Tim Burton: Diario De Un Sonador / Diary of a Dreamer (Cine Jaguar)

Book Description

The headlong rush, the rapid montage, the soaring superhero, the plunging roller coaster—Matters of Gravity focuses on the experience of technological spectacle in American popular culture over the past century. In these essays, leading media and cultural theorist Scott Bukatman reveals how popular culture tames the threats posed by technology and urban modernity by immersing people in delirious kinetic environments like those traversed by Plastic Man, Superman, and the careening astronauts of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Right Stuff. He argues that as advanced technologies have proliferated, popular culture has turned the attendant fear of instability into the thrill of topsy-turvydom, often by presenting images and experiences of weightless escape from controlled space.

Considering theme parks, cyberspace, cinematic special effects, superhero comics, and musical films, Matters of Gravity highlights phenomena that make technology spectacular, permit unfettered flights of fantasy, and free us momentarily from the weight of gravity and history, of past and present. Bukatman delves into the dynamic ways pop culture imagines that apotheosis of modernity: the urban metropolis. He points to two genres, musical films and superhero comics, that turn the city into a unique site of transformative power. Leaping in single bounds from lively descriptions to sharp theoretical insights, Matters of Gravity is a deft, exhilarating celebration of the liberatory effects of popular culture.

Customer Reviews:

Superheroes and Sci-Fi Philosophy.......2006-10-26

My wife recently gave me this book as a gift. She saw it on a closeout table at a local bookseller and thought I might enjoy it, since I have been a lifelong fan of science-fiction and comic books. It is a series of articles from Professor of Art and Art History at Stanford University, Scott Bukatman, that discuss technology in science fiction movies, comic books, television, etc. and how these actually help to prepare us all for the future, new technology, and expanding urbanism that we might otherwise fear or misunderstand.

Bukatman argues that the swooping camera movements in the early virtual-reality fantasy film Tron, for example, act so as to embody the viewer in its alienating new spaces, to give us "a place in this computerized world, a place defined almost solely in terms of spatial penetration and kinetic achievement." He proposes that the purpose of much science fiction, paradoxically, is to provide the comforting illusion that we always know where we are.

His final chapter is the best: a reading of superheroes in their various urban environments that is studded with great imagry. Bukatman draws an analogy between the 1811 imposition of Manhattan's grid street system and the rectangular layout of traditional comic strips. The strange fact that superheroes always live in big cities persuades him that the liberating sight of Superman flying, Spider-Man swinging or Batman leaping through the skylines is again an attempt to domesticate the dehumanized concrete sprawl. Superman, Bukatman says, "represented, in 1938, a kind of Corbusierian ideal. Superman has X-ray vision: walls become permeable, transparent. Through his benign, controlled authority, Superman renders the city open, modernist and democratic; he furthers a sense that Le Corbusier described in 1925, namely, that 'Everything is known to us'."

I really enjoyed this book and the various ideas and philosophical theroies about the place of scinece-fiction writing and movies, as well as comic book fantasy in our modern world.

Highly recommended for fans of the genres.

Amazing........2003-12-04

I have been studying film history for over 30 years and never have I been privy to a more avant garde and well supported book. Bukatman certainly knows his material, and takes the genre of science fiction to a new high. Kudos, Bukatman!

Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century.(Book Review): An article from: Extrapolation

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Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century.(Book Review): An article from: Extrapolation
Jie Lu
Manufacturer: Extrapolation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Extrapolation, published by Extrapolation on December 22, 2003. The length of the article is 653 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century.(Book Review)
Author: Jie Lu
Publication: Extrapolation (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2003
Publisher: Extrapolation
Volume: 44 Issue: 4 Page: 467(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Scott Bukatman. Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century.(Book Review): An article from: Utopian Studies

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Scott Bukatman. Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century.(Book Review): An article from: Utopian Studies
Oscar R. Marti
Manufacturer: Society for Utopian Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Utopian Studies, published by Society for Utopian Studies on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1544 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Scott Bukatman. Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century.(Book Review)
Author: Oscar R. Marti
Publication: Utopian Studies (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: Society for Utopian Studies
Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Page: 102(5)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Amazon.com

The Last Recreations collects the final works of Martin Gardner, the renowned "Mathematical Games" columnist for Scientific American. No prior knowledge of mathematics are necessary here; all will enjoy learning about topics ranging from Bulgarian solitaire to taxicab geometry, with experienced expositor Gardner as guide. Letters and updates concerning his column are also included in this book.

Book Description

Of all of Martin Gardner's writings, none gained him a wider audience or was more central to his reputation than his Mathematical Recreations column in "Scientific American", which virtually defined the genre of popular mathematics writing for a generation. Flatland, Hydras and Eggs: Mathematical Mystifications will be the final collection of these columns, covering a period roughly from 1979 to Gardner's retirement as a regular columnist in 1986. The notable trend over Gardner's career is the increasing sophistication of the mathematics he has been able to translate into his famously lucid prose. These columns show him at the top of his form and are not to be missed by anyone with an interest in mathematics. As always in his published collections, Gardner includes letters received from mathematicians and other commenting on the ideas presented in the columns.

Customer Reviews:

whoa! slow down!.......2000-04-03

Maybe its that I'm looking at the past through rose colored glasses, but when I read this I did'nt experience the same sense of wonder that I did when I was 13. Martin touches on very very cool topics, but my main gripe is that he whizzes through everything, often just giving a pointer to another book, which is great in that it encourages more exploration but is frustrating at the same time. But if you havent encountared recreational mathematics before, take a look, Martin does a wonderful job in making math FUN!

