The Drunken Journalist: The Biography of a Film StereotypeScarecrow Press, 2000 - 200 pages "No other human problem," a critic once remarked, "seems to have afflicted movie newspapermen more often than drinking." Howard Good's latest book analyzes the stereotype of the hard-drinking journalist, with the goal of discovering why it exists and how it operates in films. Early chapters consider whether there is a historical basis for the stereotype of the hard-drinking journalist;while later chapters deal with films from across the decades, including the 1980s and 1990s. They identify the fate of the romantic couple as a major--if not the major--concern of silent films featuring drunken journalists; explore the many and often conflicting meanings associated with drinking in the 1930s, the so-called "golden age of newspaper films"; and discuss the influence of Alcoholics Anonymous on such newspaper films of the 1940s and 1950s as Welcome Stranger and Come Fill the Cup. The concluding chapter points out that the dominant culture has frequently marginalized subgroups--for example, Native Americans and Irish immigrants--by stereotyping them as drunks, and theorizes that the stereotype of the hard-drinking journalist signals ambivalence not only about drinking, but also about the effects of the press on American life. Written in the clear, incisive style for which Good is known, this book offers illuminating new interpretations of classic newspaper films from The Front Page to All the President's Men. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the implications of popular culture for how we think and live. |
From inside the book
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Page 15
... never let the facts get in the way of a good story . And , of course , they never did . The movie stereotype of American newspaper reporters is part of our folklore ; it never had much to do with reality . But there's no question that ...
... never let the facts get in the way of a good story . And , of course , they never did . The movie stereotype of American newspaper reporters is part of our folklore ; it never had much to do with reality . But there's no question that ...
Page 19
... Never speculate " and " Save a little always , " was " Never enter a bar- room , nor let the contents of a bar - room enter you . ” 18 After the repeal of Prohibition— " that flawed battle against Drink , Drank , Drunk 19.
... Never speculate " and " Save a little always , " was " Never enter a bar- room , nor let the contents of a bar - room enter you . ” 18 After the repeal of Prohibition— " that flawed battle against Drink , Drank , Drunk 19.
Page 91
... never had . I've covered everything from electrocutions to love - nest brawls . I've got fallen arches , unfixed teeth . And , you wanna know somethin ' , I never saw Paris . But I wouldn't change those years , not for anything in the ...
... never had . I've covered everything from electrocutions to love - nest brawls . I've got fallen arches , unfixed teeth . And , you wanna know somethin ' , I never saw Paris . But I wouldn't change those years , not for anything in the ...
Common terms and phrases
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