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"Breaks in the Air: The Birth of Rap Radio in New York City" by John Klaess is a significant contribution to the history of New York hip-hop culture. The book explores the early days of rap radio in New York, when stations like WBLS played a crucial role in shaping the sound and culture of hip-hop. Klaess uses interviews and cassette recordings to provide insights into the inseparable relationship between rap, radio, and diverse listening communities. The book also examines the impact of deregulation on the commercial radio industry and the role of radio in advancing Black social progress. Overall, "Breaks in the Air" offers a valuable perspective on the history of rap radio in New York City. [Extracted from the article]

Adam Lowenstein's book, "Horror Film and Otherness," explores the social relevance and transformative power of horror cinema. Lowenstein argues that horror films can teach us about otherness and illuminate the ongoing evolution of social norms and identities. He challenges Robin Wood's analysis of American horror cinema, offering a more nuanced understanding of the genre's exploration of trauma, alienation, and displacement. Lowenstein engages with theorists and historians to examine the themes of aging, the body, gender, and sexuality in horror films from the 1970s to the present. While the book is comprehensive, it lacks coverage of trans people, which would further contribute to the exploration of otherness. Overall, "Horror Film and Otherness" is a landmark text that highlights the importance of horror in understanding society and the self. [Extracted from the article]

"Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape" by Lisa M. Anderson is a book that examines the portrayal of Black women on television throughout history. Anderson, an associate professor of women and gender studies, builds on her previous work to explore the complex and evolving representations of Black women in media. Using a semiotic approach and drawing on the work of Black feminist scholars, Anderson analyzes specific television shows and personalities from the 1950s to the present. The book goes beyond simplistic judgments and aims to understand the historical and cultural contexts in which these representations exist, as well as the agency of Black women in shaping them. It is a valuable resource for scholars in cultural, media, and television studies. [Extracted from the article]

Approaching the writing of a scene in this way, the authors argue, makes character motivations clear, creates tension and leaves room for either additional obstacles or resolution. Which points to another fundamental premise that Perry and Sanders believe in, namely that every scene needs to have both a goal and an obstacle. I SceneWriting: The Missing Manual for Screenwriters i by Chris Perry and Eric Henry Sanders is an essential primer on the important foundational structure and elements that make a scene - and by extrapolation, a story - work. [Extracted from the article]

Fashioning James Bond: Costume, Gender and Identity in the World of 007: LLEWELLA CHAPMAN, 2022 London, NY, Bloomsbury Academic pp. xii + 320, illus., £65.00 (cloth), £19.99 (paper) Bond, James Bond, is synonymous with many iconographic elements, from gadgets and guns to megalomaniac foes with dastardly schemes, but the sharp-suited hero and the bikini-clad Bond girl are undoubtedly some of the franchise's most recognizable icons and absolutely central to its ongoing appeal. But despite being organized by Bond, the focus does not rest exclusively on the hero himself and there is plenty of space dedicated to discussing the costuming of those aforementioned Bond girls, later re-labelled Bond women, his bosses and colleagues, as well as the villains and their inevitable henchmen. [Extracted from the article]

The article examines and contrasts differing conceptions of the social significance of the development of television. The observations are taken from the 1937 Paris, France, World's Fair and the 1939 World's Fair held in New York City. Both events took place well before the widespread use of the medium. The introduction of television technology and broadcasting at the Paris event was the province of the French and German exhibits. The latter were controlled by the Nazis, but both were state-sponsored, official displays. The American event emphasized the technological innovation of the process and in contrast to the governmental nature of European television, U.S. broadcasting was aimed at private enterprise and consumerism.

The article focuses on the screening of cable access television programming in informal, public settings to showcase the work of community television producers and to promote the use of Manhattan's public access channels. On August 22, 1996 a handful of independent video producers and public access television enthusiasts gathered at the Downtown Community Television center on Lafayette Street in New York City's Chinatown. The occasion: "An Evening of Community Video." That evening's program was the last of a four-part summer screening series that visited neighborhoods of the Lower East Side, Chelsea and Washington Heights. Throughout the year, Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN): the non-profit organization responsible for administering public access television channels in the borough of Manhattan; screens cable access television programming in informal, public settings to showcase the work of community television producers and to promote the use of Manhattan's public access channels. The summer series featured programming made possible by MNN's Individual Production and Revolving Fund Grants.

Features documents from the Rockefeller Archive in New York on the progression of Siegfried Kracauer's study of German wartime communication through film. Background on Kracauer; Rockefeller Foundation's grant to the Kracauer project; Release of films held in Ottawa to the Film Library of the Museum of Modern Art; English synopsis and summary appraisal of the `Hitlerjunge Quex'.