ReFocus: The Films of Albert Brooks

Christian B. Long

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2021

ReFocus

The Films of Albert Brooks

Christian B. Long

In the series ReFocus: The American Directors Series

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474434263

Overview
Contents

About this book

Offers the first book-length investigation Albert Brooks’ more than six-decade comedy career

Situates Albert Brooks’ films in their cultural contexts, including representations of class, gender, religion, and race
Assesses Albert Brooks’ critical reputation and relative popularity, including his influence on contemporary filmmakers and comedians
Analyses every film written and directed by Albert Brooks, as well as a number of his acting and voice-over roles, his stand-up comedy albums, his talk show appearances, and his writing, both short-form and novelistic

This is the first sustained critical collection on Albert Brooks, one of the key but under-examined figures in American stand-up, television comedy and Hollywood film comedy. Analysing every film written and directed by Albert Brooks, including Real Life (1979), Modern Romance (1981) and Lost in America (1985), as well as a number of his acting and voice-over roles, his stand-up comedy albums, talk show appearances and writing, the book argues that Albert Brooks not only merits a wider viewership, both critical and popular, but also that his career offers a useful lens through which to understand American film and culture since the late 1960s.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Notes on Contributors Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Christian B. Long Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Part I Brooks as Media Critic
2 Your General Humor Buildup: Constructing Albert Brooks J. D. Connor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
3 The Counterculture Squared: Albert Brooks’s Saturday Night Live Jeff Menne Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	78
4 Irony Ends in Why Thomas Britt Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
Part II Brooks as Auteur
5 When Success is Failure Christian B. Long Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
6 Modern Romance: Albert Brooks’s Anatomy of Love Enid Stubin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	136
7 Easy Riders, Raging Yuppies: Lost in America and the Work of the Professional-Managerial Class Derek Nystrom Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
8 Defending Purgatorio: Dante, Brooks, and Finding One’s Celestial Place Frank Percaccio Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
9 Albert Brooks Channeling the Feminine Rebecca Bell-Metereau Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Part III Brooks as Cultural Figure
10 Finding Brooks: Animating the Baby Boomer Generation in Finding Nemo Dietmar Meinel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
11 Debt, Payback, and Economics in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive Tom Ue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	226
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
Filmography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	252
Recordings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	254
Television Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
Writing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	258

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 280
Illustrations
- Other: 24 B/W illustrations
Keywords: Film, Media & Cultural Studies

eBook

Published: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 9781474434263