Hollywood Beyond the Screen: Design and Material Culture (Materializing Culture) - Softcover

Massey, Anne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1859733212 ISBN 13: 9781859733219

Publisher: Berg Publishers, 2000

Synopsis

Hollywood has exerted a profound influence on British style and design. From its earliest days, Hollywood glamour in the form of make-up, hairstyles, and fashion was mimicked by women throughout Britain. But the influence of Hollywood was more than skin-deep. Nearly every form of British material culture in the twentieth century has been influenced to some extent by American style, disseminated through the medium of film to a broad and receptive market.With the erection of the Chrysler Building in New York in the late 20s, representing the city and modern American urban life, the Manhattan skyline became an enduring icon in popular culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Not only Hollywood film, but jazz and American companies all combined to bring the new Moderne style to bear on Britain. The architecture of shops, cinemas, and factories all reflect this influence, as did various forms of transportation and the interiors of homes. Even as late as the consumer boom in the 80s, revivals celebrating the Moderne style were popular in Britain as well as abroad. This influence was naturally not without its critics. The very popularity of American design challenged the aesthetics and elitism of British high arts and remains controversial. Anyone interested in design, material culture, film or architecture will find this book to be a lucid and absorbing exploration of a popular aesthetic.

About this title

About the Authors

Anne Massey is Professorial Fellow in Design and Culture at the University for the Creative Arts, UK. She is the author and editor of a number of books, including Pop Art and Design (2017), Designing the Modern Interior (2009) and Hollywood Beyond the Screen (2000), all published by Bloomsbury. She is known for her work on the Independent Group and post-war British culture, including The Independent Group: Modernism and Mass Culture in Britain, 1945-59 (1995).

Daniel Miller is Professor of Anthropology, University College London. Recent books include 'A Theory of Shopping', 'The Internet: An Ethnographic Approach' (with Don Slater) and Ed. 'Car Cultures'.

Paul Gilroy is a historian, writer and cultural theorist and the founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at UCL (2019). Prior to UCL, he taught at South Bank University, Essex University, Goldsmiths, University of London, Yale University, London School of Economics and King's College London. Gilroy is the 2019 winner of the Holberg Prize. He is known for his influential studies on black cultural expression on both sides of the Atlantic; the cultural history of postcolonial societies; and the sociology of ethnicity, race and racism in Britain.

Edition details

• Publisher: Berg Publishers
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1859733212
• ISBN 13: 9781859733219
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224