Viewers spend years laughing, crying, celebrating, and mourning with their favorite TV characters, but when those characters are promiscuous women, different viewers may have very different reactions. Both sexual freedom and sexual shame run deep in the cultural waters, so as TV's promiscuous female characters navigate those choppy waters, what unfolds onscreen reflects--and ultimately shapes--perceptions of promiscuous women as liberated and adventurous, damaged and destructive, or even sick and gross. This work examines fifteen promiscuous female characters and identifies trends in those portrayals--from what motivates their promiscuity to the reproaches they face, the revelations they have, and the redemption it seems they must undergo as a result of their "slutty" ways. This book aims not to promote promiscuity but to fight against the stigmatization of promiscuous women, which is a fight against puritanical patriarchy that benefits everyone.

This cultural history is a fun yet meaningful examination of the beloved 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, including how it tackled progressive social issues of its time and forever changed the way audiences view older women.

Some see the 1980s as a Golden Age, a "Morning in America" when Ronald Reagan revived America's economy, reoriented American politics, and restored Americans' faith in their country and in themselves. Others see the 1980s as a new "Gilded Age," an era that was selfish, superficial, glitzy, greedy, divisive, and destructive. This multifaceted exploration of the 1980s brings together a variety of voices from different political persuasions, generations, and vantage points. The volume features work by Reagan critics and Reagan fans (including one of President Reagan's closest aides, Ed Meese), by historians who think the 1980s were a disastrous time, those who think it was a glorious time, and those who see both the blessings and the curses of the decade. Their essays examine everything from multiculturalism, Southern conservatism, and Reaganomics, to music culture, religion, crime, AIDS, and the city. A complex, thoughtful account of a watershed in our recent history, this volume will engage anyone interested in this pivotal decade.

Australian Benjamin Gilmour travelled to Pakistan determined to shoot a film on its wild frontier. He had never made a movie before and it was illegal and extremely dangerous for him to do so in the region. But Benjamin was driven by his passion for the Pashtun people of the North West Frontier Province and for the remarkable gun-making town of Darra Adam Khel. This book is the behind-the-scenes account of the highly-acclaimed feature film, Son of a Lion. But it is more than just a 'making-of'. Ben tells the story of a country with an amazing and rich culture, and of the proud and loyal people who befriended him and helped make a seemingly impossible dream come true. 'Riveting, compelling and spine-chilling, this is storytelling at it's best.' Richard Kuipers, Variety. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica}

The representation of African American women is an important issue in the overall study of how women are portrayed in film, and has received serious attention in recent years. Traditionally, "women of color," particularly African American women, have been at the margins of studies of women's on-screen depictions--or excluded altogether. This work focuses exclusively on the sexual objectification of African American women in film from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Critics of the negative sexual imagery have long speculated that control by African American filmmakers would change how African American women are depicted. This work examines sixteen films made by males both white and black to see how the imagery might change with the race of the filmmaker. Four dimensions are given special attention: the diversity of the women's roles and relationships with men, the sexual attitudes of the African American female characters, their attitudes towards men, and their nonverbal and verbal sexual behaviors. This work also examines the role culture has played in perpetuating the images, how film influences viewers' perception of African American women and their sexuality, and how the imagery polarizes women by functioning as a regulator of their sexual behaviors based on cultural definitions of the feminine.

Serial killer, Blackmailer, and Drug Lord—such is the resumé of the man known by some as Ghost. He is stalking his perfect victim through her instant messages. She is “The One” and her death will quench his urge to kill. Faye Patterson, a former NYPD Homicide Detective, secretly reopens the case of her missing fiancé. A string of murders leads Faye on the trail of the sadistic killer. The Ghost is becoming ruthless. He kidnaps Faye ́s daughter, thrusting Faye into the path of his murderous rampage. She needs to stop him before her daughter becomes his next victim.

During the "Must See TV" 1990s, Americans enjoyed such immensely popular sitcoms as Friends, Seinfeld, Home Improvement and The Drew Carey Show. Shows that did not make the ratings cut numbered in the hundreds--the emergence of new networks and cable channels airing original programming resulted in a vast increase in short-lived sitcoms over the previous decade. Some of these "flops" were actually quite good and deserved a better fate. The author revisits them--along with the "dramedies" of the day--with detailed entries providing production and broadcast information, along with critical analyses, and recollections by cast and crew members. A subsection highlights sitcoms that returned for an abbreviated second season. Dozens of cast and crew photographs are included.