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While the dominance of the Hollywood major studios in the global film market is a well-known fact, less is known about the patterns of exportability by film genre and by nation. Here I present data pertaining to cross-national comparisons between France and the United States, as well as relevant global market figures for US films by genre. The findings challenge the assumption that specific genres, notably comedy, do not export. Rather, it appears that most US comedies that are successful in the States, like most other genres of US films, do and are exported. The case for France, however, appears quite different, insofar as the top films, which were overwhelmingly also comedies, did not export. Exports in the French case were more characteristic of niche marketing: namely quality nature films that could be easily translated, and films that fit specific cultural expectations (Barnier and Moine, 2002; Frodon, 1998). This research also suggests that the traditional confrontation of theoretical approaches (cultural imperialist, cultural studies, and the economic approach) fits neither the current situation of a globalizing industry nor the cultural complexity of many films, but that a more nuanced approach should focus on strategies available to different players and relationships formed among producers and between producers and specific markets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents car designers and their social roles in the United States and Europe. It provides the beginnings of car design from the Model T of Henry Ford and redesign to Model A as a result of competition with the General Motors (GM). Alfred P. Sloan of GM emphasized style and engineering. He hired Harley Earl to lead the Art and Color Section and subsequently produced the design for 1927 Cadillac LaSalle, 1938 Buick Y and the 1938 Cadillac 60 Special. Earl did not want to be called an artist; for him art was feminine. Unlike in the United States, car designers were given the social status of the artist and instruments of social change. According to Nikolaus Pevsner, it as the role of design to level up the workers. Recently, merger of major car companies provided increased status to designers. Shiro Nakamura, J. Mays and Trevor Creed, who were trained in both engineering and art, have become popular and hold top corporate positions.

The article presents discusses treatment methods of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). While more than 30,000 patients undergo elective AAA repair annually in the U.S., open surgical repair has been the undisputed preferred operative approach. Endovascular aneurysm repair, which is related to less post-operative pain and a quicker return to full activities compared with open surgery, also figures in the list of appropriate AAA treatment strategies.

The distinctive radical feminist movement, which appeared in the United States around 1967, provided the women's movement with much of its initial impetus as well as its theoretical framework. As the movement grew and became more widely accepted, radical ideas and demands were blocked out by the larger and more orthodox liberal feminist organizations. and ceased to play an important part in the theoretical development of the whole movement. It is argued that any modern social movement which makes transformative demands on society - as the feminist movement does e must, in forming its ideas and programmes, fulfil certain conceptual and intellectual tasks which are characteristic of utopian Thought, and which can be systematically analysed. One such task is the development of a holistic alternative theory of society and social change. The suppression of feminism's radical wing had the unintended consequence of eliminating the movement s major resource for the development of such a theory, and may seriously weaken feminism as a force for change in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the making and marketing of the French film "The Artist," produced by Thomas Langmann, and discusses how this foreign film was able to win the 2012 Best Picture Oscar award. Topics include the U.S. domination of the global motion picture industry, barriers foreign films face in the U.S., and the cultural expectations Americans have for French films. Other topics include how "The Artist" avoided language barriers by being a silent film and production of the film in the U.S.