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Shin Films is known as the largest film studio ever operated in South Korea. Shin Films was a symbolic landmark of South Korean cinema's so-called "Golden Age." Shin Sang-ok, the founder and de facto owner of Shin Films, aspired to build a Hollywood-style film studio and catch up with the current filming technologies of the West. Under his direction, Shin Films produced 238 films between 1952 and 1975. The studio even expanded its market to Southeast Asia, where it actively co-produced and exported many of its films. Shin Films, however, was liquidated by decree of the Park Chung Hee government in 1975 due to the regime's ever-changing film regulations. However, instead of focusing on the state's oppressive intervention in the film industry, this article argues that multiple factors contributed to the rise and demise of the studio. Shin Films was not just a victim of the autocratic government. Rather, the studio engaged with the Park regime while negotiating with the authorities. And Shin Films was the most successful beneficiary of the authoritarian state's film policy. This study demonstrates that the fall of Shin Films was more attributed to the studio leaders' mismanagement, a lack of talent pool, fluctuating market conditions, and regional film studios' collaboration and competition. Using archival materials, in-person interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, and available film scripts, this article examines the studio's business structure, management system, human factors, dominant genres, distribution and exhibition subsidiaries, and imports and exports business, which together constitute Shin Film's mode of production, [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coming attraction film trailer has successfully maintained its prominent role within film promotion for over a hundred years. This article explores the shifting historical status of the trailer within the film industry and how industry trade press reported on its development and widespread adoption. Across this period these publications worked to delineate the discursive borders within which trailer debate occurred: from attacks on the trailer's usefulness to related claims of accuracy and fidelity. Exploring the creation of this discourse challenges the idea that the increasingly negative tone around the film trailer in the twenty first century is a uniquely modern phenomenon. The article argues that these initial industry strategies need to be understood in relation to key cultural and industrial concerns around commerce and artistry, critical cultural gatekeeping, and broader interests in forecasting. By focusing on a largely overlooked element of the classical Hollywood system, we demonstrate how trailers existed in a disputed space within that system: a crucial promotional tool but also a creatively potent film text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on a broad range of under-explored historical sources to document the career trajectories of the women who worked in the Italian film industry between 1930 and 1944. Challenging established histories that normalise male dominance in Italian cinema during and after Mussolini's regime, the article sheds light on women's overlooked contribution to Italy's sound film industry and explores the multilayered, shifting dimension of their precarious and gendered labour. Engaging with key questions raised by historians of Italian Fascism and by feminist research in film and media history, the article delineates intersectional barriers to film employment faced by women in the years of the dictatorship and points to their historical legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into the history of Chinese film remakes, tracing their evolution from the early twentieth century to the present day, emphasizing the intertextual nature of filmmaking practices across national boundaries in East Asia. It also discusses the influence of Hollywood on Chinese cinema, particularly in terms of narrative structures, character types, and visual storytelling techniques, highlighting the complex dynamics of cultural exchange and adaptation in the film industry.

The article analyzes the life and fame of Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of WWII, exploring how his combat trauma and war hero status intersected with his transition to film stardom. It also discusses the cultural construction of combat trauma during and after WWII, highlighting the evolution of terms like "combat fatigue" and their impact on perceptions of psychological trauma among soldiers.

The article delves into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema consumption patterns in Romania, exploring how restrictions and health concerns have influenced consumer behavior towards cinema services and streaming platforms. It also discusses the rise of streaming services as substitutes for traditional cinema viewing, examining factors such as increased internet connectivity, changes in household broadband availability, and shifts in consumer preferences towards home streaming.

The article explores the adaptation of William Shakespeare's works in Indian cinema, tracing the evolution of this phenomenon from colonial times to the postcolonial era. It also discusses the impact of Indian regional theater on the translation, adaptation, and performance of Shakespeare's plays, highlighting their influence on the emerging field of Indian cinema.

