Nightmare Alley

Film Noir and the American Dream

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Film, History & Criticism, Performing Arts
Cover of the book Nightmare Alley by Mark Osteen, Johns Hopkins University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mark Osteen ISBN: 9781421408323
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Publication: January 30, 2013
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Mark Osteen
ISBN: 9781421408323
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication: January 30, 2013
Imprint:
Language: English

Desperate young lovers on the lam (They Live by Night), a cynical con man making a fortune as a mentalist (Nightmare Alley), a penniless pregnant girl mistaken for a wealthy heiress (No Man of Her Own), a wounded veteran who has forgotten his own name (Somewhere in the Night)—this gallery of film noir characters challenges the stereotypes of the wise-cracking detective and the alluring femme fatale. Despite their differences, they all have something in common: a belief in self-reinvention. Nightmare Alley is a thorough examination of how film noir disputes this notion at the heart of the American Dream.

Central to many of these films, Mark Osteen argues, is the story of an individual trying, by dint of hard work or, more often, illicit enterprises, to overcome his or her origins and achieve material success. In the wake of World War II, the noir genre tested the dream of upward mobility and the ideas of individualism, liberty, equality, and free enterprise that accompany it.

Employing an impressive array of theoretical perspectives (including psychoanalysis, art history, feminism, and music theory) and combining close reading with original primary source research, Nightmare Alley proves both the diversity of classic noir and its potency. This provocative and wide-ranging study revises and refreshes our understanding of noir's characters, themes, and cultural significance.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Desperate young lovers on the lam (They Live by Night), a cynical con man making a fortune as a mentalist (Nightmare Alley), a penniless pregnant girl mistaken for a wealthy heiress (No Man of Her Own), a wounded veteran who has forgotten his own name (Somewhere in the Night)—this gallery of film noir characters challenges the stereotypes of the wise-cracking detective and the alluring femme fatale. Despite their differences, they all have something in common: a belief in self-reinvention. Nightmare Alley is a thorough examination of how film noir disputes this notion at the heart of the American Dream.

Central to many of these films, Mark Osteen argues, is the story of an individual trying, by dint of hard work or, more often, illicit enterprises, to overcome his or her origins and achieve material success. In the wake of World War II, the noir genre tested the dream of upward mobility and the ideas of individualism, liberty, equality, and free enterprise that accompany it.

Employing an impressive array of theoretical perspectives (including psychoanalysis, art history, feminism, and music theory) and combining close reading with original primary source research, Nightmare Alley proves both the diversity of classic noir and its potency. This provocative and wide-ranging study revises and refreshes our understanding of noir's characters, themes, and cultural significance.

More books from Johns Hopkins University Press

Cover of the book The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book HIV Pioneers by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Soldiering for Freedom by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Embezzlement and High Treason in Louis XIV's France by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book The Annals of Quintus Ennius and the Italic Tradition by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Crash! by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Forging China's Military Might by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book The Anatomy of Blackness by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book From Playgrounds to PlayStation by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Violence after War by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Dean's List by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Social Issues in Diagnosis by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Sage on the Screen by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book American Crossings by Mark Osteen
Cover of the book Science and Eastern Orthodoxy by Mark Osteen
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy