I have of late, wherefore I know not, lost all of my mirth… Man delights not me; no, nor women neither. In my dreams (and increasingly during my more whimsical waking moments) I wander through Movieland. Sometimes I chat to Kelly McGillis about being in a 4G inverted dive with a MiG-28 while a strung-out Withnail stands close by complaining about going on holiday by mistake. At others a xenomorph near the bus stop rips off Forrest Gump’s head before being machine-gunned by the ED-209. I close my eyes, take a contented breath, and reopen them to see Frau Blücher upsetting the horses again as Tony Montana snorts coke and tells the permanently agitated Don Logan that this town is like one giant pussy waiting to get fucked. I wander and I wander and I never want to leave… Some movies, you see, contain magic. Magic that seeps into your soul and becomes a part of you. I mean, why waste your time travelling the world, having a career, nurturing dreams or taking a woman seriously? Such pursuits involve a great deal of effort and invariably end in disappointment. Surely it’s better to stay invisible at home while exploring a rich cinematic odyssey alongside the likes of Marty McFly, Jessica 6, the Black Knight, Bill Kilgore and a Stepford wife or two? Come now. Partake in the madness. Let me hold your hand and lead you nowhere.

Chick flicks. Brokeback Mountain. Bollywood. Superhero movies. Sophie’s Choice. Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock. Avant-garde musicals... If this sort of stuff is your cup of tea, then this isn’t the book for you. Blokey film enthusiast Dave Franklin instead concentrates on the politically incorrect delights of Coffy, Magnum Force and Boogie Nights while paying tribute to the likes of Christopher Walken, Paul Schrader, 70’s disaster movies and Brian De Palma. There’s even some tongue-in-cheek appreciation of the God-like Steven Seagal. So settle back, forget about identity politics and the prevailing lefty narrative, and immerse yourself in a book that values celluloid entertainment above all else. Or as Rob Reiner says at the start of the immortal Spinal Tap: “Enough of my yakking. Let’s boogie.”

“You like movies because you’re one of life’s great watchers.” So says Woody Allen’s irked, soon-to-be-ex-wife in Play It Again, Sam, obviously having had enough of his sedentary lifestyle. Hmm, I think she would have left me, too. But, hey, do a female’s myriad charms really stack up against the corny delights of Cocktail, the vicious cynicism of The Sweet Smell of Success, the dark ferocity of The Thing, the fantastic imagination of Westworld, the perverted milieu of Happiness or the heartbreak of Kes? For these are just some of the films covered in the fifth part of this lewd, politically incorrect guide to the treasures of twentieth century cinema. Author Dave Franklin also throws in a bevy of bitches, the worst-ever holidays and a tribute to old men feasting on teenage flesh.

Knjiga vsebuje šest poglavij, ki z različnih vidikov predstavljajo dosežke evropskih ustvarjalk – pionirk na področju arhitekture, gradbeništva, notranjega in industrijskega oblikovanja ter umetne obrti, ki so ustvarjale v obdobju od 1918 do 1945. Poglavje Crossing Geographies obravnava pomen migrantk in migracij za globalno širjenje modernizma in pojava avantgardnih umetnostnih gibanj; Pioneers and Organisations predstavlja nekatere pionirke in njihovo vključevanje v stanovske organizacije; The Home govori o položaju žensk med obema vojnama in načinih, kako so skušale preseči družbene omejitve preko notranjega oblikovanja; Representation je posvečen zastopanosti in obravnavi ustvarjalk v publicistiki; Cases from Ireland to Finland prinaša primere uveljavitve ustvarjalk v izrazito moških poklicih; Examining Drawings as Practices of Architectural Design pa z novimi metodološkimi pristopi prinaša vpogled v arhitekturne projekte žensk. Osnova knjige so prispevki, predstavljeni na prvi mednarodni MoMoWo konferenci septembra 2015 na Univerzi v Leidnu, njen namen pa je strokovni in širši javnosti predstaviti pomemben del »anonimne« in zamolčane evropske kulturne dediščine.