{"product_id":"nightmare-alley-film-noir-and-the-american-dream-paperback","title":"Nightmare Alley: Film Noir and the American Dream - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMark Osteen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eClassic film noir offers more than pesky private eyes and beautiful bad girls--it explores the quest for the not-so-attainable American dream.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWinner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Choice ACRL\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesperate young lovers on the lam (\u003ci\u003eThey Live by Night\u003c\/i\u003e), a cynical con man making a fortune as a mentalist (\u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e), a penniless pregnant girl mistaken for a wealthy heiress (\u003ci\u003eNo Man of Her Own\u003c\/i\u003e), a wounded veteran who has forgotten his own name (\u003ci\u003eSomewhere in the Night\u003c\/i\u003e)--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. \u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e is a thorough examination of how film noir disputes this notion at the heart of the American Dream.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCentral 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmploying an impressive array of theoretical perspectives (including psychoanalysis, art history, feminism, and music theory) and combining close reading with original primary source research, \u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesperate young lovers on the lam (\u003ci\u003eThey Live by Night\u003c\/i\u003e), a cynical con man making a fortune as a mentalist (\u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e), a penniless pregnant girl mistaken for a wealthy heiress (\u003ci\u003eNo Man of Her Own\u003c\/i\u003e), a wounded veteran who has forgotten his own name (\u003ci\u003eSomewhere in the Night\u003c\/i\u003e)--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. \u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e is a thorough examination of how film noir disputes this notion at the heart of the American Dream.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCentral to many of these films, Mark Osteen argues, is the story of an individual trying, by dint of hard work or, more often, illicit enterprise, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmploying an impressive array of theoretical perspectives (including psychoanalysis, art history, feminism, and music theory) and combining close reading with original primary source research, \u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnly a few of the many books on film noir are essential. This is one of them . . . A smart, clearly written book.--\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMark Osteen manages to add something new and substantial to the discourse on film noir--an examination of the ways in which the American Dream is subverted, challenged, and ultimately discounted by the harsh realities of a noir universe, which more directly aligns itself with society than with the phantom hope of endless upward mobility.--Wheeler Winston Dixon, University of Nebraska, Lincoln\u003c\/p\u003e--Wheeler Winston Dixon, University of Nebraska, Lincoln \"Key Reporter\"\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesperate young lovers on the lam (\u003ci\u003eThey Live by Night\u003c\/i\u003e), a cynical con man making a fortune as a mentalist (\u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e), a penniless pregnant girl mistaken for a wealthy heiress (\u003ci\u003eNo Man of Her Own\u003c\/i\u003e), a wounded veteran who has forgotten his own name (\u003ci\u003eSomewhere in the Night\u003c\/i\u003e)--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. \u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e is a thorough examination of how film noir disputes this notion at the heart of the American Dream.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCentral to many of these films, Mark Osteen argues, is the story of an individual trying, by dint of hard work or, more often, illicit enterprise, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmploying an impressive array of theoretical perspectives (including psychoanalysis, art history, feminism, and music theory) and combining close reading with original primary source research, \u003ci\u003eNightmare Alley\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Only a few of the many books on film noir are essential. This is one of them . . . A smart, clearly written book.\"--\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Mark Osteen manages to add something new and substantial to the discourse on film noir--an examination of the ways in which the American Dream is subverted, challenged, and ultimately discounted by the harsh realities of a noir universe, which more directly aligns itself with society than with the phantom hope of endless upward mobility.\"--Wheeler Winston Dixon, University of Nebraska, Lincoln\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMark Osteen\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of English, chair of the English Department, and founder of the Film Studies Program at Loyola University Maryland. He is the author of several books, most recently the memoir \u003ci\u003eOne of Us: A Family's Life with Autism\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.76 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 31, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47689329705219,"sku":"9781421413884","price":96.61,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/9310\/7359\/files\/K051UnFrejY2Mi91VVpBR1doZ0YxUT09.webp?v=1769568919","url":"https:\/\/annizon.com\/en-ca\/products\/nightmare-alley-film-noir-and-the-american-dream-paperback","provider":"annizon.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}