The
Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film is the first multi-volume reference of its kind, assembling the work of a diverse group of scholars who interrogate the entirety of American cinema. Unabashedly ambitious, deeply historical, and unprecedented in its multi-faceted examination of film history, this is the most striking and authoritative collection of fresh investigations available in one state-of-the-art resource.
The History offers essays on a number of specialized topics that, taken as a whole, represent a comprehensive and nuanced overview of American film history from the intersecting perspectives of industry, audiences, aesthetics, culture, politics, issues, and ideology.
The contributions investigate: the industrial and institutional component of film, including studio production, distribution, and marketing; larger political, social, and economic factors, such as the Great Depression and World War II that informed industrial change and framed the reception of films; and individual artists -writers, directors, producers, stars.
Volume I: Origins to 1928
Traces American cinema from its early years to a stabilized commercial industry that would go on to dominate world screens, with essays on early cinema pioneers like Griffith, Porter, and Chaplin, the rise of the star system, and the role of women in the emerging industry.
Volume II: 1929 to 1945
Examines the “golden age” of the studio era when Hollywood responded to tumultuous events such as the Great Depression and WW II. This volume also looks beyond the Hollywood studios to the work of the early American avant-garde and documentary filmmakers.
Volume III: 1946 to 1975
Covers the turbulent years from the decline of the studios to the emergence of the New Hollywood, including such crucial topics as the blacklist, the rise of television, the flowering of underground film, and the mainstreaming of adult cinema.
Volume IV: 1976 to the Present
Examines the period from 1976—when black independent, avant-garde, and feminist filmmakers were producing challenging and unconventional works—to the present, when high-concept blockbusters dominate mainstream screens and digital imaging is redefining the very concept of cinema.
