Bücher von Stephen Glynn

This book constitutes the first full volume dedicated to an academic analysis of theatrically-released spinoff films derived from British radio and television sitcoms. Regularly maligned as the nadir of British film production and marginalised as a last resort for the financially-bereft industry during the 1970s, this study demonstrates that the sitcom spinoff film has instead been a persistent and important presence in British cinema from the 1940s to the present day, and includes (occasional) works with distinct artistic merit. Alongside an investigation of the economic imperative underpinning these productions, i.e. the exploitation of proven product with a ready-made audience, it is argued that, with a longevity stretching from Arthur Askey and his wartime Band Waggon (1940) to the crew of Kurupt FM and their recent People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan (2021), the British sitcom spinoff can be interpreted as following a full generic 'life cycle'. Starting with the 'formative' stage where works from Hi Gang! (1941) to I Only Arsked! (1958) establish the genre's characteristics, the spinoff genre moves to its 'classic' stage where, secure for form and content, it enjoys considerable popular success with films like Till Death Us Do Part (1969), On the Buses (1971), The Likely Lads (1976) and Rising Damp (1980); the genre's revival since the late-1990s reveals a more 'parodic' final stage, with films like The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005) adopting a consciously self-reflective mode. It is also posited that the sitcom spinoff film is a viable source for social history, with the often-stereotypical re-presentations of characters and events an (often blatant) ideological metonym for the concerns of wider British society, notably in issues of class, race, gender and sexuality.

This book constitutes the first monograph dedicated to an academic analysis of David Bowie's appearances in film. Through close textual analysis together with production and reception histories, Bowie's 'silver screen' career is explored in full. The book covers performance documentaries such as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, star vehicles ranging from the eulogised The Man Who Fell to Earth to the excoriated Just a Gigolo, plus roles from the horror chic of The Hunger and cult fantasy of Labyrinth to the valiant high-brow Baal and vainglorious high-budget Absolute Beginners, ending with Bowie as Bowie in Bandslam and others as 'Bowie' in Velvet Goldmine and Stardust. Alongside showing his willingness to experiment (and at times fail) across a variety of genres, this study investigates Bowie's performative style that, while struggling to accommodate the requirements of cinematic realism, fits more harmoniously with alternative production codes and aesthetics. More broadly, by exploring the commercial, socio-cultural and ideological significance of Bowie on film, the book demonstrates how notions of gender, sexuality and identity formation, plus commodity and cultural capital, function and fluctuate in contemporary society.

This book constitutes the first full volume dedicated to an academic analysis of the sport of boxing as depicted in British film. Through close textual analysis, production and reception histories and readings that establish social, cultural and political contexts, the book explores the ways in which prizefighters, amateur boxers, managers and supporters (from Regency gentry to East End gangsters) are represented on the British screen. Exploring a complex and controversial sport, it addresses not only the pain-versus-reward dilemma that boxing necessarily engenders, but also the frequently censorious attitude of those in authority, with boxing¿s social development facilitating a wider study around issues of class, gender and race, latterly contesting the whole notion of ¿Britishness¿. Varying in scope from Northern circuit comedies to London-based ¿ladsploitation¿ films, from auteur entries by Alfred Hitchcock to programme fillers by E.J. Fancey, the boxing film also serves as a prismthrough which one can trace major historical shifts in the British film industry.

This book constitutes the first full volume dedicated to an academic analysis of the sport of boxing as depicted in British film.

This book constitutes the first full volume dedicated to an academic analysis of British football as depicted on film.

A work of social and film history, The British Horseracing Film demonstrates how the so-called "sport of kings" functions as an accessible institutional structure through which to explore cinematic discussions about the British nation-but also, and equally, national approaches to British cinema.

This book constitutes the first full volume dedicated to an academic analysis of British football as depicted on film.

Through close textual and contextual analysis of British films spanning a century, this book explores how pupils, teachers and secondary education in general have been represented on the British screen.