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James Acaster's Guide to Quitting Social Media
by James AcasterThis is a self-help book like no other. Because you are not helping yourself, James Acaster is helping you.In 2019, James quit all forms of social media - covering his phone in tar and driving it to a lock-up in Rhyl, before setting up home in a castle he'd built himself called Castle Anti-Net. But when the withdrawal symptoms hit him, he realised in order to stay clean he'd have to replace everything social media gave him with three-dimensional, real-life activities. Employing the help of a mysterious, wealthy benefactor named Clancy Dellahue, and an ever-growing gang of misfits (aka the Tangfastic Crew), James found ways to replace his online friends (he joined the scouts) and spy on his exes (climbing ropes, zip lines, fake moustache) as well as anonymously bullying strangers, seeing photos of everyone's dogs, getting public figures fired, arguing with everybody about everything, and so much more. His life is amazing and yours could be too if you buy JAMES ACASTER'S GUIDE TO QUITTING SOCIAL MEDIA, BEING THE BEST YOU YOU CAN BE AND SAVING YOURSELF FROM LONELINESS VOL. 1.
Perfect Sound Whatever: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
by James AcasterThe brand new memoir from James Acaster: cult comedian, bestselling author of Classic Scrapes, undercover cop, receiver of cabbages.PERFECT SOUND WHATEVER is a love letter to the healing power of music, and how one man's obsessive quest saw him defeat the bullshit of one year with the beauty of another. Because that one man is James Acaster, it also includes tales of befouling himself in a Los Angeles steakhouse, stealing a cookie from Clint Eastwood, and giving drunk, unsolicited pep talks to urinating strangers. January, 2017James Acaster wakes up heartbroken and alone in New York, his relationship over, a day of disastrous meetings leading him to wonder if comedy is really what he wants to be doing any more. A constant comfort in James's life has been music, but he's not listened to anything new for a very long time. Idly browsing 'best of the year' lists, it dawns on him that 2016 may have been a grim year for a lot of reasons, but that it seemed to be an iconic year for music. And so begins a life-changing musical odyssey, as James finds himself desperately seeking solace in the music of 2016, setting himself the task of only listening to music released that year, ending up with 500 albums in his collection. Looking back on this year-long obsession, parallels begin to grow between the music and James's own life: his relationship history, the highs and lows of human connection, residual Christian guilt, and mental health issues that have been bubbling under the surface for years. Some albums are life-changing masterpieces, others are 'Howdilly Doodilly' by Okilly Dokilly, a metalcore album devoted to The Simpsons' character Ned Flanders, but all of them play a part the year that helped James Acaster get his life back on track.
Pedro Almodovar (World Directors)
by Ernesto R. Acevedo-MunozThe book provides a detailed introduction to the essential themes, style, and aesthetics of Pedro Almodovar's films, put in the context of Spain's profound cultural transitions since 1980. With precise and close analysis, the book covers the major concerns of the most successful of all Spanish film directors and makes direct, clear connections to the logic of Almodovar's aesthetic and stylistic choices. By spanning the entirety of Pedro Almodovar's feature making career, the book emphasizes the director's sensibility to make the outrageous believable and to always give a unique spin to the issues Spanish history, culture and identity. A detailed and comprehensive approach to all of Pedro Almodovar's feature films from the outrageous 1980 'Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap' to the sophisticated 2004 'Bad Education', this book provides more than an introduction an intimate look at the topics, style, aesthetics and cultural sensibilities of Spain's most distinguished and celebrated film director since Luis Bunuel. By focusing on a film-by-film, and often scene-by-scene analysis, this book offers a meticulous interpretation of characters, situations, allusions and cultural intersections, as well as emphasizing the meaning and weight of cultural, historical and social contexts. The book traces the evolution of Almodovar's career, from the perspective of aesthetic, narrative and stylistic concerns and places those changes in the logical context of Spain's historical trajectory from the end of Franco's dictatorship to the transition to democracy, exploring Almodovar's interest on issues of identity, sexuality, and nationalism.
