ReFocus: The Films of Susan Seidelman / / ed. by Susan Kerns.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
• HerausgeberIn: Kerns, Susan ,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Series: ReFocus: The American Directors Series : RFADS
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 p.) :; 20 B/W illustrations 20 b&w images

The first scholarly work to focus on the work of American director and producer, Susan SeidelmanContains an exclusive chapter-length interview in which Seidelman examines her career and discusses many of her lesser-known films, some for the first timeSuggests a reframing of authorship theory to be more inclusive of especially women directors who work in both film and televisionExamines Seidelman’s shifts from independents to Hollywood studio movies to television and made-for-TV movies in relationship to changes in the industryProvides cultural context for Seidelman’s films, including representations of gender, race and disabilityIncludes genre analysis to illustrate how Seidelman twists genres for feminist stories and readingsAssesses Seidelman’s critical reputation, including instances of mismatch between critical and audience receptionThis first collection devoted to Susan Seidelman — director, producer and visionary of feminist American cinema and television – includes never-before-published archival material and an interview with insights into her process and thoughts on #timesup and the future of the industry. Her debut feature, Smithereens, was the first American independent film to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes.Her knack for casting saw her insist on Madonna for Desperately Seeking Susan before Madonna was famous. Seidelman directed Meryl Streep and John Malkovich in their first comedy features, Roseanne Barr in her first feature film and Laverne Cox in one of her earliest features. Seidelman also directed the Sex and the City pilot, kickstarting a global phenomenon.Seidelman’s career is one of firsts, yet little is written about her. This collection begins filling that gap while opening the door for additional scholarship, making this a valuable text for years to come.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Notes on Contributors -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Ahead of the Curve -- Part 1 Building a Foundation -- 1 The Making of Ms. Right: Susan Seidelman and the Persistence of “Women’s Films” -- 2 Susan Seidelman’s Sex and the City: TV Authorship and Feminist Possibility -- 3 “I’ve Always Been a Voyeur”: An Interview with Susan Seidelman -- Part 2 Embodied Spaces -- 4 “Who is This?” Smithereens, Susan Seidelman’s Auspicious Debut Feature -- 5 Swapping the Suburban Housewife for the NYC Feminist: Susan Seidelman and her Personas -- 6 Original She-Devil Ending Screenplay Pages -- 7 Unsettling Domesticity: Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna and the Voyeuristic Politics of MTV Stardom -- 8 Directing a City: Susan Seidelman’s New York -- 9 Making Frankie Stone: Feminism, Post-Romance and Making Mr. Right -- Part 3 Making Room -- 10 Electric Melodrama: Susan Seidelman, Childhood and the Girl Next Door -- 11 Age, Disability and Agency in the Late-Period Films of Susan Seidelman -- 12 And You Can Dance! Movement, Mobility and Magic in Musical Chairs -- 13 Death, Illusion and the Hijab in Susan Seidelman’s Cut in Half -- Bibliography -- Index