Filmmaker Alex Cox's thoughtful autobiography examines his craft and influences, as well as providing his insights into many of his favorite films. Sometimes called a radical, Cox is a quintessential auteur, as well as an internationally focused, insightful critic and writer whose passion for film has gripped him since childhood. In addition to being a captivating look into Cox's process, this book also encourages and instructs would-be independent filmmakers, guiding the next generation of film pioneers through the arduous journey of creation. Cox weaves his own "confessions" with his notes to the new guard, including thoughts on new forms of digital distribution and his radical views on intellectual property — the result is a readable, startling treatise on both the film innovations of today and the thrilling potential of future filmmaking.

Originally appearing as a comic book in the 1960s, X-Men has been a cultural touchpoint for decades. Since the release of the first film in 2000, the series has enjoyed an even greater transnational presence. With each successive film, the franchise has secured its place within global popular culture, becoming one of the most profitable and complex superhero series to date. While much of the research that has been published on the X-Men focuses on the comics, the movies constitute their own cultural text and deserve special attention. In The X-Men Films: A Cultural Analysis, Claudia Bucciferro has assembled a collection of essays that draw from work in communication, cultural studies, and media studies. With contributions from a diverse group of scholars, the chapters analyze issues that include gender, sexuality, disability, class, and race. The contributors pose intriguing questions about the franchise, such as: What do “mutants” really represent? What role do women and people of color play in the narratives? Why does it matter that Professor X is disabled? Why is Mystique often shown naked? What facilitated Wolverine’s rise to prominence? And how do topics regarding identity, trauma, and bioethics, figure in the stories? Exploring issues relevant for a multicultural world and connecting thematic elements from the films to political debates and social struggles, the book seeks to make a thoughtful contribution to the scholarship of popular culture. The X-Men Films will appeal to media scholars and students, as well as to anyone interested in the X-Men series.

Philip French has called Alex Cox, 'British Cinema's oldest enfant terrible'; it's a description that its recipient fully approves of. He is the genuine article, a radical, international, independent filmmaker, who is also a good writer, insightful commentator on cinema now, and expert critic of the power of Hollywood. He grew up with a passion for the pictures, and this book has as its centre the filmmaking autobiography of a fine director, the journey through all the major films he has made and how he has made them, including his new film, now in production. He takes us to varied locations, including the US, Mexico, and Nicaragua, where he made "Walker" with the cooperation of the Sandinista government. His book is full of fresh ideas, rare insights into many films of all kinds and into the people he's worked with including greats like Dennis Potter and Harry Dean Stanton. As well as being the confessions of a radical filmmaker, "X Films" is also the most readable working manual yet for the independent filmmaker. Enfant terrible he may be, but Alex Cox is also ahead of the game and is a pioneer and promoter of new forms of filmmaking for the cultural revolutionaries of the 21st century - visual, visceral but interactive, with multiple narrative possibilities.

Interdisciplinary research on superconducting oxides is the main focus of the contributions in this volume. Several aspects of the thin film field from fundamental properties to applications are examined. Interesting results for the Bi system are also reviewed. The 132 papers, including 8 invited, report mainly on the 1-2-3 system, indicating that the Y-Ba-Cu-O and related compounds are still the most intensively studied materials in this field. The volume attests to the significant progress that has been made in this field, as well as reporting on the challenging problems that still remain to be solved.

Thermoelectric (TE) conversion technology can directly exploit the temperature difference of several Kelvin between the human body and the environment to generate electricity, which provides a self-powered solution for wearable electronics. Flexible TE materials are increasingly being developed through various methods, among which the vacuum filtration method stands out for its unique advantages, attracting the favor of researchers. It has been proven to construct flexible TE thin films with excellent performance effectively. This paper presents a comprehensive overview and survey of the advances of the vacuum filtration method in producing flexible TE thin films. The materials covered in this study include conducting polymer-based materials, carbon nanoparticle-based materials, inorganic materials, two-dimensional materials, and ternary composites. Finally, we explore potential research outlooks and the significance of flexible films, which are at the forefront of research in TE materials science.

This book provides a modern introduction to the growth, characterization, and physics of iron-based superconducting thin films. Iron pnictide and iron chalcogenide compounds have become intensively studied key materials in condensed matter physics due to their potential for high temperature superconductivity. With maximum critical temperatures of around 60 K, the new superconductors rank first after the celebrated cuprates, and the latest announcements on ultrathin films promise even more. Thin film synthesis of these superconductors began in 2008 immediately after their discovery, and this growing research area has seen remarkable progress up to the present day, especially with regard to the iron chalcogenides FeSe and FeSe1-xTex, the iron pnictide BaFe2-xCoxAs2 and iron-oxyarsenides. This essential volume provides comprehensive, state-of-the-art coverage of iron-based superconducting thin films in topical chapters with detailed information on thin film synthesis and growth, analytical film characterization, interfaces, and various aspects on physics and materials properties. Current efforts towards technological applications and functional films are outlined and discussed. The development and latest results for monolayer FeSe films are also presented. This book serves as a key reference for students, lecturers, industry engineers, and academic researchers who would like to gain an overview of this complex and growing research area.

Physics of Thin Films: Advances in Research and Development, Volume 7 is a collection of papers about film growth and structure, optical properties, and semiconducting films. The book covers topics such as diffraction theory; film support and filter fabrication; aging, usage, and cleaning of filters; and properties and applications of III-V compound films. It also discusses topics such as the preparation of use and unbacked metal filters; electromigration in thin films; and the built-up molecular films and their applications. The text is recommended for physicists and engineers involved in thin film physics, especially those who would like to know more about the progresses in the field.