How Oscar Micheaux Challenged the Racism of Early Hollywood
The black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux was one of the first to make films for a black audience, a rebuke to racist movies like The Birth of a Nation.
The “Downton Effect” on the English Country House Tour
The show Downton Abbey spurred a renewed interest in English country estates.
Selling Slashers to Teen Girls
The heroines of 1970s and 80s teen horror movies were traditionally feminine, tough, and sexually confident.
Streaming Television Might Just Bring Us Together After All
A look at TV watching as a social activity, from the "water cooler" network shows of yore to today's "second screen" live-tweets.
Harold Lloyd’s Death-Defying Comedy
“With comedy, trouble is one of the greatest ingredients because there are so many variations to it,” the silent film actor told one scholar.
Jane Fonda Changed Fitness Forever
Jane Fonda's workout videos cracked open the idea of who exercise was for, but only to an extent.
Remaking Betty Boop in the Image of a Housewife
Betty Boop was literally designed to be a bombshell, but around 1935, her creators decided to change her appearance.
When Hortense Powdermaker Studied Hollywood
This anthropologist's research on contemporary American society probes the tensions between business and art in the film world.
Before the Internet, Cable TV Was for Porn
Although porn never became a big part of the cable TV business, it was central in debates over its regulation.
A Feminist Vision of the Musical
Chantal Akerman’s The Eighties proves that a musical set in a mall can be a significant feminist work.