The Thrill Makers Celebrity, Masculinity, and Stunt Performance
Paperback (04 May 2012)
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Well before Evel Knievel or Hollywood stuntmen, reality television or the X Games, North America had a long tradition of stunt performance, of men (and some women) who sought media attention and popular fame with public feats of daring. Many of these feats-jumping off bridges, climbing steeples and buildings, swimming incredible distances, or doing tricks with wild animals-had their basis in the manual trades or in older entertainments like the circus. In The Thrill Makers, Jacob Smith shows how turn-of-the-century bridge jumpers, human flies, lion tamers, and stunt pilots first drew crowds to their spectacular displays of death-defying action before becoming a crucial, yet often invisible, component of Hollywood film stardom. Smith explains how these working-class stunt performers helped shape definitions of American manhood, and pioneered a form of modern media celebrity that now occupies an increasingly prominent place in our contemporary popular culture.
Book information
ISBN: | 9780520270893 |
Publisher: | University of California Press |
Imprint: | University of California Press |
Pub date: | 04 May 2012 |
DEWEY: | 791.430280922 |
DEWEY edition: | 23 |
Language: | English |
Number of pages: | 270 |
Weight: | 396g |
Height: | 226mm |
Width: | 153mm |
Spine width: | 17mm |