The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

A Companion to Experimental Cinema
Federico Windhausen, editor
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119107903, $195.00, HC, 480pp

https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Experimental-Cinema-Federico-Windhausen/dp= /1119107903

Synopsis: Knowledgeably compiled and deftly edited by Federico Windhausen, =
"A Companion to Experimental Cinema" is a collection of original essays org= anized around both theoretical and historical issues of concern to film sch= olars, programmers, filmmakers, and viewers. Newly-commissioned essays writ= ten by specialists in the field, along with dialogues conducted with a dive= rse range of practitioners, focus on core subjects to present an internatio= nal array of overlapping and contrasting perspectives. This unique volume n=
ot only provides detailed accounts of particular films and filmmakers, but = also discusses new approaches of understanding, characterizing, and shaping=
experimental cinema.

"A Companion to Experimental Cinema" offers film students and fans an acces= sible point of entry to the material while seeking to contribute to scholar=
ly debates. The featured essays explore a wide range of topics within the r= ealm of experimental film, including the shift from traditional biography t=
o broader contexts, the increased attention afforded to local and transnati= onal circuits of exchange, and the deepening of theoretical considerations = regarding cultural identity and cinematic aesthetics. Key themes and concep=
ts are inter-woven throughout the text, offering fresh perspectives on expe= rimental cinema's dialogues with other modes and practices of film and vide=
o, its interactions with the non-cinematic arts, its responses to changing = technological landscapes, and more.

"A Companion to Experimental Cinema": Balances introductory summaries and s= cholarly dialogue with existing literature; Explores how the study of exper= imental cinema can benefit from scholarship in other disciplines; Includes = numerous analyses of films that are readily available to view via digital m= edia; Discusses both canonical and obscure or neglected works; Examines the=
effects of the growing diversification of experimental film scholarship.

Critique: "A Companion to Experimental Cinema" is a seminal and valued reso= urce for scholars of film studies and cinematic art history, curators and p= rogrammers, critics and bloggers, filmmakers and artists, and nonspecialist=
general readers interested in exploring experimental or avant-garde cinema=
.. While available for personal reading lists in a digital book format, "A C= ompanion to Experimental Cinema" is unreservedly recommended as a major add= ition to professional, community, and academic library Cinematic History & = Movie Theory/Criticism collections.

Editorial Note: Federico Windhausen is a film historian and curator. His sc= holarly articles have been published in journals such as October, MIRAJ, Hi= tchcock Annual, Grey Room, and The Moving Image. He has programmed for the = International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Ambulante, the London Film Fe= stival, L' ge d'Or Festival, and various other venues.

A Companion to Indian Cinema
Neepa Majumdar, editor
Ranjani Mazumdar, editor
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119048190, $185.00, HC, 624pp

https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Blackwell-Companions-National-Cinemas/dp/1= 119048192

Synopsis: With the publication of "A Companion to Indian Cinema", film scho= lars and co-editors Neepa Majumdar and Ranjani Mazumdar (long with 25 estab= lished and emerging scholars), deliver new research on contemporary and his= torical questions on Indian cinema. The collection considers Indian cinema'=
s widespread presence both within and outside the country, and pays particu= lar attention to regional cinemas such as Bhojpuri, Bengali, Malayalam, Man= ipuri, and Marathi. The volume also reflects on the changing dimensions of = technology, aesthetics, and the archival impulse of film. The editors have = included scholarship that discusses a range of films and film experiences t= hat include commercial cinema, art cinema, and non-fiction film.

Even as scholarship on earlier decades of Indian cinema is challenged by th=
e absence of documentation and films, the innovative archival and field wor=
k in ""A Companion to Indian Cinema" extends from cinema in early twentieth=
century India to a historicized engagement with new technologies and conte= mporary cinematic practices. There is a focus on production cultures and ci= rculation, material cultures, media aesthetics, censorship, stardom, non-fi= ction practices, new technologies, and the transnational networks relevant =
to Indian cinema.

