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Popular Culture March 2020
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Living in color : what's funny about me
by Tommy Davidson
The popular performer and standup comedian describes his life growing up black in a loving white family and the racial barriers he helped to break down on In Living Color alongside Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and the Wayans brothers.
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Barbie Forever : Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy by Robin GerberThis book presents a detailed, fully authorized portrait of this beloved doll through all-new interviews, original sketches, vintage photos, advertisements, and much more. A double-sided foldout timeline showcases important moments in Barbie history. Explore how the doll came to be, what it takes to create one of her many looks, and how her legacy continues to influence the world.
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Esquire dress code : a man's guide to personal style by inc EsquireWhat to wear and how to wear it. This definitive personal style guide from the editors of Esquire offers witty, wry, and practical advice for men looking to dress their best anytime, anywhere. Along with photography of legendary icons, the book covers closet essentials, investment pieces, office attire, accessories, and most essentially, how to develop and express your personality. These are the fashion fundamentals you can rely on, no matter the occasion.
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Sunny days : the children's television revolution that changed America by David KampReveals the behind-the-scenes story of the cultural heroes who created the beloved children’s TV programs Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Free to Be ... You and Me and Schoolhouse Rock!—which collectively transformed American childhood for the better, teaching kids about diversity, the ABCs and feminism through a fun, funky 1970s lens.
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Switched on pop : how popular music works & why it matters by Nate SloanIn 2014, Sloan (musicology, Univ. of Southern California) and songwriter Harding launched the Switched on Pop podcast to introduce audiophiles to the complex beauty of popular music. Since then, they have recorded more than 128 episodes and deconstructed everyone from Britney Spears to Elton John. Here, the duo turn their podcast into a 16-chapter manifesto on the last 20 years of popular music. From contextualizing Outkast's "Hey Ya" within the rhythmic long tail of ragtime to drawing connections between Justin Timberlake and the 12th-century troubadour Bernart de Ventadorn, the authors underscore both the musical traditions and the musical complexity from which 21st-century popular music has arisen. From Library Journal
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| Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark HarrisStarring: directors Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler, who put their talents to use during World War II by creating military training films, propaganda, and documentaries.
Read it for: a perceptive look at how the war impacted their lives and careers -- particularly Stevens, whose experiences filming the horrors of Dachau informed his directing of 1959's The Diary of Anne Frank.
Media buzz: Five Came Back is the basis for the Emmy Award-winning Netflix docuseries of the same name narrated by Meryl Streep. |
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| We'll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood's Most... by Noah IsenbergWhat it is: a page-turning chronicle of the production of 1942 classic Casablanca, chock-full of fascinating behind-the-scenes tidbits; a nostalgic celebration of the film's enduring legacy.
Did you know? Dooley Wilson, the actor who portrayed pianist Sam, didn't know how to play the piano; many of the film's supporting cast were real-life European refugees who can be seen during the emotional "La Marseillaise" scene. |
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| Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American... by Anne Helen PetersenWhat it is: a thoughtful re-appraisal of some of Hollywood's earliest scandals that reveals how public perception of stars' off-screen misdeeds reflected the tensions surrounding evolving social norms.
Topics include: Fatty Arbuckle's rape case; the smear campaign that derailed "It Girl" Clara Bow's career; Mae West's arrest for indecency; Rudolph Valentino's "slave bracelet."
Reviewers say: "brisk and lively" (Library Journal). |
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Majestic Hollywood : the greatest films of 1939
by Mark A. Vieira
Showcasing fifty films from 1939, during which the world braced for war, brings to life the most glamorous era in movie history by discussing such works of cinematic art as "Gunga Din," "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," and "Gone With the Wind."
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The big goodbye : Chinatown and the last years Hollywood
by Sam Wasson
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Fifth Avenue, Five A.M. and Fosse comes the revelatory account of the making of a modern American masterpiece. Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its twist ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making. In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of the most colorful characters in the most colorful period of Hollywood history. Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, as compelling a movie star as there has ever been, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston. Here is director Roman Polanski, both predator and prey, haunted by the savage death of his wife, returning to Los Angeles, the scene of the crime, where the seeds of his own self-destruction are quickly planted. Here is the fevered dealmaking of "The Kid" Robert Evans, the most consummate of producers. Here too is Robert Towne's fabled script, widely considered the greatest original screenplay ever written. Wasson for the first time peels off layers of myth to provide the true account of its creation. Looming over the story of this classic movie is the imminent eclipse of the '70s filmmaker-friendly studios as they gave way to the corporate Hollywood we know today. In telling that larger story, The Big Goodbye will take its place alongside classics like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and The Devil's Candy as one of the great movie-world books ever written. Praise for Sam Wasson: "Wasson is a canny chronicler of old Hollywood and its outsize personalities...More than that, he understands that style matters, and, like his subjects, he has a flair for it." - The New Yorker "Sam Wasson is a fabulous social historian because he finds meaning in situations and stories that would otherwise be forgotten if he didn't sleuth them out, lovingly." - Hilton Als"
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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