Description
Scholars have consistently applied psychoanalytic models to representations of gender in early teen slasher films such as "Black Christmas (1974)," "Halloween (1978)" and "Friday the 13th (1980)" in order to claim that these were formulaic, excessively violent exploitation films, fashioned to satisfy the misogynist fantasies of teenage boys and grind house patrons. However, by examining the commercial logic, strategies and objectives of the American and Canadian independents that produced the films and the companies that distributed them in the US, "Blood Money" demonstrates that filmmakers and marketers actually went to extraordinary lengths to make early teen slashers attractive to female youth, to minimize displays of violence, gore and suffering and to invite comparisons to a wide range of post-classical Hollywood's biggest hits - including "Love Story (1970)," "The Exorcist (1973)," "Saturday Night Fever (1977)," "Grease," and "Animal House (both 1978)." "Blood Money" is a remarkable piece of scholarship that highlights the many forces that helped establish the teen slasher as a key component of the North American film industry's repertoire of youth-market product.
A groundbreaking study of the teen slasher films of the 70s and early 80s, revealing the commercial intelligence and industry forces behind their success.
About the Author
Richard Nowell is an independent scholar who has taught at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the University of East Anglia in the UK. His recent work also can be seen in the Journal of Film and Video and the Directory of World Cinema: American Hollywood.
Reviews
"Richard Nowell's meticulously researched, engagingly presented and forcefully argued study offers new insights into how films, filmmaking and film marketing operated in the North American film industry of the 1970s and early 1980s. It is an exemplary piece of work, which will hopefully inspire other scholars to work along similar lines." - Peter Kramer, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of East Anglia, UK; author of The New Hollywood: From Bonnie and Clyde to Star Wars (2005)."
Book Information
ISBN 9781441117052
Author Dr. Richard Nowell
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint Continuum Publishing Corporation
Publisher Continuum Publishing Corporation
A groundbreaking study of the teen slasher films of the 70s and early 80s, revealing the commercial intelligence and industry forces behind their success.
About the Author
Richard Nowell is an independent scholar who has taught at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and the University of East Anglia in the UK. His recent work also can be seen in the Journal of Film and Video and the Directory of World Cinema: American Hollywood.
Reviews
"Richard Nowell's meticulously researched, engagingly presented and forcefully argued study offers new insights into how films, filmmaking and film marketing operated in the North American film industry of the 1970s and early 1980s. It is an exemplary piece of work, which will hopefully inspire other scholars to work along similar lines." - Peter Kramer, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of East Anglia, UK; author of The New Hollywood: From Bonnie and Clyde to Star Wars (2005)."
Book Information
ISBN 9781441117052
Author Dr. Richard Nowell
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint Continuum Publishing Corporation
Publisher Continuum Publishing Corporation
Details
Subtitle: |
A History of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle |
Imprint: |
Continuum Publishing Corporation |
