Roberta E. Pearson's Books

Reframing Culture

The Case of the Vitagraph Quality Films

By: William Uricchio,Roberta E. Pearson

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Reframing Culture

The Case of the Vitagraph Quality Films

By: William Uricchio,Roberta E. Pearson

The works of Shakespeare and Dante or the figures of George Washington and Moses do not often enter into popular conceptions of the silent cinema, yet, between 1907 and 1910, the Vitagraph Company frequently used such material in producing "quality" films that promulgated "respectable" culture. William Uricchio and Roberta Pearson situate these films in an era of immigration, labor unrest, and mainstream American xenophobia, in order to explore the cultural views promoted by the films and the ways the audiences--the middle classes as well as workers and immigrants--related to what they saw. The authors associate the production of quality films with a top-down forging of cultural consensus on issues such as patriotism and morality, and reveal the surprising bottom-up negotiations of these films' "meanings.". Devoting chapters to the literary, historical, and biblical subjects used by Vitagraph, this book draws upon plays, pageants, school textbooks, and even product advertisements to illuminate the conditions of cinematic production and reception. It provides a detailed look at one aspect of the film industry's transformation from "despised cheap amusement" to the nation's dominant mass medium, while showing how cultural elites engaged in a struggle similar to that of today's American academy over the literary canon and national value systems. Originally published in 1993. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

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Page Count

267

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Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1400863635

ISBN 13

9781400863631

Eloquent Gestures

The Transformation of Performance Style in the Griffith Biograph Films

By: Roberta E. Pearson

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Eloquent Gestures

The Transformation of Performance Style in the Griffith Biograph Films

By: Roberta E. Pearson

Pearson writes beautifully, clearly, and entertainingly (with a touch of sardonic sarcasm here and there). This is the single best work centering on performance in film that I have read."--Thomas Gunning, author of D. W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film

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Page Count

208

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Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520073657

ISBN 13

9780520073654

Star Trek and American Television

By: Roberta Pearson,Máire Messenger Davies

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Star Trek and American Television

By: Roberta Pearson,Máire Messenger Davies

At the heart of one of the most successful transmedia franchises of all time, Star Trek, lies an initially unsuccessful 1960s television production, Star Trek: The Original Series. In Star Trek and American Television, Pearson and Messenger Davies, take their cue from the words of the program’s first captain, William Shatner, in an interview with the authors: “It’s a television show.” In focusing on Star Trek as a television show, the authors argue that the program has to be seen in the context of the changing economic conditions of American television throughout the more than four decades of Star Trek’s existence as a transmedia phenomenon that includes several films as well as the various television series. The book is organized into three sections, dealing with firstly, the context of production, the history and economics of Star Trek from the original series (1966-1969) to its final television incarnation in Enterprise (2002-2005). Secondly, it focuses on the interrelationships between different levels of production and production workers, drawing on uniquely original material, including interviews with star captains William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart, and with production workers ranging from set-builders to executive producers, to examine the tensions between commercial constraints and creative autonomy. These interviews were primarily carried out in Hollywood during the making of the film Nemesis (2002) and the first series of Star Trek: Enterprise. Thirdly, the authors employ textual analysis to study the narrative “storyworld” of the Star Trek television corpus and also to discuss the concept and importance of character in television drama. The book is a deft historical and critical study that is bound to appeal to television and media studies scholars, students, and Star Trek fans the world over. With a foreword by Sir Patrick Stewart, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Page Count

254

Publisher

Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520276221

ISBN 13

9780520276222

Eloquent Gestures

The Transformation of Performance Style in the Griffith Biograph Films

By: Roberta Pearson

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Eloquent Gestures

The Transformation of Performance Style in the Griffith Biograph Films

By: Roberta Pearson

Pearson writes beautifully, clearly, and entertainingly (with a touch of sardonic sarcasm here and there). This is the single best work centering on performance in film that I have read."—Thomas Gunning, author of D. W. Griffith and the Origins of American Narrative Film

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Page Count

200

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Univ of California Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0520073665

ISBN 13

9780520073661

Cult Television

By: Sara Gwenllian-Jones,Roberta E. Pearson

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Cult Television

By: Sara Gwenllian-Jones,Roberta E. Pearson

A television series is tagged with the label "cult" by the media, advertisers, and network executives when it is considered edgy or offbeat, when it appeals to nostalgia, or when it is considered emblematic of a particular subculture. By these criteria, almost any series could be described as cult. Yet certain programs exert an uncanny power over their fans, encouraging them to immerse themselves within a fictional world. In Cult Television leading scholars examine such shows as The X-Files; The Avengers; Doctor Who, Babylon Five; Star Trek; Xena, Warrior Princess; and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to determine the defining characteristics of cult television and map the contours of this phenomenon within the larger scope of popular culture. Contributors: Karen Backstein; David A. Black, Seton Hall U; Mary Hammond, Open U; Nathan Hunt, U of Nottingham; Mark Jancovich; Petra Kuppers, Bryant College; Philippe Le Guern, U of Angers, France; Alan McKee; Toby Miller, New York U; Jeffrey Sconce, Northwestern U; Eva Vieth Sara Gwenllian-Jones is a lecturer in television and digital media at Cardiff University and co-editor of Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media. Roberta E. Pearson is a reader in media and cultural studies at Cardiff University. She is the author of the forthcoming book Small Screen, Big Universe: Star Trek and Television.

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Page Count

344

Publisher

U of Minnesota Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0816638306

ISBN 13

9780816638307

Book's by Roberta E. Pearson

Reframing Culture

Reframing Culture

Eloquent Gestures

Eloquent Gestures

Star Trek and American Television

Star Trek and American Television

Eloquent Gestures

Eloquent Gestures

Cult Television

Cult Television

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