Whoah! Nostalgia!.......1998-05-12

Reading this takes me back to time spent in my school's library poring over Gardner's columns in Scientific American. Several of the columns in this book I first read as a nerdy 14 year old and was staggered then (as I am now) by the elegance and beauty of the ideas they contained. Now I read it with a far greater appreciation of the problems and ideas expressed, but that doesn't compare with the sheer sense of wonder I experienced first time around.

The Last Recreations : Hydras, Eggs, & Other Mathematical Mystifications (Copernicus Ser.)

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The Last Recreations : Hydras, Eggs, & Other Mathematical Mystifications (Copernicus Ser.)
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: Springer-Verlag New York, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KP8EPS

Book Description

Want to preserve those Super 8 movies of Grandpa with his Studebaker or you in your prized Lone Ranger get -up? Want to create a CD of the newest hits from Napster or old 45s? Want to take videos or photos from Christmases past and turn them into Christmas presents? It’s Roxio Easy Media Creator for Dummies to the rescue!

With Roxio’s digital media toolbox, you can capture video, pictures, and sound, edit photos, store data files, create custom calendars, and more. You can do everything from burning CDs and DVDs to labeling them. First you get acquainted with Easy Media Creator Home—the hub from which all the applications are launched. Then you create your own flight plan. You don’t have to read each helpful tidbit—each chapter stands on its own, ready for you to dig in and start:

Backing up and organizing media files for quick retrieval
Using Photo Suite to fix, edit, and enhance photos and show them off in slideshows, photo collages, calendars, and the like
Recording and editing digital audio with Easy Media Creator’s Sound Editor
Enhancing your audio with Alienizer, Enhancer, Equalizer, Maturizer, Robotizer, Room Simulator, and more
Playing audio backward (if you’re determined to hear the hidden message at last)
Using the Capture tool to acquire the digital media (audio, photo, and video) you need for DVD projects
Using DVD Builder to assemble and burn multi-media projects on DVD, combining video clips, still photo images, text, and audio tracks
Using VideoWave to assemble and edit video projects

Roxio Easy Media Creator For Dummies was written by Greg Harvey, author of Excel 2003 For Dummies, Windows XP for Dummies and numerous other computer books. It helps you take full advantage of all of Roxio’s application programs and tools and discover how to:

Use Sound Editor to record audio from audio devices connected to your computer, including analog sources such as cassettes and LP records
Get album titles, artist’s names, and track titles from Gracenote CDDB online
Use StoryBuilder to turn video clips into finished videos using pre-designed themes and templates
Add special effects, transitions to bridge scenes, and color panels and text to introduce new scenes or provide credits

Complete with a Help Center & Tutorials link that speeds to you help on a particular topic, Roxio Easy Media Creator For Dummies gives you the tools and puts you at the controls.

Customer Reviews:

Roxio Easy Media Creator a good start.......2005-08-01

It's a decent book for one of the many CD/DVD media software programs, however the help panels are just as informative.

Now if they only wrote a book using Nero 6 Ultra Edition, the field would be widend.

Good Introduction to Media Processing.......2005-01-18

This book starts with three basic assumptions:

First it presumes that you have or can acquire some sort of digital media which may be audio, photos, or video.

Second, it presumes that you have some kind of computer running Windows 2000 or XP, and the capability to record on CD's or better yet DVD's.

Third, there is the presumption that you want to take the digital media you have, alter it, modify it, combine it with other data, and produce some kind of media.

Most of the book is of tutorial format, that is, it leads you through various projects using a step-by-step approach. All of the major components of the Creator package are discussed. And then in the standard Part of Tens section that is common to most For Dummies books, this is turned around just a bit by looking at each of the ten components that make up the package to give you a better starting point when you have a project in mind.

great book to go with even greater software.......2004-10-02

I bought Creator 7 when I decided to start storing my grandmother's photos on CD and I bought this book on a whim to help me. Now I do alot more with Creator and this book has helped me figure it out. Hopefully it will help more people than me.

Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

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Roxio to the Rescue
Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Greg, PhD Harvey
Manufacturer: For Dummies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471747408

Book Description

Your step-by-step guide to digital media fun - no experience required!

Share your movies, create a music library, or preserve important records

What do you want to put on CDs or DVDs? Whether you need a backup archive for valuable business data or a personalized video library that rocks, you can do it with Roxio Easy Media Creator 8. Follow this handy guide to find the task you want to perform and make it happen, quickly and easily.

Discover how to

Quickly navigate the Creator 8 suite
Copy data with Drag-to-Disc
Schedule regular backups
Produce slideshows with background music
Build media projects with task Assistants
Create DVDs with audio, video, and photos

Download Description

Your step-by-step guide to digital media fun - no experience required! Share your movies, create a music library, or preserve important records What do you want to put on CDs or DVDs? Whether you need a backup archive for valuable business data or a personalized video library that rocks, you can do it with Roxio Easy Media Creator 8. Follow this handy guide to find the task you want to perform and make it happen, quickly and easily. Discover how to Quickly navigate the Creator 8 suite Copy data with Drag-to-Disc Schedule regular backups Produce slideshows with background music Build media projects with task Assistants Create DVDs with audio, video, and photos

Customer Reviews:

Roxio to the Rescue.......2006-08-10

If I hadn't bought this book my computer would now be at the bottom of the swimming pool. While the Roxio program has good help tips and tutorials, having this secondary source on paper was absolutely necessary to me.

I haven't even begun to explore the depths of the full program but this book made it possible for me to cut my learning curve significantly - and enjoyably, too!

Even though I have now penciled in a couple of my own tips not included in the book, this book has got to be Roxio's best friend. If you going to buy and use the Roxio program then you certainly should include this book in your purchase plans.

Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).......2006-08-02

It is an oustanding handbook on how to use Media Creator 8.

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