Pedro Almodovar (World Directors)
by Ernesto R. Acevedo-MunozThe book provides a detailed introduction to the essential themes, style, and aesthetics of Pedro Almodovar's films, put in the context of Spain's profound cultural transitions since 1980. With precise and close analysis, the book covers the major concerns of the most successful of all Spanish film directors and makes direct, clear connections to the logic of Almodovar's aesthetic and stylistic choices. By spanning the entirety of Pedro Almodovar's feature making career, the book emphasizes the director's sensibility to make the outrageous believable and to always give a unique spin to the issues Spanish history, culture and identity. A detailed and comprehensive approach to all of Pedro Almodovar's feature films from the outrageous 1980 'Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap' to the sophisticated 2004 'Bad Education', this book provides more than an introduction an intimate look at the topics, style, aesthetics and cultural sensibilities of Spain's most distinguished and celebrated film director since Luis Bunuel. By focusing on a film-by-film, and often scene-by-scene analysis, this book offers a meticulous interpretation of characters, situations, allusions and cultural intersections, as well as emphasizing the meaning and weight of cultural, historical and social contexts. The book traces the evolution of Almodovar's career, from the perspective of aesthetic, narrative and stylistic concerns and places those changes in the logical context of Spain's historical trajectory from the end of Franco's dictatorship to the transition to democracy, exploring Almodovar's interest on issues of identity, sexuality, and nationalism.
Against Theatre: Creative Destructions on the Modernist Stage (Performance Interventions)
by A. Ackerman M. PuchnerAgainst Theatre shows that the most prominent writers of modern drama shared a radical rejection of the theatre as they knew it. Together with designers, composers and film makers, they plotted to destroy all existing theatres. But from their destruction emerged the most astonishing innovations of modernist theatre.
My Better Half and Me: For Better Or Worse, A Story Of Love And Heartbreak
by Joss Ackland Rosemary AcklandRosemary Ackland began writing her diary in 1945, aged just fifteen. For the next fifty-eight years, through happiness and heartache, she continued to write. Even after the tragic onset of Motor Neurone disease, which left her mute and immobile, her diary was still an outlet - in fact, then more than ever. Her simple, heartfelt jottings were never intended for an audience. But, during her last days, as he helped her hold a pen, her husband Joss read her words for the first time. Deeply moved by her lifetime's recollections he asked her consent to publish them and she agreed. My Better Half and Me weaves together Rosemary's diaries with Joss's commentary to tell of an extraordinary love story that lasted over fifty years. Their life together was remarkably full. At first they lived on a shoestring, struggling to bring up their new family on just Joss's payas a young actor. Once his career took off their lives became a dynamic whirl of tours across the country. But they remained an extremely close-knit family, with lives shaped by their seven children, by the tragic, untimely death of their eldest son, and later, by the birth of their grandchildren. Above all, this intimate and candid story, shows how lucky they were to have each other. In turbulent times they were each other's rock. Theirs was truly and old-fashioned romance.
The Art of Film: Working on James Bond, Aliens, Batman and More
by Terry Ackland-SnowThere is no substitute for experience. I’ve had the privilege and honour to have worked alongside Terry Ackland-Snow for many years. Not only is he a prince among men and a close friend, he is also the design equivalent of Lionel Messi when it comes to creating a world and an environment for actors to do our stuff. TRobson Green ‘Tim Burton came in and commented, “Great, but how do they get in the car? There aren’t any doors!” Sadly, I hadn’t thought of that.’ What do On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Great Muppet Caper have in common? Terry Ackland-Snow worked on them, that’s what. In The Art of Film, Terry lifts the lid on his extraordinary career, from being held hostage by a wannabe film crew in Jamaica to forgetting to add doors to the Batmobile. It is an insight into a lifetime of working in the film industry, mixing the amusing anecdotes with revelations about just how the magic in these movies was created. With over 200 images, including set sketches and design plans, this is a book no film aficionado should be without!
Child Actors on the London Stage, Circa 1600: Their Education, Recruitment and Theatrical Success
by Julie AckroydA legal document dated 1600, for a Star Chamber case titled Clifton versus Robinson, details how boys were abducted from London streets and forcibly held in order to train them as actors for the Blackfriars theatre. No adults were seen on-stage in this theatre, which was stocked solely by acting boys, resulting in a satirical and scurrilous method of play presentation. Were the boys specifically targeted for skills they may have possessed which would have been applicable to this type of play presentation? And, was this method of recruitment typical or atypical of Elizabethan theatre? Analysis of the background of the boy subjects of the legal case indicate that several had received grammar-school tuition and, as a result, would have possessed skills in oration and rhetoric. Indeed, a significant number of the grammar schools in London provided regular public disputations and theatrical performances which would have made these boys an attractive proposition for inclusion in a theatrical company. The styles of play-texts which the boys performed and their manner of presenting characters helps to assess why child acting companies were commercially viable and popular. Their portrayal of all roles in a performance; young and old, male and female, clearly demonstrated their versatility and skill in mimicry and the adoption of other personas. Therefore the taking of grammar-school boys for re-training as actors was not opportunistic; their abductions were planned. The theatre owners undertook this method of recruitment as they felt that they were immune from prosecution due to holding royal commissions which they used to recruit boys. However, the Clifton vs. Robinson case clearly demonstrates that a determined parent whose child had been taken could challenge this and demand reparation.