Critique: It may be a surprise to learn that Bollywood produces more movies=
each year than Hollywood. An impressively informative compendium of erudit=
e and insightful commentaries that will be a highly valued resource for und= ergraduate and graduate students of film and media studies, South Asian stu= dies, and cinematic history, "A Companion to Indian Cinema" is also an impo= rtant new resource for scholars with an interest in the context and theoret= ical framework for the study of India's moving image cultures. While especi= ally recommended as a seminal and critically important addition to personal=
, professional, community, and academic library Cinematic History & Film Cr= iticism collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of f= ilm students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest=
in the subject that "A Companion to Indian Cinema" is also available in a = digital book format (Kindle, $148.00).

Editorial Note #1: Neepa Majumdar (https://www.filmandmedia.pitt.edu/people= /neepa-majumdar is Associate Professor of Film & Media Studies in the Engli=
sh Department at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of Wanted = Cultured Ladies Only! Female Stardom and Cinema in India, 1930s to 1950s (U= niversity of Illinois Press, 2009). Her research interests include film sou= nd, star studies, South Asian early cinema, and documentary film. She is co= -editor of the journals [In]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film and Mo= ving Image Studies and Music, Sound, and the Moving Image. (https://www.fil= mandmedia.pitt.edu/people/neepa-majumdar)

Editorial Note #2: Ranjani Mazumdar (https://www.jnu.ac.in/Faculty/rmazumda=
r) is Professor of Cinema Studies at the School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawah= arlal Nehru University, Delhi. She is the author of Bombay Cinema: An Archi=
ve of the City (University of Minnesota Press, 2007) and guest editor of a = special issue of Bioscope on cinema and techno materiality (2013). Her curr= ent research interests include globalization and film culture, intermedial = encounters, and the intersection of technology, travel, design, and color i=
n 1960s Bombay Cinema.

China's Millennial Digital Generation
Karen Ma
Long River Press
c/o China Books & Periodicals, Inc.
360 Swift Avenue, Suite #48, South San Francisco, CA 94080
www.chinabooks.com
9781592652488, $28.95, PB, 260pp

https://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Millennial-Digital-Generation-Conversations/d= p/1592652484

Synopsis: With the publication of "China's Millennial Digital Generation: C= onversations with Balinghou (Post-1980s) Indie Filmmakers", Karen Ma presen=
ts a collection of creative and inspiring interviews with 7 young Chinese f= ilm directors, revealing new trends that are not fully acknowledged in West= ern scholarship.

Many balinghou (born in post-1980s) filmmakers are grassroots artists from = smaller towns or in rural China not formally trained at film academies. In = addition, these younger directors are among the first generation to have be= nefitted hugely from new technology, including affordable digital video cam= eras, cell phones, and the internet, which significantly lowered the barrie=
rs for artists entering the industry, allowing them to turn their passion i= nto a profession.

More importantly, most of their stories can be traced to their rural hometo= wns, bringing a fresh repertoire to Chinese independent film. While rural t= hemes are hardly new in Chinese film history, these tended in the past to b=
e told mostly from a top-down, urban-elite perspective. The rural narrative=
s of balinghou filmmakers, on the other hand, tend to be based on people fr=
om their neighborhoods, revealing a sense of social and cultural intimacy n=
ot often encountered before.

Critique: Featuring black/white photographic illustrations, "China's Millen= nial Digital Generation: Conversations with Balinghou (Post-1980s) Indie Fi= lmmakers" is unique, seminal and ground introduction to a vital aspect of t=
he Chinese cinematic industry in the form of the independent film makers wi=
th access to new technologies that 19th and 20th century Chinese film maker=
s did not have. Inherently fascinating, exceptionally informative, and with=
a deftly organized presentation, "China's Millennial Digital Generation" i=
s an critically important and recommended addition to personal, professiona=
l, community, and academic library Chinese Cinematic History collections an=
d supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Karen Ma (https://theworld.org/people/karen-ma) is also the=
author of "The Modern Madame Butterfly" and "Excess Baggage, A Novel".

Colonial Tactics and Everyday Life
Yuxin Ma
University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443, Madison, WI 53706-1418
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299340209, $79.95, HC, 360pp

https://www.amazon.com/Colonial-Tactics-Everyday-Life-Association/dp/029934= 0201

Synopsis: Following the Japanese invasion of northeast China in 1931, the o= ccupying authorities established the Manchuria Film Association to promote = film production efficiency and serve Japan's propaganda needs. The Manchuri=
a Film Association had two tasks: to make "national policy films" as part o=
f a cultural mission of educating Chinese in Manchukuo (the puppet state cr= eated in 1932) on the special relationship between Japan and the region, an=
d to block the exhibition of Chinese films from Shanghai that contained ant= i-Japanese messages.

