex de la Iglesia, Guillermo del Toro, and Juan José Campanella—modeled their early careers on Hitchcock and his film aesthetics. In shadowing Hitchcock, their works embraced the global aspirations his movies epitomize. Each section of the book begins with an extensive study, based on newspaper accounts, of the original reception of Hitchcock’s movies in either Spain or Latin America and how local preferences for genre, glamour, moral issues, and humor affected their success. The text brings a new approach to world film history, showcasing both the commercial and artistic importance of Hitchcock in Spain and Latin America. Dona Kercher
is professor of Spanish and film and direc-
tor of the women’s studies program at Assumption College
State University.
in Worcester, Massachusetts.
$15.00* / £10.50 paper 978-0-231-17211-0 $14.99 / £10.50 ebook 978-0-231-85074-2 DE c e m b e r 128 pages
$27.00* / £18.50 paper 978-0-231-17209-7 $80.00 / £55.00 cloth 978-0-231-17208-0 $26.99 / £18.50 ebook 978-0-231-85073-5
film studies
F e b r u a r y 240 pages
C ulto graphies
film studies
All Rights: Columbia University Press
All Rights: Columbia University Press
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