Merce Cunningham: Creative Elements (Choreography and Dance Studies Series #Vols. 4, Pts. 2.)
by Joan Acocella Elliot Caplan Marilyn Vaughan Drown William Fetterman John Holzaepfel Gordon Mumma Nelson Rivera Thecla Schiphorst David VaughanMerce Cunningham reached the age of 75 in 1994, an age at which many creative artists are content to rest on their laurels, or at least to leave behind whatever controversies they may have caused during their careers. No so Cunningham. In the first place, his 70s have been a time of intense creativity in which he has choreographed as many as four new works a year. Cunningham is a strongly committed as ever to the discovery of new ways of moving and of making movement, refusing to be hampered by the physical limitations that have come with age. Since 1991 every new work has been made at least in part with the use of the computer program Life Forms, which enables him to devise choreographic phrases that he himself would be unable to perform - and which challenge and develop the virtuosity of the young dancers in his company.The essays collected in this special issue of Choreography and Dance were written over the last few years and discuss various aspects of the work of Cunningham as seen both from the outside and the inside.
Yuli: A Cuban Dancerâs Story
by Carlos AcostaNOW AN AWARD-WINNING FEATURE FILM STARRING CARLOS ACOSTA
Actors' and Performers' Yearbook 2023
by Actors' and Performers' Yearbook Foreword by Syrus LoweThis well-established and respected directory supports actors in their training and search for work in theatre, film, TV, radio and comedy.It is the only directory to provide detailed information for each listing and specific advice on how to approach companies and individuals, saving hours of further research. From agents and casting directors to producing theatres, showreel companies, photographers and much more, this essential reference book editorially selects only the most relevant and reputable contacts for the industry.Covering training and working in theatre, film, radio, TV and comedy, it contains invaluable resources such as a casting calendar and articles on a range of topics from your social media profile to what drama schools are looking for to financial and tax issues.With the listings updated every year, the Actors' and Performers' Yearbook continues to be the go-to guide for help with auditions, interviews and securing/sustaining work within the industry. An invaluable professional tool that anyone working in the industry will benefit from.Actors' and Performers' Yearbook 2023 is fully updated and features a new foreword by Syrus Lowe.
British Dance: Black Routes
by Christy Adair Ramsay BurtBritish Dance, Black Routes is an outstanding collection of writings which re-reads the achievements of Black British dance artists, and places them within a broad historical, cultural and artistic context. Until now discussion of choreography by Black dance practitioners has been dominated by the work of African-American artists, facilitated by the civil rights movement. But the work produced by Black British artists has in part been within the context of Britain’s colonial legacy. Ramsay Burt and Christy Adair bring together an array of leading scholars and practitioners to review the singularity and distinctiveness of the work of British-based dancers who are Black and its relation to the specificity of Black British experiences. From sub-Saharan West African and Caribbean dance forms to jazz and hip-hop, British Dance, Black Routes looks afresh at over five decades of artistic production to provide an unparalleled resource for dance students and scholars.
British Dance: Black Routes
by Christy Adair Ramsay BurtBritish Dance, Black Routes is an outstanding collection of writings which re-reads the achievements of Black British dance artists, and places them within a broad historical, cultural and artistic context. Until now discussion of choreography by Black dance practitioners has been dominated by the work of African-American artists, facilitated by the civil rights movement. But the work produced by Black British artists has in part been within the context of Britain’s colonial legacy. Ramsay Burt and Christy Adair bring together an array of leading scholars and practitioners to review the singularity and distinctiveness of the work of British-based dancers who are Black and its relation to the specificity of Black British experiences. From sub-Saharan West African and Caribbean dance forms to jazz and hip-hop, British Dance, Black Routes looks afresh at over five decades of artistic production to provide an unparalleled resource for dance students and scholars. Appendix 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Un Chien Andalou: French Film Guide
by Elza AdamowiczIn 1929 Dalí and Buñuel produced a seventeen-minute film, Un chien andalou. On its first screening, Georges Bataille referred to it as 'that extraordinary film' penetrating so deeply into horror', while Federico García Lorca described it as 'a tiny little shit of a film'. Produced from a script said to be based on two dream images - a woman's eye slit by a razor, ants emerging from a hole in a man's hand - the film shocked audiences. It continues to fascinate, provoke, attract and alienate its viewers. Its eye-slitting sequence and use of dream-like images have influenced filmmakers from AlfredHitchcock to David Lynch.Elza Adamowicz's lucid critical guide to this most enigmatic of works offers new approaches to the film, exploring how it can be seen both within and beyond the confines of Surrealism and reviewing its openness to so many readings and interpretations. She reassesses Dalí and Buñuel's account of the film as a model surrealist work and its reception by the surrealist group. She situates the film within the social and cultural contexts of the 1920s,including those of melodramatic film, Spanish culture, surrealist iconography and gender construction. She assesses the film's resistance to a single interpretation and explores the role of the viewer (detective or dreamer?).
