The Decades of Double Features
For years, the double feature was a dependable part of the movie-goer’s life. Where did it come from, and where did it go?
The Enduring Drive-In Theater
Even as televisions spread across the American landscape, the drive-in movie theater grew in popularity in the years following World War II.
PG-13: Some Material May Be Inappropriate
The creation of the PG-13 rating in 1984 can be traced to a few key films: Poltergeist, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Gremlins.
Racist Humor: Exploratory Readings
An introduction to the history and theory of racist humor and the social role it plays in Western societies.
American Daredevils
The nineteenth-century commitment to thrilling an audience embodied an emerging synergy of public performance, collective experience, and individual agency.
Mae West and Camp
A camp diva, a queer icon, and a model of feminism—the memorable Mae West left behind a complicated legacy, on and off the stage.
Her Bounty Is Boundless
From the first actor—a man—to play Juliet to the “girl boss” version on Broadway, Shakespeare’s young lover offers something new in every iteration.
Can Fan Hashtag Campaigns Stop the “Bury Your Gays” Trope?
Organized fan hashtag campaigns put pressure on the entertainment industry to improve their writing for and treatment of LGBTQ+ characters.
We All “Scream” for the Metatextual
Do you like scary movies? How about movies that scare you while satirizing and paying homage to their genre?
The Mockumentary: A Very Real History
What's the appeal of humor masquerading as seriousness? An entire movie genre stands ready to shed light on that question.