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This literary companion surveys the young adult works of American author Marion Zimmer Bradley, primarily known for her work in the fantasy genre. An A to Z arrangement includes coverage of novels (The Catch Trap, Survey Ship, The Fall of Atlantis, The Firebrand, The Forest House and The Mists of Avalon), the graphic narrative Warrior Woman, the Lythande novella The Gratitude of Kings, and, from the Darkover series, The Shattered Chain, The Sword of Aldones and Traitor's Sun. Separate entries on dominant themes--rape, divination, religion, violence, womanhood, adaptation and dreams--comb stories and longer works for the author's insights about the motivation of institutions that oppress marginalized groups, especially women.

How to Be a Film Critic in Five Easy Lessons addresses the serious matter of the increasing gap between the published opinions of professional film critics and the reception of popular film by traditional movie-goers, especially millennial movie fans. Recent reactions to the low grades emanating from Rotten Tomatoes, the iconic film review aggregation site, have inspired various constituencies to call for significant changes, including some major studio CEOs, some actors, and the readers of reviews themselves. A new generation and breed of film critics is needed, not raised to please baby boomers or Generation X movie fans, but younger viewers who make up 30% of ticket buyers. This study examines all this and offers five categories of film reviewers plying their trade as models of consistency. New critics have to start somewhere, most often in college film classes, and deciding what type of critic one wants to be begins here.

This volume offers film enthusiasts and teachers an investigation into what film critics do and examines what ideologies inform their evaluations. By employing recent television programs and films and comparing them to older ones, the study is able to trace changes in the methodologies of film and media critics. The work argues for the emergence of neofuturism as a chosen method of interpretation, contrasting with the dominance of postmodernism as the evaluative method through the early years of the new millennium. It also asks the questions who evaluates film and why? In doing so, the study questions the criteria for film evaluation, the validity of some reviews, and asks the question whether the evaluative system needs to change altogether.

Gregory Mohr untersucht am Beispiel der Serie Better Call Saul und anderer zeitgenössischer Serien die Erzählarchitektur aktueller Fortsetzungsstaffeln und stellt dabei die Verfahren der Langsamkeit und den daraus resultierenden erzählerischen Gewinn ins Zentrum der Analyse. Damit liefert er in diesem bisher unterrepräsentierten Forschungsbereich einen Beitrag zur Diskussion um die qualitative Aufwertung und Komplexitätszunahme in TV-Serien, die sich in sozialen Netzwerken, Feuilletons und wissenschaftlichen Diskursen einen festen Platz gesichert haben. Mit dem langsamen Erzählen tritt ein noch junges Phänomen hinzu, das gleichzeitig als Schlaglicht vieler zeitgenössischer Serien zu bemerken ist.

What's your impression of the CIA? A bumbling agency that can't protect its own spies? A rogue organization prone to covert operations and assassinations? Or a dedicated public service that advances the interests of the United States? Astute TV and movie viewers may have noticed that the CIA's image in popular media has spanned this entire range, with a decided shift to more positive portrayals in recent years. But what very few people know is that the Central Intelligence Agency has been actively engaged in shaping the content of film and television, especially since it established an entertainment industry liaison program in the mid-1990s. The CIA in Hollywood offers the first full-scale investigation of the relationship between the Agency and the film and television industries. Tricia Jenkins draws on numerous interviews with the CIA's public affairs staff, operations officers, and historians, as well as with Hollywood technical consultants, producers, and screenwriters who have worked with the Agency, to uncover the nature of the CIA's role in Hollywood. In particular, she delves into the Agency's and its officers'involvement in the production of The Agency, In the Company of Spies, Alias, The Recruit, The Sum of All Fears, Enemy of the State, Syriana, The Good Shepherd, and more. Her research reveals the significant influence that the CIA now wields in Hollywood and raises important and troubling questions about the ethics and legality of a government agency using popular media to manipulate its public image.

The 21st century has seen a resurgence of popular interest in the Middle Ages. Television in particular has presented a wide and diverse array of'medieval'offerings. Yet there exists little scholarship on television medievalism. This collection fills the gap with 10 new essays focusing on the depiction of the Middle Ages in popular culture and questioning the role of television in shaping our ideas about past and present. The contributors emphasize the need for scholars of medievalism to pay attention to its manifestations on the small screen. The essays cover quite a range of topics, including genre, gender and sexuality. The series covered are Game of Thrones, Merlin, Full Metal Jousting, Joan of Arcadia, Tudors, Camelot and Mists of Avalon. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

What's your impression of the CIA? A bumbling agency that can't protect its own spies? A rogue organization prone to covert operations and assassinations? Or a dedicated public service that advances the interests of the United States? Astute TV and movie viewers may have noticed that the CIA's image in popular media has spanned this entire range, with a decided shift to more positive portrayals in recent years. But what very few people know is that the Central Intelligence Agency has been actively engaged in shaping the content of film and television, especially since it established an entertainment industry liaison program in the mid-1990s.The CIA in Hollywood offers the first full-scale investigation of the relationship between the Agency and the film and television industries. Tricia Jenkins draws on numerous interviews with the CIA's public affairs staff, operations officers, and historians, as well as with Hollywood technical consultants, producers, and screenwriters who have worked with the Agency, to uncover the nature of the CIA's role in Hollywood. In particular, she delves into the Agency's and its officers'involvement in the production of The Agency, In the Company of Spies, Alias, The Recruit, The Sum of All Fears, Enemy of the State, Syriana, The Good Shepherd, and more. Her research reveals the significant influence that the CIA now wields in Hollywood and raises important and troubling questions about the ethics and legality of a government agency using popular media to manipulate its public image.

Time Magazine named Battlestar Galactica “The Best Show of the Year” in 2005. Newsweek called it “indisputably, hands-down and without question, the best show on television.” And USA Today proclaimed, “You don't have to love sci-fi to love Battlestar Galactica... a great TV series.” Frak You!: The Ultimate Unauthorized Guide to Battlestar Galactica will examine the universe of BSG — a drastically reduced population living in an apocalyptic world, fighting for the survival of the human race. This book will include a look at the different ways in which apocalyptic events are depicted in science fiction; how the show blends current political content into a science fiction setting, dealing with topical subjects like treatment of war prisoners, armistice breaking, and the rules of engagement; how the current show compares to the original 1970s series and how the characters resemble their original namesakes; and it will look at how war and survival are portrayed on the series, using themes of apocalypse, losing one's home, capturing enemies, political torture, and the choices we make in desperate situations. It will also feature an interview with the show's executive producer, Ron Moore, and bios of the seven principal cast members. With an in-depth episode guide to the first three seasons of the show — analyzing the history of the Cylons and the show's use of mythology, religion, and politics — and the interim “webisodes” that aired online between seasons two and three, Frak You! will be the only guide to this amazing show that fans will need.