Artefacts are human-made objects deemed culturally and historically significant. But they are also those scratches, burns and glitches that appear on audiovisual screens due to poor projection, improper storage or faulty processing. They are those unwanted additions that visualise the presence of loss. This paper explores the politics of audiovisual loss by looking at the history of the Ghana Film Industry Corporation film collection's demise alongside the 2020 films by Onyeka Igwe – a so-called archive and No Archive Can Restore You – that feature a similar collection in Nigeria. Igwe's exploratory camera floats around the Nigerian Film Corporation building documenting the filmic carnage within its vaults, reminding audiences that archival horror lies in the "colonial residue" of the archive's architecture. Artefacts of decay in Igwe's films, that mark the elimination of information from the image that restoration seeks to renew, are not the result of inaction, but acts of refusal. Film artefacts not only mark loss but are also traces of postcolonial affect. As such, I argue that archival neglect and the losses that it produces may also be acts of archival labour – an articulation of artefacting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the localization strategies of Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar, positing India as a distinctive cultural-industrial contact zone. The Indian market's size, scale, and cultural and linguistic diversity make it a remarkable region for an epistemic inquiry into global industrial contact zones created by transnational streaming platforms. I map the relative power of Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar in relation to India's strong local film and entertainment industry. In doing so, I identify two types of localization strategies: the cosmopolitan local and the indigenized global. These strategies encompass content, aesthetics, audiences, and local industry dynamics. This essay explains the cultural and global mobility of media forms tied to cricket and Bollywood and argues that these forms accord the Indian mediascape a distinctive agency, presenting an antipodal inversion of imperialistic discourses of Western hegemonic media power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the hegemonic gender roles in traditional societies, particularly in India, exploring how these roles limit women's aspirations, career choices and societal perceptions. It analyzes Nitesh Tiwari's film "Dangal" as a reconstruction of gender roles in Indian society, examining how the movie challenges gender hegemony and portrays the societal dynamics surrounding family, gender, and Bollywood drama, shedding light on the representation of women in the Indian film industry.

The film industry includes a chain composed of the machinery industry, the production industry and the derivative industry. Its evolution reflects the development of Chinese science fiction (sci-fi) films in the past century. Since the information revolution, marked by computer use, the film industry has undergone changes in digitalization, networking and intelligentization, and Chinese sci-fi films have taken on a new look. Sci-fi films have the duality of being industrial products and spiritual products. Therefore, Chinese sci-fi films have not only evolved with the evolution of the film industry but also highlight the importance of industrialization, reveal the side effects of industrialization and predict new industrial trends through their creativity, thus having rich connotations and value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1975 and 1977, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick secretly campaigned to overturn the new tax provisions of the Labour government's 1974 Finance Act. His aim was to develop a crisis narrative in which the legislation that affected the amount of earnings foreign residents would pay tax on in the UK was deemed directly responsible for the imminent and absolute collapse of the British film industry. Drawing on archival sources from the Stanley Kubrick Archive, the Harold Wilson papers, and The National Archives, the article reconstructs Kubrick's actions during this period to reveal how he planted stories in the press, lobbied MPs, ministers, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the prime minister, manipulated trade union officials, and secretly wrote press releases and campaign letters under the name of the general secretary of the ACTT, Alan Sapper. The archival case study widens understanding of the narrative of crisis pertaining to the British film industry in the 1970s and how this was exacerbated and exploited by powerful and wealthy individuals like Kubrick for personal gain. The article also contributes to the broader topics of access, power, and privilege in British society and how the rich subvert and undermine democracy, thereby aggravating structural inequalities, inequalities that have only deepened since Kubrick's political interventions and machinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the death of Suphi Kaner by suicide in 1963, an incident that overlaps with the rapid growth of the domestic film industry in Turkey. Kaner's tragic death is discussed in popular literature solely in relation to his alcohol addiction, his possible depression, and his inability to cope with sudden stardom, leaving almost unmentioned the key role of the boycott call of the Producers Association against him. In 1963, the power struggle between the producers and the star actors was very visible. Within the framework of this power struggle, producers made a boycott statement about Kaner, for allegedly interrupting the shooting of a film. I approach the chain of events that concluded with Kaner's suicide as an early example of labour disputes in Turkish cinema. This case demonstrates that the scope of labour disputes in film industries encompasses even star actors who are often considered as a privileged class. I argue that Kaner's suicide could have been avoided by fairer employment conditions, and if the Producers Association had not called for the boycott. To examine the case, I make use of a variety of historical texts including memoirs, auto-biographies, news pieces, interviews, and commentaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of cinema from its earliest days in small-town settings emphasises the importance of local circumstances in explaining the medium's success. This article employs surviving business records relating to the Picture House in the Scottish burgh of Campbeltown to explore aspects of cinema-going peculiar to that corner of rural Argyllshire, including a propensity, hitherto unidentified among Scottish audiences, to support the productions of the British film industry. Beyond this, the Picture House has a broader significance. As a monopoly provider of commercial entertainment to an enclosed market, it offers telling insights into a key point of transition for cinema, that from silent to sound film. Placed in the context of national trends, documented by data relating to the taxation of entertainments, Campbeltown provides compelling evidence that the advent of the talkies marked a fundamental discontinuity in the history of the medium at all levels, from the local to the national. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Kartik Nair's book, "Seeing Things," which explores the forgotten era of Bombay horror cinema, focusing on films like Veerana and their materiality. Nair's analysis delves into the historical context and censorship challenges faced by these horror films, highlighting their significance as artifacts of independent cinema in pre-Bollywood Bombay.

