The Modern Amazons : Warrior Women on Screen - Softcover

Dominique Mainon; James Ursini

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0879103272 ISBN 13: 9780879103279

Publisher: Limelight, 2006

Synopsis

The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen documents the public's seemingly insatiable fascination with the warrior woman archetype in film and on television. The book examines the cautious beginnings of new roles for women in the late fifties, the rapid development of female action leads during the burgeoning second-wave feminist movement in the late sixties and seventies, and the present-day onslaught of female action characters now leaping from page to screen.

The book itself is organized into chapters that group women warriors into sub-genres, e.g., classic Amazons like Xena Warrior Princess and the women of the Conan films; superheroes and their archenemies such as Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Catwoman; revenge films such as the Kill Bill movies; Sexploitation and Blaxploitation films such as Coffy and the Ilsa trilogy; Hong Kong cinema and warriors like Angela Mao, Cynthia Rothrock, and Zhang Ziyi; sci-fi warriors from Star Trek, Blade Runner, and Star Wars; supersleuths and spies like the Avengers and Charlie's Angels; and gothic warriors such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Kate Beckinsale in Underworld and Van Helsing. In addition, the book is lavishly illustrated with over 400 photos of these popular-culture icons in action, interesting articles and sidebars about themes, trends, weapons, style, and trivia, as well as a complete filmography of more than 150 titles.

About this title

About the Author

Dominique Mainon is a writer/researcher, martial arts aficionado, guerilla artist, and producer for an independent film company. She is currently residing in Laguna Beach, California. For information on current projects, please visit: www.dominiquemainon.com.

James Ursini is the author, co-author, and co-editor of over twenty books on film history, including The Vampire Film and The Film Noir Reader series, both available from Limelight Editions, Noir Style, and L.A. Noir. He is also a noted DVD commentator, having done over a dozen commentaries for both Fox and Warner Bros. He has written for various magazines, as well as film journals. He has a doctorate from UCLA and teaches in Los Angeles. He is at present writing a noir novel.

Review

" . . . [an] enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, film school, and community library Film Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists." -- Reviewer's Bookwatch, a publication of Midwest Book Review, April 2006

" . . . a sociologically sound study of strong women in film and TV . . ." -- The New Haven Advocate, April 6, 2006

". . . what sexy, muscle-icious fluff. " -- OutSmart Magazine, May 2006

". . . written with unpretentious academic authority." -- Arizona Daily Star, May 5, 2006

"Ass-kicking chicks deserve a good book treatment . . . the authors tackle this subject with enthusiasm and insight." -- Baltimore City Paper, June 7, 2006

"The Modern Amazons totally takes the negative Amazon Woman myth and flips it... a rockin' book..." -- Bay Windows, April 1, 2006

"[A] hefty volume . . . [with] hundreds of illustrations of . . . lethal ladies . . ." -- Sci Fi magazine, August 2006

About this edition

• Publisher: Limelight
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0879103272
• ISBN 13: 9780879103279
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 424