Greenwood guide to American popular culture / edited by M. Thomas Inge and Dennis Hall. [0313308780 (set : alk. paper) ] Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2002.
Call#: Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks E169.1 .G7555 2002

 Follow up to Handbook of American Popular Culture. Four volume set includes long detailed articles detailing the scholarly study of popular culture including extensive bibliographies.

"A thorough reworking of a standard source. Offers approaches from the film title, author's name, and original title when it differs from the screen version. Film company or distributor, conuntry of origin, year released, and director's name are indicated, as are (where applicable) title variations, made-for-television versions, and availability on video. Indexes to musicals, television films and series, and animated features; list of studios and distributors. Most of the 6,000 films are English-language, but some major foreign releases are also included."(Balay, Guide to reference books, 11th ed, 1996; Note that this description is based on the 1993 version)

"Includes 450 topics (e.g., amnesia, butlers, football, lookalikess) and major series, with a narrative discussion of each and a list of films (selective for subjects, complete for series) by date. Primarily English-language sound films and television movies. No index. A 2nd ed. [THIS] in paperback adds about 100 thematic categories."(Balay, Guide to reference books, 11th ed, 1996)

"Essays by scholars on 18 individual genres (e.g., screwball, comedy, Western, film noir), covering development of the genre, themes, notable films, influential directors and stars, etc., and including bibliographic overview, checklist of readings, and a selected filmography. Index of names and titles."(Balay, Guide to reference books, 11th ed, 1996)

An extensive biographical listing with critical/analytic commentary. "A welcome addition to the growing number of reference works on women in the film industry, this book is more general in scope than works confined to cinematic contributions by women during a particular era (e.g., Anthony Slide's The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors, CH, Jan'97) or their occupations in the industry (e.g., Women Writers: From Page to Screen, by Jill Rubinson Fenton et al., CH, Feb'91). Its breadth of scope and inclusion of essays about outstanding women filmmakers complement Ally Acker's Reel Women: Pioneers of the Cinema from 1896 to the Present (CH, Nov'91) and Gwendolyn Audrey Foster's Women Film Directors: An International Bio-critical Dictionary (CH, Apr'96). Entries include filmographies and literature by (and sometimes about) the women profiled. A list of films in which women filmmakers have had a major role has several entries and gives credits and references for further reading. Illustrations enliven the text. A chronology of women filmmakers and indexes by nationality, occupation, awards, distributors, and film titles add greatly to the value of the work. General and academic libraries." (Choice, November 1998)