This book analyzes the evolution of film and television comedy from the 1930s through the present, defining five distinct periods and discussing the dominant comedic trends of each. Chapters cover the period spanning 1934 to 1942, defined by screwball comedies that offered distraction from the Great Depression; the suspense comedy, reflecting America's darker worldview during World War II; the 1950s battle-of-the-sexes comedy; the shift from the physical, exaggerated comedy of the 1950s to more realistic plotlines; and the new suspense comedy of the 1970s and 1980s, focusing on the popular "dumb cop" or "dumb spy" series along with modern remakes including 2006's The Pink Panther and 2008's Get Smart.

Examine crucial issues for audiovisual cataloging-from a variety of perspectives! This vital book addresses both current and historic issues related to audiovisual materials and cataloging. It covers the current cataloging rules for sound recordings (popular music and nonmusic recordings), videorecordings (including DVDs), electronic resources (whether accessed locally or remotely), three-dimensional objects and realia, and kits. Three historical articles chronicle the history of audiovisual catalog in general, the history of cataloging computer files, and the history of The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials. A section on audiovisual materials and subject access issues includes a chapter which proposes form/genre terms for moving-image materials and a special library’s creation and use of a new thesaurus and its availability to assist online catalog users. Finally, four contributions examine audiovisual materials and cataloging from the perspectives of different library types: school, public, academic, and special. The Audiovisual Cataloging Current provides case studies that show: how the National Library of Medicine produces, collects, and catalogs non-print materials the differences between the Moving Image Genre-Form Guide and Library of Congress Subject Headings, with recommendations for improving LCSH as a tool and an exhaustive list of LCSH terms how libraries and organized cataloging groups developed the Chapter 9 descriptive cataloging rules in AACR2 how the Westchester Library System created a user-friendly online catalog for audiovisual materials how the Illinois Fire Service Library improved firefighters’subject access to nonprint fire emergency materials how the National Library of Medicine promotes audiovisual formats and much more!

American silent film comedies were dominated by sight gags, stunts and comic violence. With the advent of sound, comedies in the 1930s were a riot of runaway heiresses and fast-talking screwballs. It was more than a technological pivot--the first feature-length sound film, The Jazz Singer (1927), changed Hollywood. Lost in the discussion of that transition is the overlap between the two genres. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd kept slapstick alive well into the sound era. Screwball directors like Leo McCarey, Frank Capra and Ernst Lubitsch got their starts in silent comedy. From Chaplin's tramp to the witty repartee of His Girl Friday (1940), this book chronicles the rise of silent comedy and its evolution into screwball--two flavors of the same genre--through the works of Mack Sennett, Roscoe Arbuckle, Harry Langdon and others.

How does comedy in film attempt cultural criticism? How does cinema use its own visual technology to reflect on and critique its power within both politics and visual culture? Comedy and Cultural Critique in American Film addresses these questions in detail as it argues for the centrality of comedy in film as a means of staging cultural criticism. Focusing on the powerful and sustained shifts in visual culture that cinema helped to generate, foster and question in the twentieth century, it examines the issues of technology that allow film comedies to engage in self-reflexive cultural criticism and to produce and critique the use of visual technology within US and global cultural politics. Grounded in the theoretical writings of thinkers such as Jean Baudrillard, Paul Virilio, Friedrich Kittler and Jacques Derrida in relation to repetition, automation, material systems of information media, the level of address in a communicative act, and the shifting role of the image, this book considers comedy as integral for a critical engagement of the constructs of culture. It brings a new perspective to comedy in film, invaluable to students and scholars in Film Studies.

A Companion to Popular Culture is a landmark survey of contemporary research in popular culture studies that offers a comprehensive and engaging introduction to the field. Includes over two dozen essays covering the spectrum of popular culture studies from food to folklore and from TV to technology Features contributions from established and up-and-coming scholars from a range of disciplines Offers a detailed history of the study of popular culture Balances new perspectives on the politics of culture with in-depth analysis of topics at the forefront of popular culture studies

Create the healthy life you desire, whatever your age! Wellbeing educator and speaker Janni Goss shares decades worth of experience and expertise in outsmarting stress and improving health and wellbeing. Wisdom comes with age, knowledge is power and freedom provides choice. If you are serious about achieving a long, healthy life, this book will guide you to improve with age. Take responsibility for your health and wellbeing to increase your enjoyment of life and improve your chances of healthy longevity. You will discover:- The art and science of wellbeing- Why laughter is the best medicine and how to enjoy more of it- How positive emotions - love, gratitude, kindness and optimis, contribute to longevity- Why you need to take responsibility for your health and wellbeing and to respect, love and nurture body, mind and spirit- How chronic stress can harm your health and wellbeing - learn to outsmart stress and calm your nervous system- Top tips for longevity from the centenarians of the blue zones- Essential things to avoid to enjoy healthy longevity Start your journey to healthy longevity today!

The image of a heavily pregnant woman, once considered ugly and indecent, is now common to Hollywood film. No longer is pregnancy a repulsive of shameful condition, but an attractive attribute, often enhancing the romantic or comedic storyline of a female protagonist. Kelly Oliver investigates this curious shift and its reflection of changing attitudes toward women's roles in reproduction and the family.