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The Hollywood Family Film
A History, from Shirley Temple to Harry Potter
by Noel Brown
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Book Presentation:
The Hollywood family film is one of the most popular, commercially-successful and culturally significant forms of mass entertainment. This book is the first in-depth history of the Hollywood family film, tracing its development from its beginnings in the 1930s to its global box-office dominance today. Noel Brown shows how, far from being an innocuous amusement for children, the family film has always been intended for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. He tells the story of how Hollywood's ongoing preoccupation with breaking down the barriers that divide audiences has resulted in some of the most successful and enduring films in the history of popular cinema. Drawing on multiple sources and with close analysis of a broad range of films, from such classics as Little Women, Meet me in St Louis, King Kong and Mary Poppins to such modern family blockbusters as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Toy Story, this timely book underlines the immense cultural and commercial importance of this neglected genre.
About the Author:
Noel Brown lectures in film and media at Liverpool Hope University. His books include The Hollywood Family Film: A History, from Shirley Temple to Harry Potter (I.B. Tauris, 2012), British Children's Cinema: From The Thief of Bagdad to Wallace and Gromit (I.B. Tauris, 2016) and The Children's Film: Genre, Nation and Narrative (Columbia University Press, 2017).
Press Reviews:
'A convincing and precious book for scholars in film history, film economics, audience studies and text analysis. Hopefully, it could be the starting point for further research in this field.' - The Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
'Careful, scholarly, groundbreaking research... As the first full-length study of a major mode of production which now accounts for the lion's share of Hollywood's profits, Noel Brown's book fills an important gap in film history and scholarship.' - Screening the Past
'Thorough, perceptive... [Written] with energy and skill.' - Times Literary Supplement
'A comprehensive overview of an important American cinematic subgenre... Written in an engaging and accessible style, with numerous illustrations, this book is an excellent one-stop history of Hollywood's vision of the American family with all its hopes, fears, and desires. Summing Up: Highly recommended.' - Choice
See the publisher website: I.B.Tauris
> From the same author:
Contemporary Hollywood Animation (2023)
Style, Storytelling, Culture and Ideology Since the 1990s
by Noel Brown
British Children's Cinema (2021)
From the Thief of Bagdad to Wallace and Gromit
by Noel Brown
Subject: Countries > Great Britain
Toy Story (2019)
How Pixar Reinvented the Animated Feature
Dir. Susan Smith, Noel Brown and Sam Summers
The Children's Film (2017)
Genre, Nation, and Narrative
by Noel Brown
Subject: On Films > Film selections
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