What's McFarland, the North Carolina publisher of scholarly (and invaluable...) reference books got up its exquisite sleeve (and in the works) for the first month of 2006?
I checked out the company's release schedule, and here's a few of their film/TV oriented titles:
Masculinity in the Interracial Buddy Film
I checked out the company's release schedule, and here's a few of their film/TV oriented titles:
Masculinity in the Interracial Buddy Film-by Melvin Donalson
Feature films function as a keeper of America’s collective conscience—a repository of fears, guilt, and hopes. “Buddy films” about men of different races depict a world where a peaceful balance is possible and conflicts can be resolved. Since the 1930s these films have presented various forms of masculinity, reflecting dominant mainstream social traditions, images of men and manhood within the culture.Interracial buddy films include such examples as the Silver Streak, 48 Hrs, Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon and The Shawshank Redemption. Many of these films have been made into franchises, furthering their cultural importance as filmic versions of interracial equality.This critical study analyzes the idealized interracial relationships, the heterosexual masculine roles within the films and the appearances of this kind of film in various genres. The book is arranged in six major chapters, each focusing upon a particular era in the development of the interracial buddy film. The book also examines the film sequel as a validation of the enduring significance of interracial interaction. The scope of the work is not limited to Caucasian/African-American pairings. Films with a myriad of racial and ethnic combinations are also analyzed, such as Tin Cup, Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon and Ocean’s Eleven.
Science Fiction America
- Edited by David Hogan
- http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?isbn=0-7864-2149-5
From the inception of the science fiction film, writers, directors, producers, and actors have understood that the genre lends itself to a level of social commentary not available in other formats. Viewers find it easier to accept explorations of such issues as domestic violence, war, xenophobia, faith, identity, racism, and other difficult topics when the protagonists exist in future times or other worlds that are only vaguely similar to our own.The 22 original essays in this collection examine how the issues in particular science fiction films—from 1930’s High Treason to 1999’s The Iron Giant—reflect and comment on the prevailing issues of their time. The 16 writers (including such noted contributors as Ted Okuda, Gary Don Rhodes, Bryan Senn, John Soister and Ken Weiss) provide insight on how the genre’s wistful daydreaming, forthcoming wonders, and nightmarish scenarios are often grounded in the grimmer realities of the human condition. Films covered include It Came from Outer Space, Godzilla, The 27th Day, Alien and Starship Troopers, plus television’s The Adventures of Superman, the Flash Gordon serials, and vintage space cartoons by Fleischer.
From the inception of the science fiction film, writers, directors, producers, and actors have understood that the genre lends itself to a level of social commentary not available in other formats. Viewers find it easier to accept explorations of such issues as domestic violence, war, xenophobia, faith, identity, racism, and other difficult topics when the protagonists exist in future times or other worlds that are only vaguely similar to our own.The 22 original essays in this collection examine how the issues in particular science fiction films—from 1930’s High Treason to 1999’s The Iron Giant—reflect and comment on the prevailing issues of their time. The 16 writers (including such noted contributors as Ted Okuda, Gary Don Rhodes, Bryan Senn, John Soister and Ken Weiss) provide insight on how the genre’s wistful daydreaming, forthcoming wonders, and nightmarish scenarios are often grounded in the grimmer realities of the human condition. Films covered include It Came from Outer Space, Godzilla, The 27th Day, Alien and Starship Troopers, plus television’s The Adventures of Superman, the Flash Gordon serials, and vintage space cartoons by Fleischer.
Television Characters
- By Vincent Terrace
Did you know that Alice Kramden’s (The Honeymooners) first job was as a jelly donut stuffer—and that she was then promoted to donut taster? Or that John Robinson (Lost in Space) was a professor at the University of Stellar Dynamics and that his daughter Penny had an IQ of 147? How about the fact that Sam Malone (Cheers) graduated from Boston Prep School and then was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (jersey number 16) before he bought the bar where everybody knows your name?Highly detailed biographical information on 1,485 television characters who appeared on the small screen from 1947 through 2004 is provided in this extensive reference work (there are over 200,000 facts). Characters are arranged by first name and entries provide such information as full character names, years and place of birth, education, home address, marital status, jobs and much more. The broad range of characters is primarily from prime time network, cable and syndicated series. There is a performer’s index and an appendix for characters by series and for characters by last name.The Biology of Science Fiction Cinema
- By Mark C. Glassy
Science fiction films of the 1930s and 1940s were often set in dark laboratories that had strange looking glass containers with bubbling fluids and mad scientists conducting glandular and hormonal experiments. In the 1950s, films were more focused on radiation induced mutations. The 1960s and 1970s brought more sophisticated biological sciences to the movies and focused on such relatively new concepts as immunology, cyrobiology, and biochemistry. In the 1980s and 1990s, the focus of science fiction films has been DNA. This work of film criticism relates 71 science fiction films to the biological sciences. The author covers cell biology, pharmacology, endocrinology, hematology, and entomology, to name just a few topics. An analysis of each film includes a brief plot synopsis, the author’s favorite quotations, the biological principles involved, the accuracy of the laboratory, and correct and incorrect biological information. In his analyses, the author sets out what would be required to achieve in real life the results seen in the movies and whether these experiments or events could actually happen. 
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