The Culture Industry


Theodor W. Adorno - 1944
    It is out of this background that the great critic Theodor Adorno emerged. His finest essays are collected here, offering the reader unparalleled insights into Adorno's thoughts on culture. He argued that the culture industry commodified and standardized all art. In turn this suffocated individuality and destroyed critical thinking. At the time, Adorno was accused of everything from overreaction to deranged hysteria by his many detractors. In today's world, where even the least cynical of consumers is aware of the influence of the media, Adorno's work takes on a more immediate significance. The Culture Industry is an unrivalled indictment of the banality of mass culture.

Summary of White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism By Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson: Key Takeaways & Analysis Included


Ninja Reads - 2019
    In a quick, easy read, you can take the main principles from White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism! The phrase “white fragility” has grown into a term that many people have accepted and referenced when talking about the defensiveness and discomfort a white person feels when talking about race. The term, originally coined in a 2011 article by Robin DiAngelo, is now used in various articles, books, TV shows, and more. Although it’s commonly heard, not many people truly understand what it means. That’s why Robin DiAngelo wrote the book entitled White Fragility: Why it’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. DiAngelo is an author, former professor, and lecturer with a PhD in Multicultural Education from the University of Washington in Seattle. For more than 20 years, she’s focused on racial justice and whiteness studies. Her book on white fragility is a culmination of everything she’s learned from her personal experiences, her studies, and her interactions with white people and people of color. Her book aims to create a dialogue about race despite the white fragility that Americans feel when confronted with that topic. The book, published in 2018, has gained strong reviews because it explores race in-depth and attempts to break down those walls that white people have built in order to protect themselves from acknowledging their race and the benefits it gives them in life. The book debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List. DiAngelo is the two-time winner of the Student’s Choice Award for Educator of the Year at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work. Aside from her White Fragility book, DiAngelo has numerous other publications and books under her belt. White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism is the #1 bestseller in the discrimination & racism category on Amazon. That’s because it’s a useful tool that can be used in classrooms, discussions, lectures, and more. For those not in an academic setting, it’s also simply just a book that people from all different cultures can learn from, as it aims to teach us all how we got to this point in society, why we have the racial biases we do, and how we can overcome white fragility in order to have meaningful relationships with people of color.

Filmmaking for Dummies


Bryan Michael Stoller - 2003
    Successful filmmakers possess the passion to visually tell a story that will affect people's emotions, make them see things differently, help them discover new ideas, or just create an escape for them. Whether you love the experience of being enthralled by movies or the excitement, challenge, and magic of making the movie yourself, Filmmaking For Dummies is your primer to creating a respectable product. For the seasoned professional, this friendly reference can inspire you with fresh ideas - before you embark on your next big flick. Get ready to roll with expert information onDefining the difference between independent and studio films Knowing what genre fits your fancy Finding perfect locations Storyboarding your film Directing the action Giving credit and titles Written from the author's 30 years of hands-on work as a writer, producer, and film director, Filmmaking For Dummies carries you through from screenplay to distribution, with lots of experience-packed insight intoWriting or finding a screenplay Raising financing for your film Budgeting and scheduling your film Hiring the right actors and crew Planning, shooting, and directing your film Putting your film together in the editing room Finding a distributor to get your film in from of an audience Entering (and maybe even winning) film festivals Taking into account the advent of digital technology, author Bryan Michael Stoller focuses on creative elements that apply to both film and video production. He also points our technical differences and notes the many similarities between traditional and newer age making of motion pictures - all in a fun and engaging way that'll have you shooting for the stars!

My Week With Marilyn


Colin Clark - 2000
    The film united Britain's leading actor, Laurence Olivier, with Hollywood's most glamorous sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe - and clashes between them entered film legend.For one glorious week, the world's biggest star sought comfort in the arms of the set's most junior employee. This is the frank, fresh and comic story of how Clark came to share Monroe's confidences - and her bed!This edition combines Colin Clark’s acclaimed 'The Prince, the Showgirl and Me' (191995) and his 'My Week with Marilyn' (2005).'More illuminating than the millions of words and pictures pumped out to expose or dish the dirt on the Monroe legend.' - Sunday TelegraphClark’s extraordinary experiences on and off set have now been turned into a major film starring Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Judi Dench, Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh and Dominic Cooper.

Grammar of the Shot


Roy Thompson - 1998
    It is aimed at the novice, concentrating purely on the principles of shooting - still the best way to tell a visual story.Written in simple, easy-to-follow language and illustrated with clear uncomplicated line drawings, the book sets down the fundamental knowledge needed to achieve acceptable results.The book: - is a sister volume to Grammar of the Edit- has been extensively tested in Europe, Asia and Africa- lists, examines and explains the conventions and working practices of taking pictures.

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language


Gretchen McCulloch - 2019
    Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project, and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. Internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms, from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies. Linguistically inventive online communities spread new slang and jargon with dizzying speed. What's more, social media is a vast laboratory of unedited, unfiltered words where we can watch language evolve in real time.Even the most absurd-looking slang has genuine patterns behind it. Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch explores the deep forces that shape human language and influence the way we communicate with one another. She explains how your first social internet experience influences whether you prefer "LOL" or "lol," why ~sparkly tildes~ succeeded where centuries of proposals for irony punctuation had failed, what emoji have in common with physical gestures, and how the artfully disarrayed language of animal memes like lolcats and doggo made them more likely to spread.Because Internet is essential reading for anyone who's ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text message or wondered where memes come from. It's the perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language, why that's a good thing, and what our online interactions reveal about who we are.