In a tour-de-force study of sixty years of cinematic entertainment, Silver Screens and Golden Dreams traces the veins of Burmese popular movies across three periods in history: the colonial era, the parliamentary democracy period, and the Ne Win Socialist years. Author Jane M. Ferguson engages cinema as an interrogator of mainstream cultural values, providing political and cultural context to situate the films as artistic endeavors and capitalist products. Exploring how filmmakers eschewed colonial control and later selectively toed the ideological lines of the Burmese Way to Socialism, Silver Screens and Golden Dreams offers a serious yet enjoyable investigation of leisure during difficult times of transition and political upheaval. By skillfully blending historical and anthropological approaches, Ferguson shows how Burmese cinema presents a lively, unique take on the country’s social history. The world tends to see Myanmar (Burma) as an ancient, idyllic land of emerald-green rice paddies dotted with golden pagodas, yet sadly tarnished by a contemporary reality of grinding poverty, a decades-long civil war, and the most enduring military dictatorship in modern history. Burmese society is frequently stereotyped as isolated, hidebound to Buddhist cultural foundations, or embroiled in military rule and civil strife. Its thriving, cosmopolitan film industry not only questions such orientalist archetypes but also provides an incisive lens to explore social history through everyday popular practices. Emerging from a vibrant literary and performing arts scene, Burmese talent and ingenuity spurred a century of near-continuous motion picture production. Dozens of local film companies have churned out thousands of films, bringing to life popular folk tales, tear-jerking dramas, and epic adventures for millions of adoring fans. Even during the purportedly isolated Burmese Way to Socialism years, local movie production continued, and ticket sales even increased. Glamorous stars adopted international fashions, yet inspired Burmese cultural pride in the face of foreign economic and political domination. From silent films depicting moral perils, to Hollywood remakes, to socialist realism and ethnic unity films, locally made motion pictures have captured the imaginations of Burmese people for over a century.

"In a tour-de-force study of sixty years of cinematic entertainment, Silver Screens and Golden Dreams traces the veins of Burmese popular movies across three periods in history: the colonial era, the parliamentary democracy period, and the Ne Win Socialist years. Author Jane M. Ferguson engages cinema as an interrogator of mainstream cultural values, providing political and cultural context to situate the films as artistic endeavors and capitalist products. Exploring how filmmakers eschewed colonial control and later selectively toed the ideological lines of the Burmese Way to Socialism, Silver Screens and Golden Dreams offers a serious yet enjoyable investigation of leisure during difficult times of transition and political upheaval. By skillfully blending historical and anthropological approaches, Ferguson shows how Burmese cinema presents a lively, unique take on the country's social history. The world tends to see Myanmar (Burma) as an ancient, idyllic land of emerald-green rice paddies dotted with golden pagodas, yet sadly tarnished by a contemporary reality of grinding poverty, a decades-long civil war, and the most enduring military dictatorship in modern history. Burmese society is frequently stereotyped as isolated, hidebound to Buddhist cultural foundations, or embroiled in military rule and civil strife. Its thriving, cosmopolitan film industry not only questions such orientalist archetypes but also provides an incisive lens to explore social history through everyday popular practices. Emerging from a vibrant literary and performing arts scene, Burmese talent and ingenuity spurred a century of near-continuous motion picture production. Dozens of local film companies have churned out thousands of films, bringing to life popular folk tales, tear-jerking dramas, and epic adventures for millions of adoring fans. Even during the purportedly isolated Burmese Way to Socialism years, local movie production continued, and ticket sales even increased. Glamorous stars adopted international fashions, yet inspired Burmese cultural pride in the face of foreign economic and political domination. From silent films depicting moral perils, to Hollywood remakes, to socialist realism and ethnic unity films, locally made motion pictures have captured the imaginations of Burmese people for over a century"--

Here at Remington, many people are curious about this powerful book commonly known as Inspiring the Youth of America. Well, as you may know, our youth today in America are in dire need of mentorship and guidance. This book is a whole new step forward for all of us as a civilization. For many years, and even today, young Americans wander aimlessly in a pool of confusion. They end up in meaningless careers with no past, no future, and nothing to hope for. Undoubtedly, the end result is misery and despair. The end result is poverty and surely a feeling of emptiness. Well, we at Remington, after interviewing over thirty thousand professionals, were surprised to find that many successful professionals were disgusted with vanity publications. They were disappointed with the meaningless dribble of a phone booktype registry that possibly required a magnifying glass just to read. But surprisingly enough, these professionals encouraged any use of their biography for humanitarian purposes. Undoubtedly, mentorship for our youth fell into that category. So there it was born. Our proudest moment as publishers was laid out before us. But there was one big problem. All these people needed to be interviewed in depth, and generic biographies certainly would not inspire. So with that, we swallowed hard, and our staff got to work. Yes, it was and still is a grueling, time-consuming mission and undertaking. But in the end, as you may witness as you read this book, the content is quite spectacular and certainly worth the effort. We would also like to mention that the participants in this book also spent much time sending us information and encouraging us to make this book worthy of their efforts. Now it was up to us to uphold the dignity of these professionals and forge forward into a future where a student can explore his or her life with the ability to fulfill their own potentials. With that, this book is presented to you today, and we hope that you share in our dream to build a better America from where it really mattersour youth.