Playing & Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach
by Allison D. Adams Brian R. HornerPlaying & Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach provides a method for teaching the saxophone that is specific enough to use as a textbook in a collegiate saxophone methods class, simple enough for a band director to use in guiding their saxophone sections, clear enough for adult beginners to teach themselves the instrument, and deep enough for professionals to use as a resource in teaching private lessons at any level. The first sections of this book, Getting Started and Learning the Notes, take a student in a collegiate methods class or other adult beginner through the fundamental concepts of playing the saxophone. The In-Depth section then lays out critical concepts that are essential to the further development of any saxophonist. As a contemporary guide for teaching the musicians and music educators of the 21st century, this method addresses the pedagogy of not only the instrument, but of the whole student. It includes a diverse array of musical examples that celebrate communities and cultures around the globe, and a "Wellness for the Young Musician" chapter offers an overview of practices that will help students navigate performance anxiety and avoid injury while playing. Designed to be a lifelong reference for band directors and private instructors, the book includes "Hand-It-Over" sections that can be used as student instructional sheets. These materials, along with video performances and teaching demonstrations, are also available in the book's companion website.
Playing & Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach
by Allison D. Adams Brian R. HornerPlaying & Teaching the Saxophone: A Modern Approach provides a method for teaching the saxophone that is specific enough to use as a textbook in a collegiate saxophone methods class, simple enough for a band director to use in guiding their saxophone sections, clear enough for adult beginners to teach themselves the instrument, and deep enough for professionals to use as a resource in teaching private lessons at any level. The first sections of this book, Getting Started and Learning the Notes, take a student in a collegiate methods class or other adult beginner through the fundamental concepts of playing the saxophone. The In-Depth section then lays out critical concepts that are essential to the further development of any saxophonist. As a contemporary guide for teaching the musicians and music educators of the 21st century, this method addresses the pedagogy of not only the instrument, but of the whole student. It includes a diverse array of musical examples that celebrate communities and cultures around the globe, and a "Wellness for the Young Musician" chapter offers an overview of practices that will help students navigate performance anxiety and avoid injury while playing. Designed to be a lifelong reference for band directors and private instructors, the book includes "Hand-It-Over" sections that can be used as student instructional sheets. These materials, along with video performances and teaching demonstrations, are also available in the book's companion website.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts
by Douglas AdamsMarch 1978 saw the first ever transmission of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on BBC Radio 4; the beginning of a cult phenomenon. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts includes a previously unpublished Hitchhiker script, 'Sheila's Ear'; an introduction by producer Geoffrey Perkins; and a Who's Who of all those involved in the radio series. This scriptbook features all twelve original radio scripts - Hitchhiker as it was written and exactly as it was broadcast for the very first time. They include amendments and additions made during recordings and original notes on the writing and producing of the series by Douglas Adams and Geoffrey Perkins. For those who have always loved Douglas Adams, as well as for his new generation of fans, these scripts are essential reading - with the previously 'lost' script making this edition a must-have piece of Adams memorabilia.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Scripts Volume 2: The Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases
by Douglas AdamsTwenty-five years after the original radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy exploded into the public consciousness, the further exploits of its bewildered hero Arthur Dent were finally adapted for radio by Dirk Maggs, in part using drafts written by Douglas Adams before his death. The resulting fourteen completely new episodes were produced by Above the Title Productions and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, with nearly all of the original cast reunited for recording.The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Scripts Volume 2 brilliantly bring to life the last three books in Adams' perennially popular Hitchhiker series: Life, the Universe and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish; and Mostly Harmless. Dirk Maggs supplies notes which highlight original Adams material and explain how the cast, special effects and music were directed. The scripts are introduced by Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in both the original and the recent radio series, as well as in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy television series. Douglas Adams first conceived The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for radio and it is an honour to his memory that all five Hitchhiker novels have now been adapted for this medium. These scripts exemplify the freshness of perspective, humour and perspicacity that epitomize the work of Douglas Adams.
