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PRAISE FOR MARTIN F. NORDEN'S THE CINEMA OF
ISOLATION: A HISTORY OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY IN THE MOVIES
"I enjoyed this book from its terrific title to its skillful interweaving
of movie history with disability history. . . . [It] makes a valuable
contribution to our understanding of where America gets its myths and
stereotypes of disability." --Joseph Shapiro, author of No Pity: People
with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement
"Offers an
historically detailed examination of how Hollywood has depicted the
physically disabled experience. . . . Thoughtfully argued and well
documented. . . . Anyone interested in how mainstream movies have shaped
our images of the world ought to carefully read this fine book." --Douglas
Gomery, author of The Hollywood Studio System "[Norden's]
scholarship, documentation, sociological observations and psychological
insights make this one of the very best specialized books on American
movies." --Choice
"Film Professor Martin F. Norden sets out a scholarly, but by no means
stuffy, survey of the portrayal of physically disabled characters in
mainstream American cinema over the last hundred years. Norden sees
cinema images of disability as reflecting society's view of disabled
people, and believes all disabled characters are shaped by the isolation
of disabled people as a group in society. These films then make their own
contribution to perpetuating and reinforcing that isolation. The book
spans from the early days of film with 'wonderful' titles like The
Invalid's Adventure and The Cripple's Marriage, through to
recent blockbusters with better titles, like The Fugitive, but not
necessarily better images. There is a danger with this type of book that
it read like a long list, but Norden gives clear, readable accounts of
the films he discusses, and his attention to detail gives a lively feel.
. . . As a history the book works well and will be enjoyed by anyone with a
general interest in disability and film." --Disability Now
"I was unprepared for how provokingly good the [book] would be. . . .
America's 43 million disabled citizens deserve the kind of careful
scholarship that The Cinema of Isolation offers." --Democratic
Communique
"Norden's study is the first of its kind and is justifiably wide in
scope. It will be a valuable frame of reference for researchers,
filmmakers, and anyone interested in social justice and physical
disability issues." --Cinema Guide
"This heartfelt treatise provides an invaluable assessment and supercedes
the pioneering Disability Drama in Television and Film . . .
Highly recommended." --Library Journal
"[The book] validates our feelings about the movies. . . . The author
shows us the parade of saintly sages, holy innocents, Tiny Tims, and
inspirational crips that have flickered across the screen since the days
of the silent movies. The 375-page volume will prove an indispensable
reference." --Mainstream Magazine
"Norden, with considerable skill and entertainment, clearly shows the
derogatory road that images of disability have gone down . . . It should
be compulsory reading for all film-makers, critics and scholars . . .
It's a must." --Link
"A forcefully argued examination of Hollywood's neglect or inaccurate
treatment of the physically disabled." --Wilson Library Bulletin
"Norden's book . . . shows a grasp of the complexity of disability
imagery that is both sophisticated and intelligent, and it is firmly
rooted in an astutely academic ability that has combined analysis with
clarity. . . . I unreservedly recommend--insist--that all scholars of
disability and film, both student and tutor, order this book."
--Disability and Society
"It is a masterful history: executed with a high degree of awareness,
sophistication and eclecticism. The vast range of reading that has gone
into the book makes it a joy to read from beginning to end. That it is
not short on humour helps it become, what I would consider, the best
piece of in-depth work on the image of people with disabilities in the
movies." --Disability Arts Monthly
"A comprehensive, well-written history of the depiction of people with
physical disabilities in the movies. . . . Lively, clearly written, and
provocative . . . an indispensable resource for academics, film buffs,
and civil rights advocates." --Civil Rights Journal
"Meticulously researched and thoughtfully analyzed . . . Norden has done
a service in bringing these images and this film history to light."
--Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps
"Provides an honest and entertaining documentation of the evolution of
how people with disabilities are portrayed in the movies . . .
informative and lively . . . will prove invaluable to film aficionados,
people with disabilities and scholars." --One Step Ahead
"[Offers] a great deal of insight into the roots of the basic archetypes
of disability in movies. . . . Norden is also able to interweave his
extensive knowledge of film history with a solid knowledge of the history
of disability policy and activism in America." --The Disability
Rag
"Quite simply a standout. . . . awesome . . . I will write little without
it." --Disability Studies Quarterly
"Finally, someone has chronicled how the film industry has portrayed us,
people who have disabilities, in the movies . . . Oh, how I wish I'd had
this book when I was going to university." --It's Okay!
"This encyclopedic survey of one hundred years of films featuring the
disabled is interesting and informative . . . Norden illustrates
different disabled archetypes using familiar and not so familiar movies,
actors, directors, and screenwriters." --Bulletin of the History of
Medicine
"It is a thoroughly researched book, with extensive coverage on early
silent films which have received only minimal, if any, coverage in film
history books currently on the market. . . . Any silent film historian,
no matter how knowledgeable, will be able to learn quite a few
interesting new facts on silent cinema in The Cinema of Isolation."
--The Silents Majority: The On-Line Journal of Silent Film
"The Cinema of Isolation is a splendid example of committed
scholarship which blends methodological awareness and scholarly detail
with ethical passion. . . . Norden has produced a work which fuses
insight, commitment, and scholarship. It is a delight to read and should
serve a variety of audiences -- scholars, the handicapped, and even
filmmakers. Cinema of Isolation is a model work for popular
culture studies." --Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
Go to Marty Norden's Home Page
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