The article informs about the turmoil faced by the Busan International Film Festival, detailing the power struggle and controversies leading up to the appointment of Nam Dong-chul as acting festival director. Topics include the festival's vulnerability to government control, its history of conflicts and instability, and the potential impact of reduced funding on Korea's film festival landscape.

The article informs about Vitaly Mansky, a prominent documentary filmmaker whose extensive body of work has significantly influenced the Russian documentary scene since the 1990s. Topic include Mansky's contributions extend beyond filmmaking, as he actively promotes documentary cinema through public speeches, writings, and initiatives like the ArtDocFest film festival and the ArtDoc.Media online platform.

The article informs about the portrayal of ambivalent masculinities in contemporary film and TV, using the cult classic "But I'm a Cheerleader" as a lens to explore themes of gender, sexuality, and representation. Topic include discusses how the film's examination of lesbian codes resonates with contemporary issues such as queerbaiting, evolving understandings of gender, and the intersection of butch identity with transphobia, highlighting its relevance amidst ongoing societal challenges.

The article informs about the sudden passing of Pema Tseden, a renowned Tibetan film director, highlighting his significance in the Chinese film industry despite not being a commercial filmmaker. Topic include It explores how Pema managed to bridge diverse audiences and perspectives through his films, questioning how he achieved acclaim amidst politicized circumstances and discussing his evolving approach to filmmaking before his untimely death.

Existing literature has explored how different firm behaviours and strategies in different institutional contexts result in variegation in network structures. Based on those studies, this paper first examines how networks have been shaped by China's institutional transition in general and the process of marketisation in particular. Furthermore, we stress that the rise of networks in China's film industry has in return boosted the development of private firms and subsequently pushed forward the process of marketisation in this industry. Empirical results show that private firms have benefitted more from the complementarity between direct knowledge spillovers via inter‐firm networks and indirect knowledge spillovers via inter‐city networks, while state‐owned enterprises are incapable of coping with the competition effects stemming from inter‐city networks and fail to benefit from trans‐local knowledge spillovers in networks. Our main contribution is thus to direct attention to the interaction between network dynamics and institutional transition, which remains underexplored in the current literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed qualitative textual analysis to explore gender representation in the 15 highest-grossing films in China. Applying the doing gender framework, the study revealed that there are limited efforts toward gender equality, pervasive stereotypes, and patriarchal and heteronormative ideologies across different genres. Women are portrayed through family-oriented lenses, and an Iron Lady image has emerged, perpetuating shallow perceptions of femininity and maintaining male power. Furthermore, female actors composed only one-fifth of all actors, and there were no female cinematographers or editors. This study underscores the pressing need for the Chinese film industry to promote gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a Bakhtinian analysis of the representation of sound in Iranian cinema, authored by Behnaz Heydari, published in the Quarterly Review of Film & Video. It provides bibliographic details including volume, issue, pagination, publication date, and DOI, highlighting scholarly discourse on the interpretation of sound as a narrative element in Iranian films.