The Original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Scripts: The Original Radio Scripts
by Douglas AdamsMarch 1978 saw the first ever transmission of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on BBC Radio 4; the beginning of a cult phenomenon. March 2020 marks the 42nd anniversary of that first transmission – 42 being the answer, of course, to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. To mark the occasion, Pan Macmillan are bringing back into print The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Radio Scripts with a brand-new introduction from Simon Jones.The collection also includes the previously 'lost' Hitchhiker script from the 25th anniversary edition, 'Sheila's Ear' and the original introductions by producer Geoffrey Perkins and Douglas Adams.This collection, which is a faithful reproduction of the text as it was first published in 1985, features all twelve original radio scripts – Hitchhiker as it was written and exactly as it was broadcast for the very first time. They include amendments and additions made during recordings and original notes on the writing and producing of the series by Douglas Adams and Geoffrey Perkins. For those who have always loved Douglas Adams, as well as for his new generation of fans, these scripts are essential reading and a must-have piece of Adams memorabilia.This special anniversary edition will sit alongside reissued eye-catching editions of the five individual Hitchhiker books coming in May 2020: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe and Everything, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish and Mostly Harmless.
Notes From the Upside Down – Inside the World of Stranger Things: An Unofficial Handbook to the Hit TV Series
by Guy AdamsWith season 2 now released, don't miss out on getting the perfect gift for any Stranger Things fan in your life. Grab your Eggos and prepare to enter Hawkins, Indiana – just don't forget your fairy lightsIf you devoured Stranger Things and you're looking to fill the demogorgon-sized hole in your life, then look no further than Notes From the Upside Down. This fan handbook is here to tell you more about the origins of the show, including the mysterious Montauk Project conspiracy theory, get you clued up on the inspirations behind the characters, and assess the show's DNA. If you've ever wondered why Spielberg is such a huge influence, which Stephen King books you need to read (HINT: pretty much all of them) and how State Trooper David O’Bannon earned his name, then this book is for you. Guy Adams is a superfan and this is his amusing and informative guide to everything you're going to need to know to understand Stranger Things.
Sherlock: The Casebook
by Guy AdamsThis book is my humble attempt to shine a light on the work of the best and wisest I have ever known. He has, I think it is safe to say, elevated the science of detection into an art form. Having been at his side during some of his most remarkable cases, it has fallen to me to bring his achievements to the attention of the wider public. He is, quite simply, the Mozart of criminal investigation. I would say more, but I am flattered and delighted to say that Sherlock Holmes himself has agreed to write a piece for the cover. John Watson Don’t buy this book. The author has transformed what should have been a series of lectures into a gross and tasteless entertainment. The science of deduction is a branch of human achievement requiring serious analysis and yet here I find it lavishly illustrated, disfigured with humour and infested with gossip. Apparently, this kind of sensationalism is required to engage the interest of the reading public, but it is rather like working an office romance into a paper on quantum physics. Only an idiot would be impressed. Help yourself. Sherlock Holmes
Australia's Sweetheart: The amazing story of forgotten Hollywood star Mary Maguire
by Michael AdamsThis is the fascinating story of Mary Maguire, a 1930s Australian ingenue who sailed for Hollywood and a fabulous life, only to have her career cut short by scandal and tragedy. Packed with celebrity, history and gossip, AUSTRALIA'S SWEETHEART is perfect for readers of SHEILA and THE RIVIERA SET.Mary Maguire was Australia's first teenage movie star and she captivated Hollywood in the mid 1930s. Mary lived on three continents and was celebrated in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Los Angeles and London. Her life was lived in parallel with seminal incidents of the twentieth century: the Spanish Flu; the Great Depression; the Bodyline series; Australia's early radio, talkies and aviation; Hollywood's Golden Era; the British aristocracy's embrace of European fascism; London's Blitz; and post-war American culture and politics. Mary knew everyone, from Douglas Jardine, Don Bradman, Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan, to William Randolph Hearst, Maureen O'Sullivan, Judy Garland and Queen Elizabeth II.AUSTRALIA'S SWEETHEART in an irresistible never-before-told story that captures the glamour of Hollywood and the turbulent times of the twentieth century, with a young woman at its centre. If you loved THE AMAZING MRS LIVESEY, Robert Wainwright's SHEILA and MISS MURIEL MATTERS, you will adore AUSTRALIA'S SWEETHEART.
