The Modern Amazons
 | This article contains promotional content. (August 2010) |
 | |
| Author | Dominique Mainon and James Ursini |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Film history, warrior women, cinema, pop culture |
| Genre | Gender studies |
| Publisher | Hal Leonard Press/Limelight Editions |
Publication date | April 2006 (USA) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 0-87910-327-2 |
| OCLC | 63703060 |
| Followed by | Cinema of Obsession: Erotic Fixation and Love Gone Wrong in the Movies |
The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen (ISBN 0-87910-327-2) is a non-fiction book documenting the evolution of the female action hero in cinema, television and pop-culture.[1]
The Modern Amazons was written by Dominique Mainon and James Ursini and published by Hal Leonard/Limelight Editions in 2006.
Synopsis
[edit]From Barbarella to Barb Wire, the book surveys public reception and interest in the "warrior-woman" and the Amazon archetype in media. The Modern Amazons is written from Mainon's perspective and balanced with academic analysis from James Ursini.[2]
The book explores representations of warrior women in film, television, and pop culture including:
- Raquel Welch in the prehistoric adventure fantasy One Million Years B.C. (1966)
- Pam Grier in the blaxploitation genre (including films like Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Sheba, Baby)
- Lucy Lawless as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess
- Lara Croft, as portrayed by Angelina Jolie, in the Tomb Raider series
- Ellen Ripley, as portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, in the Alien franchise
- Martial arts warriors,, as portrayed by Angela Mao (Enter the Dragon), Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and Cynthia Rothrock
- Sexploitation films, including the controversial Ilsa trilogy[3]
- Women as vampire slayers, superheroes, and supervillains
- Assorted television, cartoon, comics, and video game characters
- Relevant trends, style, and trivia[4]
Ursini and Mainon also examine feminist readings and sapphic text and subtext in media such as: the Powerpuff Girls, Tank Girl, G.I. Jane, La Femme Nikita, Alien, Pippi Longstocking, Pepper from Police Woman, and Clarice in The Silence of the Lambs.
Reception
[edit]According to reviewers, The Modern Amazons has "an authoritative style... free of pretension and stuffiness."[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Alicia Eler "Women As Warriors" (Windy City Times, July 3, 2007)
- ^ Staff - "The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen" (Books to Watch Out For: The Lesbian Edition)
- ^ J.R. Taylor - Packed, Stacked and on the Attack (Mr. Skin, July 1, 2006)
- ^ Mary Cowper - "Reviewer's Bookwatch" (April 2006, Volume 6, Number 4)
- ^ Gary Dowell - "B Movie Magic: Celebrating the Silver Screen's Tough Broads and One Mutated Superhero" (Baltimore City Paper, June 7, 2006)
See also
[edit]External links
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