The article "Making Film in Egypt: How Labor, Technology, and Mediation Shape the Industry" by Chihab El Khachab explores the complex production processes involved in the Egyptian film industry. The author focuses on the everyday labor practices and decisions made by the various workers involved in filmmaking, highlighting the imponderable nature of the future outcome of a film. The book provides ethnographic descriptions of the historical, sociological, financial, and political contexts that shape the film industry, as well as the objects and ideas that direct film production. Overall, the book offers valuable insights into the anthropology of film and media, emphasizing the intricate and contingent nature of the filmmaking process. [Extracted from the article]

Background The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for the film industry. Following a shutdown of productions, The Safe Way Forward document was developed to outline disease mitigation protocols. Despite this framework, many unanticipated scenarios arose during reopening of film production with the ongoing pandemic. Aims To identify and document promising practices for mitigating COVID-19 transmission in the film industry that can inform future pandemics and other industries. Methods We conducted a literature search to review research regarding COVID-19 disease mitigation efforts in the film industry. Through client-facing consultancy and consultant group meetings, we identified those factors most important for disease mitigation in the film industry and applicable to future pandemics and other industries. The Delphi Method enabled experts to review lessons learned as studio consultants during the COVID-19 pandemic; learnings were coded and analyzed for recurring themes. Results We identified anxiety, mistrust, and poor communication as key contributors to decreased compliance with COVID-19 protocols. In response, our team demonstrated multi-specialty expertise, provided scientific explanations, and developed trust by listening empathetically and responding with clear, consistent messaging. These measures served to alleviate anxiety, improve compliance, and provide a safe return to production. Conclusions This study demonstrates the ability and agility of multi-disciplinary experts acting in the absence of clear guidance to support a safe return to film production. Workplace anxiety and non-compliance can be alleviated through effective communication by trusted experts. Lessons learned by our consultancy group can help protect workers across diverse industries in future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the film policy undertaken by the Hong Kong SAR government since the late 1990s. This film policy has been revised and refined over the past two decades, with several earmarked subsidy schemes intended to renew the film industry in production, promotion, and overseas exhibition. We present an account of government film subsidies and examine their effectiveness in the rejuvenation of Hong Kong cinema, followed by the feedback of filmmakers on the schemes. The dynamics and tension between the top-down approaches and the bottom-up perspectives of industry and film workers are critical in gauging the impact of the subsidies. In our final analysis, we reflect on how and why Hong Kong film policy might not have fulfilled its promises. We argue that the government cultural policy leverages the film industry as constitutive of creative and cultural industries to position Hong Kong as a creative capital and cultural hub. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are high‐valued biopolymers produced by microorganisms, which are secreted to the outside of the microbial cell as capsules or soluble slime and have unique characteristics that make their application possible in multiple industries. EPS have shown antioxidant, prebiotic, and antimicrobial activity. In addition, they have been described as non‐toxic, biodegradable, and safe biopolymers for applications in food processes. Due to these characteristics, they became essential complements in the design of environmentally friendly packaging, mainly in the development of bioactive, edible, and intelligent films. In this sense, the objectives of this review were to discuss relevant issues on EPS production for environmentally sustainable food packaging, including principles, recently identified sources, and biosynthesis of different types of EPS produced by microorganisms on different substrates. The potential use of these components in manufacturing packaging films is also discussed as a promising strategy to extend the shelf life of foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On January 18, 2024, an online conference on the transnational project "Intercultural Perspectives on Information Literacy and Metaliteracy" (IPILM) took place at the University of Hildesheim. The project aims to promote the intercultural information literacy and collaboration of students from different countries. The conference was organized and led by experts from Germany, India, the USA, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Poland. Presentations were given on various topics such as the influence of artificial intelligence on climate change, current conflicts, digital rights, and finance. The conference also addressed the impact of AI in various areas such as data protection, privacy, translation, finance, film industry, and art world. Solutions and recommendations were presented to protect the rights of citizens and to optimize the potential of AI. The conference is expected to take place again next year. Further information is available on the IPILM project website. [Extracted from the article]

The article examine the silent era of Western films and maintain that the cowboy hero has a complex and nuanced pedigree in film industry. Topics include how Western stars presented the cowboy in distinct fashion with a valuable cultural resource; and Mississippi River topography maintained a second identification with Western films.

