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Wadsworth Books on America Since 1945
Celluloid Mirrors: Hollywood and American Society Since 1945
CELLULOID MIRRORS is an exciting new survey of major developments in American filmmaking since 1945. Coverage includes changes in film content, alterations in the business structure of Hollywood, shifts in theater design, the impact of television, and Hollywood's enduring mystique. This supplement is appropriate for a variety of courses, including American History Survey courses, Modern America History courses, American Cultural History, Film History, and Popular Culture.
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 1996
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About the author
Ronald L. Davis
53 books3 followersRonald L. Davis is professor of history emeritus at Southern Methodist University (SMU) where he served as director of the university's DeGolyer Institute for American Studies and the Oral History Program.
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July 12, 2020
About halfway through Celluloid Mirrors, I was ready to give it at least four stars. I was learning a lot about the dissolution of the Hollywood system and how that changed movies, and I was enjoying the ride. But I think Celluloid Mirrors has a few major flaws.
1. It relegates women and people of color in film to exactly two sections in two different chapters titled Attention to Minority(ies), which feels more insulting than helpful. I understand this book was an overview, but I still wanted more here.
2. It is not well sourced. I found at least two errors myself, and I'm sure someone else could find more. There is some leeway for a book published in 1997 (making literally as old as I am), but not that much.
3. God, literally all of Ch. 8. There's so much "diagnosing" and hand-wringing over modern moviegoing society (aka the moviegoers of the late 1990s) without that much evidence or support. I honestly could not stand it.
1. It relegates women and people of color in film to exactly two sections in two different chapters titled Attention to Minority(ies), which feels more insulting than helpful. I understand this book was an overview, but I still wanted more here.
2. It is not well sourced. I found at least two errors myself, and I'm sure someone else could find more. There is some leeway for a book published in 1997 (making literally as old as I am), but not that much.
3. God, literally all of Ch. 8. There's so much "diagnosing" and hand-wringing over modern moviegoing society (aka the moviegoers of the late 1990s) without that much evidence or support. I honestly could not stand it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review