{"title":"Series: Short Cuts","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003eShort Cuts\u003c\/strong\u003e series offers readers insightful and accessible explorations across a diverse range of subjects, from the intricacies of \u003cem\u003eFinance \u0026amp; Investment\u003c\/em\u003e to the challenges of \u003cem\u003eBusiness \u0026amp; Entrepreneurship\u003c\/em\u003e. Whether delving into the nuances of \u003cem\u003ePhilosophy \u0026amp; Psychology\u003c\/em\u003e or the dynamic world of \u003cem\u003eComputing \u0026amp; Technology\u003c\/em\u003e, each title presents concise, engaging perspectives designed to inform and provoke thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAdventurous readers will also find travel narratives and graphic novels that invite escapism, while history enthusiasts and younger audiences can enjoy carefully crafted stories and explorations within \u003cem\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Military\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eChildren’s Books\u003c\/em\u003e. The series balances depth with brevity, ensuring a varied collection that speaks to curious minds across genres.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"narrative-and-narration-by-warren-buckland-9780231181433","title":"Narrative and Narration","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom mainstream blockbusters to art house cinema, narrative and narration are the driving forces that organize a film. Yet attempts to explain these forces are often mired in notoriously complex terminology and dense theory. Warren Buckland provides a clear and accessible introduction that explains how narrative and narration work using straightforward language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNarrative and Narration\u003c\/em\u003e distills the basic components of cinematic storytelling into a set of core concepts: narrative structure, processes of narration, and narrative agents. The book opens with a discussion of the emergence of narrative and narration in early cinema and proceeds to illustrate key ideas through numerous case studies. Each chapter guides readers through different methods that they can use to analyze cinematic storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBuckland also discusses how departures from traditional modes, such as feminist narratives, art cinema, and unreliable narrators, can complicate and corroborate the book's understanding of narrative and narration. Examples include mainstream films, both classic and contemporary; art house films of every stripe; and two relatively new styles of cinematic storytelling: the puzzle film and those driven by a narrative logic derived from video games.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNarrative and Narration\u003c\/em\u003e is a concise introduction that provides readers with fundamental tools to understand cinematic storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000687575276,"sku":"9780231181433","price":41.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/7871033482270.jpg?v=1763297238"},{"product_id":"teen-movies-by-timothy-shary-9780231206211","title":"Teen Movies","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCinema has always engaged with the experiences, hopes, fears, and anxieties of—and about—adolescents, teenagers, and young people. \u003cem\u003eTeen Movies\u003c\/em\u003e is a comprehensive and accessible history of the depiction of teenagers in American film, from the silent era to the twenty-first century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTimothy Shary explores the development of teenage roles across eras and industrial cycles, such as the juvenile delinquent pictures of the 1950s, the beach movies of the 1960s, the horror films of the 1980s, and the fantasy epics of the 2000s. He considers the varied genres of the teen movie—horror and melodrama, romance and adventure, fantasy and science fiction—and its shifting themes and tropes around sex and gender, childhood and adulthood, rebellion and social order, crime and consumer culture. \u003cem\u003eTeen Movies\u003c\/em\u003e features analyses of films such as \u003cem\u003eRebel Without a Cause\u003c\/em\u003e (1955), \u003cem\u003eSplendor in the Grass\u003c\/em\u003e (1961), \u003cem\u003eCarrie\u003c\/em\u003e (1976), \u003cem\u003eThe Breakfast Club\u003c\/em\u003e (1985), \u003cem\u003eAmerican Pie\u003c\/em\u003e (1999), and the \u003cem\u003eTwilight\u003c\/em\u003e series (2008–2012).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis second edition is updated throughout and features a new chapter examining Millennials and Generation Z on screen, with discussions of many contemporary topics, including queer youth in movies like \u003cem\u003eMoonlight\u003c\/em\u003e (2016), abortion in films such as \u003cem\u003eNever Rarely Sometimes Always\u003c\/em\u003e (2020), and the flourishing of a \"tween\" cinema as seen in \u003cem\u003eAre You There God? It's Me, Margaret.\u003c\/em\u003e (2023).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47432795783404,"sku":"9780231206211","price":41.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231206211.jpg?v=1774766478"},{"product_id":"the-contemporary-superhero-film-by-terence-mcsweeney-9780231192415","title":"The Contemporary Superhero Film","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAudiences around the globe continue to flock to see the latest releases from Marvel and DC studios, making it clear that superhero films resonate with the largest global audience that Hollywood has ever reached. Yet despite dominating theatre screens like never before, the superhero genre remains critically marginalised—ignored at best and more often actively maligned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Contemporary Superhero Film\u003c\/em\u003e by Terence McSweeney examines this global phenomenon, providing a concise and up-to-date overview of the superhero genre. He lays out its narrative codes and conventions, exploring why it appeals to diverse audiences and what it has to say about the world in the first two decades of the twenty-first century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnpacking the social, ideological, and cultural content of superhero films, McSweeney argues that the genre should be considered a barometer of contemporary social anxieties and a reflection of cultural values. He scrutinises representations of gender, race, and sexuality as well as how the genre's conventions relate to and comment on contemporary political debates. Beyond American contributions to the genre, the book also features extensive analysis of superhero films from all over the world, contrasting them with the dominant U.S. model.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe book's presentation of a range of case studies and critical debates is accessible and engaging for students, scholars, and enthusiasts at all levels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47432853291244,"sku":"9780231192415","price":41.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780231192415.jpg?v=1774766268"},{"product_id":"fate-in-film-by-thomas-m-puhr-9780231203913","title":"Fate in Film","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe course of events is predetermined and cannot be changed. Forces beyond our control—or even our comprehension—shape our fates. Such is the deterministic worldview embedded in a wide swath of contemporary cinema, from arthouse experiments to popular genre films, through both thematic concerns and narrative structures. These films, especially the recent spate of \"elevated\" science fiction and horror, tap into this deep-seated anxiety by focusing on characters who ultimately fail to transcend the patterns and structures that define them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThomas M. Puhr identifies and analyses the ways that cinema has dealt with the tension between fate and free will, from Stanley Kubrick's \u003cem\u003eThe Shining\u003c\/em\u003e to Christopher Nolan's \u003cem\u003eTenet\u003c\/em\u003e. He examines films that express deterministic ideas, including circular narratives of stasis or confinement and fatalistic portraits of external forces dictating characters' lives. Puhr considers determinism at the levels of the individual, the family, and society, reading films in which characters are trapped by past or alternate selves, the burdens of family histories, or oppressive social structures. He explores how films such as Joel and Ethan Coen's \u003cem\u003eInside Llewyn Davis\u003c\/em\u003e, Ari Aster's \u003cem\u003eHereditary\u003c\/em\u003e, Jordan Peele's \u003cem\u003eUs\u003c\/em\u003e, and Lucrecia Martel's \u003cem\u003eZama\u003c\/em\u003e confront the limits of human agency. Puhr relates deterministic themes to the nature of moviegoing: In denying characters any ability to choose alternative paths, these films mirror how viewers themselves can only sit and watch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRecasting the works of some of today's most compelling directors, \u003cem\u003eFate in Film\u003c\/em\u003e is an innovative critical account of an unrecognised yet crucial aspect of contemporary cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47596389728492,"sku":"9780231203913","price":37.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9861ced7ffe51713c10033c975e056f5.jpg?v=1777929607"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/series-short-cuts.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}