{"product_id":"john-paizss-crime-wave-jonathan-ball-9781442616172","title":"John Paizs's Crime Wave","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJohn Paizs's 'Crime Wave'\u003c\/em\u003e examines the Winnipeg filmmaker's 1985 cult film as an important example of early postmodern cinema and as a significant precursor to subsequent postmodern blockbusters, including the much later Hollywood film \u003cem\u003eAdaptation\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eCrime Wave\u003c\/em\u003e's comic plot is simple: aspiring screenwriter Steven Penny, played by Paizs, finds himself able to write only the beginnings and endings of his scripts, but never (as he puts it) \"the stuff in-between.\" Penny is the classic writer suffering from writer's block, but the viewer sees him as the (anti)hero in a film told through stylistic parody of 1940s and 50s B-movies, TV sitcoms, and educational films.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eJohn Paizs's 'Crime Wave, '\u003c\/em\u003e writer and filmmaker Jonathan Ball offers the first book-length study of this curious Canadian film, which self-consciously establishes itself simultaneously as following, but standing apart from, American cinematic and television conventions. Paizs's own story mirrors that of Steven Penny: both find themselves at once drawn to American culture and wanting to subvert its dominance. Exploring Paizs's postmodern aesthetic and his use of pastiche as a cinematic technique, Ball establishes \u003cem\u003eCrime Wave\u003c\/em\u003e as an overlooked but important cult classic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jonathan Ball\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1442616172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781442616172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Toronto Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/17\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.51lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.68h x 5.29w x 0.51d","brand":"Jonathan Ball","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48453635801343,"sku":"9781442616172","price":30.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e88691ce-186e-4e1f-961f-d5a68f540d80.jpg?v=1777301333","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/john-paizss-crime-wave-jonathan-ball-9781442616172","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}