The article shares insights of Historian Richard Slotkin, on how the 'real West' became accessible as the center of movie production in Oklahoma. Topics include national audiences were used to images from commercial media with employment in the regional film industry; and Western films provided a source of entertainment for film going audiences as well as uncooperative filmmakers and theaters.

Thin (∼ 100 nm thick) hydrophobic polymer films are used in a plethora of applications where water repellency is required. However, hydrophobic film implementation in industry is limited due to poor durability. Thin hydrophobic film blistering during condensation has been identified as one of the main mechanisms associated with failure. Yet, disagreement exists about the source of blister initiation. Furthermore, there is a lack of understanding about the physical defects or pinholes that facilitate vapor penetration pathways through thin hydrophobic films. These pinholes govern the nucleation of blisters on the interface between the hydrophobic polymer and metal substrate. Here, we use metal electrodeposition as a means to characterize these intrinsic pinholes in thin hydrophobic polymers. A facile method is demonstrated to locate pinholes and measure pinhole density on CFx and poly(2-chloro-p-xylylene) (Parylene C) films. Our work not only helps to understand the intrinsic defects associated with film deposition, it also provides design guidelines for the selection and development of efficient thin film hydrophobic coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Official Competition" (2021), Gastón Duprat's and Mariano Cohn's sarcastic take about the film industry allows viewers a glimpse behind the scenes, into the phases of film-making, from the first reading to the official opening night, without screening one frame of the film itself. Paradoxically, the use of a mise-en-abyme device lures the viewers closer to the work of art, as they become active participants in the performance of the film. The following article will examine this metadrama and suggest reasons why such double mirroring cultivates greater emotions—of empathy or aversion—thanks to the exposition of the artistic strategies upon which the film is devised. Relying on Roger Caillois's concepts and on Nidesh Lawtoo's take on mimetic pathos, this article shows that the mise-en-abyme device is an important tool for the understanding of the operation of mimetic contagion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic leading is by no means a modern problem--it is a human problem. As such, scholars can take a historical view in their analyses of toxic leading, enriching the study of this problem with additional resources. The authors present an example of this broader scholarly approach in the film study of leadership, using the dramatized World War ii television film series Band of Brothers, which compares the leader behaviors of several characters along a spectrum of harm. Among other suggestive conclusions, the analysis indicates that toxic leading combines a disregard for one's organization and a disregard for other people, and that habitual practice of virtuous behavior inhibits progress along a spectrum of harm that would otherwise result in chronic toxic leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of digital technologies on the film industry in Iran. It discusses how the Iranian state exercises control over the industry, affecting the use and distribution of digital technologies. While some argue that digital technologies have empowered independent filmmakers and dissenting voices, others point out the continued constraints imposed by the state and the division within the industry. The article analyzes the power dynamics within the Iranian film industry using Pierre Bourdieu's theories of capital. It also explores the advantages that state-sponsored filmmakers have over independent filmmakers, including greater financial resources and access to high-end production equipment. The article highlights the state's use of digital technologies to produce films that promote its ideologies and counter Western cultural influence. It also discusses the impact of global power dynamics on the stratification of the film industry. [Extracted from the article]

Hollywood will encounter some cultural policies when its films are imported to the Chinese film market on a revenue-sharing basis. These include a quota system, a censorship system and an uncertain release schedule. However, China has been the fastest growing film market since 2008 and the second largest film market in the world since 2012 (yet the current film industries worldwide are recovering from the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic). Despite the restrictive cultural policies, Hollywood, attracted by the promising profitability, have incorporated more Chinese roles and more plots about China to please the Chinese film regulators and audiences in order to gain access to the lucrative Chinese film market. Furthermore, the depiction of China has become more positive and diverse in recent Hollywood blockbusters compared with the Orientalist stereotypical images in the past. The author intends to examine the reasons behind the phenomenon through analysing the positively changing images of China from early Hollywood films to the recent Hollywood blockbusters. In fact, the positively changing depiction of China illustrates China and the US negotiating the dynamic process of cross-cultural exchange in economic and political terms through compromise, competition and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a view to exemplifying how film noir can effectively combine elements of expressionism and realism through a participatory viewing experience, this paper provides a discussion of The Third Man as a cinematic text that concomitantly reiterates traditional insular values in times of global conflict and strengthens the individuality of post-war British cinema against the pressures of the American film industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an interview with Jie Li, author of "Cinematic Guerrillas: Propaganda, Projectionists, and Audiences in Socialist China." Topics discussed include the growth of the film-exhibition network, the embodied practices of projectionists, and the complex relationship between cinema, propaganda, and resistance.