The corporation relied on Japanese capital, technology, and film expertise,=
but it also employed many Chinese filmmakers. After the withdrawal of Japa= nese forces in 1945, many of these individuals were portrayed as either exp= loited victims or traitorous collaborators. With the publication of "Coloni=
al Tactics and Everyday Life: Workers of the Manchuria Film Association" Pr= ofessor Yuxin Ma seeks to move the conversation beyond such simplistic and = inaccurate depictions.

By focusing on the daily challenges and experiences of the Chinese workers =
at the corporation, Professor Ma examines how life was actually lived by pe= ople navigating between practical and ideological concerns. She illustrates=
how the inhabitants of Manchukuo navigated social opportunities, economic = depression, educational reforms, fascist rule, commercial interests, practi= cal daily needs, and more -- revealing ways in which these conflicting preo= ccupations sometimes manifested as tension and ambiguity on screen.

In the battle between repression and expression, these Chinese actors, dire= ctors, writers, and technicians adopted defensive and opportunistic tactics=
.. They did so in colonial spaces, often rejecting modernist representations=
of Manchukuo in favor of venerating traditional Chinese culture and values=
.. The expertise, skills, and professional networks they developed extended = well beyond the occupation into the postwar period, and may individuals ree= stablished themselves as cinema professionals in the socialist era.

Critique: A unique and seminal study of meticulous scholarship, "Colonial T= actics and Everyday Life: Workers of the Manchuria Film Association" by Pro= fessor Yuxin Ma is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion=
of two Appendices (Sketches of Key Figures & Filmography with Synopsis), f= orty-four pages of Notes, a fourteen page Bibliography, and a fifteen page = Index. Expertly organized and presented, "Colonial Tactics and Everyday Lif=
e: Workers of the Manchuria Film Association" is highly recommended as a co=
re addition to professional, community, and academic library Chinese Cinema= tic History collections and supplemental Cinematic History curriculum study=
lists.

Editorial Note: Yuxin Ma (https://louisville.edu/history/our-people/faculty= /yuxin-ma) is an associate professor of history at the University of Louisv= ille and the author of "Women Journalists and Feminism in China, 1898 - 193= 7".

Pac-Man: The First Animated TV Show Based Upon a Video Game
Mark Arnold
Bear Manor Media
BearManorMedia.com
9798370756986 $22.22 pbk
9781629339382, $33.33 hc

https://www.amazon.com/Pac-Man-First-Animated-Based-Video/dp/B0BVPFKQTD

Synopsis: With this book, Pop Culture Historian Mark Arnold takes an in-dep=
th look at the history of Pac-Man, the classic character that spawned the v= ery first animated cartoon series based upon a video game.

Pac-Man: The First Animated TV Show Based Upon a Video Game goes through th=
e entire history of the Hanna-Barbera animation studios, the history of vid=
eo games pre Pac-Man, the history of Pac-Man, the character, the video game=
, the spin-offs, the merchandise and the TV series. Each and every episode =
of the classic 1980s series is covered and examined.

Plus, author Arnold covers how Pac-Man has been honored on various annivers= aries including his most recent 40th anniversary milestone in 2021. A fun r= ead for casual and hardcore Pac-Man and video game fans alike featuring man=
y character model sheets and other images.

Critique: Pac-Man: The First Animated TV Show Based Upon a Video Game is a = pop culture history, tour, and celebration of the first children's cartoon =
to transform video game characters into the medium of animated television. =
A brief history of animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions, arcade video=
games, and the Pac-Man video game precedes a more thorough examination of = the animated show, a detailed episode guide with credits and extensive plot=
summaries, and black-and-white illustrations including official model shee= ts. Pac-Man: The First Animated TV Show Based Upon a Video game is a treasu=
re for connoisseurs of video game media in general, and Pac-Man media fans =
in particular.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
s from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these=
reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, inte= rnet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested indivi= duals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo= rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat= ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: ---:- FTN<->UseNet Gate -:--- (3:633/280.2@fidonet)