The decade from 2000 to 2009 is framed, at one end, by the traumatic catastrophe of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and, at the other, by the election of the first African American president of the United States. In between, the United States and the world witnessed the rapid expansion of new media and the Internet, such natural disasters as Hurricane Katrina, political uprisings around the world, and a massive meltdown of world economies....

It was believed that September 11th would make certain kinds of films obsolete, such as action thrillers crackling with explosions or high-casualty blockbusters where the hero escapes unscathed. While the production of these films did ebb, the full impact of the attacks on Hollywood's creative output is still taking shape. Did 9/11 force filmmakers and screenwriters to find new methods of storytelling? What kinds of movies have been made in response...

For much of the twentieth century, the iconic figure of the U.S. working class was a white, male industrial worker. But in the contemporary age of capitalist globalization new stories about work and workers are emerging to refashion this image. Living Labor examines these narratives and, in the process, offers an innovative reading of American fiction and film through the lens of precarious work. It argues that since the 1980s, novelists and filmmakers--including...

"From culture writer and GQ contributor Scott Meslow, an in-depth celebration of the romantic comedy's modern golden era and its role in our culture, tracking the genre from its heyday in the 80s and the 90s, its slow decline in the 2000s, and its explosive reemergence in the age of streaming, featuring exclusive interviews with the directors, writers, and stars of the iconic films that defined the genre"--

Opening at the number one spot in North American theaters in August 2000, Bring It On, the little cheerleading movie that could, went on to earn a worldwide gross of approximately $90 million, cementing the careers of Gabrielle Union, Kirsten Dunst, and Eliza Dushku--not to mention establishing a toothbrush as the sexiest household object, introducing instantly iconic quotes and cheers, and achieving "Oh, I love that movie!" status. The first-time...