Violence in American Cinema

Americancinemahasalwaysbeenviolent,andnevermorethannow:explodingheads,busesthatblowupiftheystop,leakingoceanliners,racialattacks,andgeneralmayhem.Fromslapstick'scomicviolencetofilmnoir,fromthesilentstoTarantino,violencehasbeenpartofAmericaonscreen.Yetviolenceistraditionallyasecondaryconcernoffilmcriticism.ThislatestvolumeinoursuccessfulAFIFilmReadersseriesanalyzesviolence,examiningitsnature,itseffects,anditscinematicandsocialmeaning.Thirteencontributionsareorganizedinthreeparts:'TheorizingandHistoricizingHollywoodViolence','RevisitingViolentGenres'and'HollywoodViolenceandCulturalPolitics'.