{"product_id":"reel-history-robert-brent-toplin-9780700612000","title":"Reel History","description":"History has been fodder for cinema from the silent era to the blockbuster present, a fact that has seldom pleased historians themselves. As pundits increasingly ponder \"how Hollywood fails history,\" Robert Toplin counters with a provocative alternative approach to this enduring debate over the portrayal of history in film. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToplin focuses on movies released over the past sixteen years--during which twelve historical films won the Oscar for Best Picture--and argues that critics often fail to recognize the unique ways that fictional films communicate important ideas about the past. A trenchant extension of his highly regarded \u003ci\u003eHistory by Hollywood\u003c\/i\u003e, Toplin's new work establishes commonsense ground rules for improving critical analysis in this area. Citing films like \u003ci\u003eGladiator\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBraveheart\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGandhi\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNixon\u003c\/i\u003e, he underscores the pressures placed on filmmakers to simplify and alter historical fact to conform to the demands of an extraordinarily expensive mass medium. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToplin demonstrates how a historical epic like Glory may contain \"creative adjustments\" that worry historians but shows how its distortions communicate broader and deeper truths about the Civil War experiences of African Americans--just as \u003ci\u003eSaving Private Ryan\u003c\/i\u003e presented little factual detail about World War II and yet effectively conveyed the experience of combat. He also shows how other films--such as \u003ci\u003eMississippi Burning\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAmistad\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Hurricane\u003c\/i\u003e--contain so many elements of fictional excess and oversimplification that they deserve the criticism they receive. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToplin deliberately steers a middle course between tradition-minded critics who castigate films for artistic liberties and cinema scholars wedded to pure aesthetics. He also draws upon his own experiences in film production and takes direct aim at recent writing about film dominated by jargonistic theory and empty rhetoric. He urges film studies scholars to move beyond their preoccupation with formal aesthetics and recognize that, in historical films, content does matter. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn engaging prose that will appeal to any moviegoer, \u003ci\u003eReel History\u003c\/i\u003e helps build bridges between defenders and detractors of history-by-Hollywood and enlarges our understanding of film as a communicator of truths about the human condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Brent Toplin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0700612009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780700612000\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Kansas\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/08\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.76lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.82h x 6.18w x 0.52d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2002 pg. 99\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eUniv PR Books for Public Libry\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2003 pg. 68 - Outstanding\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2003 pg. 1191","brand":"Robert Brent Toplin","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44079765913855,"sku":"9780700612000","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1535da25-d883-462b-bb34-f6074bd7d64a.jpg?v=1685483018","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/reel-history-robert-brent-toplin-9780700612000","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}