Lee de Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film
by Mike AdamsThe life-long inventor, Lee de Forest invented the three-element vacuum tube used between 1906 and 1916 as a detector, amplifier, and oscillator of radio waves. Beginning in 1918 he began to develop a light valve, a device for writing and reading sound using light patterns. While he received many patents for his process, he was initially ignored by the film industry. In order to promote and demonstrate his process he made several hundred sound short films, he rented space for their showing; he sold the tickets and did the publicity to gain audiences for his invention. Lee de Forest officially brought sound to film in 1919. Lee De Forest: King of Radio, Television, and Film is about both invention and early film making; de Forest as the scientist and producer, director, and writer of the content. This book tells the story of de Forest’s contribution in changing the history of film through the incorporation of sound. The text includes primary source historical material, U.S. patents and richly-illustrated photos of Lee de Forest’s experiments. Readers will greatly benefit from an understanding of the transition from silent to audio motion pictures, the impact this had on the scientific community and the popular culture, as well as the economics of the entertainment industry.
Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination
by Rachel AdamsA staple of American popular culture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the freak show seemed to vanish after the Second World War. But as Rachel Adams reveals in Sideshow U.S.A., images of the freak show, with its combination of the grotesque, the horrific, and the amusing, stubbornly reappeared in literature and the arts. Freak shows, she contends, have survived because of their capacity for reinvention. Empty of any inherent meaning, the freak's body becomes a stage for playing out some of the twentieth century's most pressing social and political concerns, from debates about race, empire, and immigration, to anxiety about gender, and controversies over taste and public standards of decency. Sideshow U.S.A. begins by revisiting the terror and fascination the original freak shows provided for their audiences, as well as exploring the motivations of those who sought fame and profit in the business of human exhibition. With this history in mind, Adams turns from live entertainment to more mediated forms of cultural expression: the films of Tod Browning, the photography of Diane Arbus, the criticism of Leslie Fiedler, and the fiction Carson McCullers, Toni Morrison, and Katherine Dunn. Taken up in these works of art and literature, the freak serves as a metaphor for fundamental questions about self and other, identity and difference, and provides a window onto a once vital form of popular culture. Adams's study concludes with a revealing look at the revival of the freak show as live performance in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Celebrated by some, the freak show's recent return is less welcome to those who have traditionally been its victims. At the beginning of a new century, Adams sees it as a form of living history, a testament to the vibrancy and inventiveness of American popular culture, as well as its capacity for cruelty and injustice. "Because of its subject matter, this interesting and complex study is provocative, as well as thought-provoking."—Virginia Quarterly Review
The Cheat Sheet: TikTok made me buy it! The romcom hit of 2022!
by Sarah AdamsIs it ever too late to leave the friend zone? Friends-to-lovers TikTok sensation, The Cheat Sheet, is the rom-com that has readers laughing and rooting for these lovable best friends from the first page! 'A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy' SOPHIE SULLIVAN'As slapstick funny as it is both sizzling and sweet, this best-friends-to-lovers sports romance brings its RomCom A-game' CHLOE LIESE'The perfect mix of laugh-out-loud entertaining and intensely tender' DEVON DANIELS.................................................................................The friend zone is not the end zone for Bree Camden, who is helplessly in love with her longtime best friend and extremely hot NFL legend, Nathan Donelson. The only problem is that she can't admit her true feelings, because he clearly sees her as a best friend with no romantic potential, and the last thing Bree wants is to ruin their relationship. But those abs . . . Nope! Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for Bree. In any case, she has other things to worry about. After a car accident ended her chance at becoming a professional ballerina, Bree changed paths and now owns her own dance studio, with big dreams to expand it. But one more rent increase could mean the end of the studio entirely. Then, as usual, Nathan comes to the rescue and buys the entire building. A stubborn Bree is not happy about it and decides to rebel with a couple - okay, maybe more than a couple - of tequila shots. Then her plan backfires as she spills her deepest, darkest secret to a TMZ reporter. One viral video later, the world thinks Nathan and Bree are the perfect couple. Before they can really talk about her confession, Nathan's publicist proposes a big opportunity that could mean financial security for Bree. The catch? They have to pretend to be in love. For three whole weeks. What will happen when Bree gives in to the feelings she's been desperately hiding for so long, and could she be imagining that Nathan is actually enjoying it? Discover the heartwarming friends to lovers romance that became a sensation on TikTok!