The article reviews a Telluride Film Festival celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, emphasizing its unique, director-focused approach, highlighting standout films like "Anatomie d'une chute" and "All of Us Strangers," and acknowledging the festival's commitment to diverse, challenging cinema.

The article focuses on Greta Gerwig's girlhood trilogy, comprising "Lady Bird," "Little Women," and "Barbie," examining how they explore girlhood and women's quest for autonomy. Topics discussed include the trilogy's artistic accomplishment, its reparative readings, and the absence of explicit acknowledgment of racial privilege.

The article focuses on celebrating B. Ruby Rich's ten-year tenure as editor-in-chief of Film Quarterly, highlighting her diverse and extensive contributions to the field. Topics discussed include Rich's background, her impact on independent cinema and documentary politics, and her innovative approach to expanding the journal's reach through live events and online content.

The article focuses on Jordan Peele's authorship in filmmaking, examining the generic, political, and aesthetic coherence of his directorial features, including "Get Out" and "Us." Topics discussed include Peele's success, his production company Monkeypaw's collaborative and reflexive approach to minority authorship, and the negotiation of his identity as a racialized mainstream-media producer.

The article focuses on the complex relationship between northern and southern representations in Hollywood, using D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" as an example of the tension between production and plot in the depiction of the South. Topics include the historical complicity of the film industry in perpetuating southern stereotypes, the Freudian paradigm of the North as the "super-ego" and the South as the "id," and an analysis of Phil Morrison's film "Junebug."

In recent years, there have been many voices in Korea arguing that a few commercially successful films take up the opportunities for the exhibition of other films and thus limit the selection of titles available for moviegoers, a trend dubbed the "screen monopoly". In seeking a solution, a number of scholars have looked to the anti-screen monopoly "regulations" in France, but without providing rigorous or persuasive evidence. By comparing the appropriate variables of Korea and France, this paper argues that the Korean film market is less monopolised than France despite the non-existence of these regulations. Furthermore, it demonstrates that Korea has more diversity than France. As a result, this paper concludes that introducing the French anti-screen monopoly regulations in Korea does not seem a beneficial option. The findings in this paper suggest a strong need to re-examine the effectiveness of government policies in the cultural industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Newspaper Axis: Six Press Barons who Enabled Hitler" by Kathryn S. Olmsted is a historical investigation that accuses six leading British and American newspaper proprietors of enabling Adolf Hitler. Olmsted argues that these press barons, including William Randolph Hearst and Lord Rothermere, controlled and shaped public discourse in their respective countries, obstructing interventionism and enabling Hitler's rise to power. The book explores their motivations and actions, including the use of misinformation and conspiracy theories, and highlights the role of media in promoting far-right politics. The study also touches on the collaboration between the film industry and the Roosevelt administration in opposition to the newspaper axis. Overall, the book serves as a warning about the power of media and its potential impact on democracy. [Extracted from the article]

Examining the historical evolution of the Sportsmen's Lodge, a restaurant and banquet facility located on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, this essay argues that suburban restaurants have served as vital "suburban anchors" facilitating suburban growth and place-making. Established in the 1920s as a recreational fishing concession for the film industry, the Sportsmen's Lodge expanded to become a renowned restaurant and banquet hall by the 1940s. Its facilities were used not only for social gatherings among politically conservative white homeowners, but also for business meetings where attendees strategized for the suburban region's growth. Ironically, their success in recruiting suburban industry and infrastructure produced an increasingly dense and diverse suburban landscape in which the Sportsmen's Lodge's itself ultimately became obsolete. The Lodge's recent demolition and redevelopment as a mixed-use retail complex signals the multiple purposes fulfilled by suburban restaurants, while highlighting the limits to their evolution in diversifying suburbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]