This revealing history of the American film musical synthesizes the critical literature on the genre and provides a series of close analytical readings of iconic musical films, focusing on their cultural relationship to other aspects of American popular music.
Offers a depth of scholarship that will appeal to students and scholars
Leads a crucial analysis of the cultural context of musicals, particularly the influence of popular music on the genre
Delves into critical issues behind these films such as race, gender, ideology, and authorship
Features close readings of canonical and neglected film musicals from the 1930s to the present including: Top Hat, Singin' in the Rain, Woodstock, Gimme Shelter, West Side Story, and Across the Universe
About the Author
Barry Keith Grant is Professor of Communication, Popular Culture, and Film at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. He is the author or editor of more than two dozen books, including Auteurs and Authorship: a Film Reader (2008) Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology (2007), Film Genre Reader (2003), and The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film (1996). As well as being an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, he is the series editor of the New Approaches to Film Genre series for Wiley-Blackwell.
