Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia
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Book Presentation:
Noir. A shadow looms. The blow, a sharp surprise. Waking and sleeping, the fear is with us and cannot be contained. Paranoia.Wheeler Winston Dixon's comprehensive work engages readers in an overview of noir and fatalist film from the mid-twentieth century to the present, ending with a discussion of television, the Internet, and dominant commercial cinema. Beginning with the 1940s classics, Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia moves to the "Red Scare" and other ominous expressions of the 1950s that contradicted an American split-level dream of safety and security. The dark cinema of the 1960s hosted films that reflected the tensions of a society facing a new and, to some, menacing era of social expression. From smaller studio work to the vibrating pulse of today's "click and kill" video games, Dixon boldly addresses the noir artistry that keeps audiences in an ever-consumptive stupor.
About the Author:
Wheeler Winston Dixon is the James Ryan Endowed Professor of Film Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including A Short History of Film (Rutgers University Press).
Press Reviews:
"Wheeler's observations illustrate how paranoia, as constructed through the lens of film noir, proves more relevant than ever. A wonderful addition to the literature on film noir and film genres. Highly recommended."
— Choice
"Displays a true cinephile’s fascination with the gunslingers and femmes fatales of film noir, and the dark, uneasy world they inhabit. Wide-ranging and packed with compelling detail, this work will be an invaluable addition to the bookshelves of fans, academics, and completists alike."
— Mikita Brottman
See the publisher website: Rutgers University Press
Previous edition
Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia (2009)
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
(previous edition)
> From the same author:
A Short History of Film (2018)
by Wheeler Winston Dixon and Gwendolyn Audrey Foster
Subject: History of Cinema
Death of the Moguls (2012)
The End of Classical Hollywood
21st-Century Hollywood (2011)
Movies in the Era of Transformation
by Wheeler Winston Dixon and Gwendolyn Audrey Foster
Subject: Economics
Visions of Paradise (2006)
Images of Eden in the Cinema
Experimental Cinema, The Film Reader (2002)
Dir. Gwendolyn Audrey Foster and Wheeler Winston Dixon
Subject: Genre > Experimental
The Exploding Eye (1997)
A Re-Visionary History of 1960s American Experimental Cinema
Subject: Genre > Experimental
> On a related topic:
Red and the Black (2016)
American Film Noir in the 1950s
Houses of Noir (2013)
Dark Visions from Thirteen Film Studios