{"product_id":"genre-busting-dark-comedies-of-the-1970s-twelve-american-films-9780786495429","title":"Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s: Twelve American Films","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Wes D. Gehring\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: McFarland \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: McFarland \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Film - History \u0026amp; Criticism\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This examination of dark comedies of the 1970s focuses on films which concealed black humor behind a misleading genre label. \u003ci\u003eAll That Jazz\u003c\/i\u003e (1979) is a musical...about death--hardly Fred and Ginger territory. This masking goes beyond misnomer to a breaking of formula that director Robert Altman called \"anti-genre.\" Altman's \u003ci\u003eMASH\u003c\/i\u003e (1970) ridiculed the military establishment in general--the Vietnam War in particular--under the guise of a standard military service comedy. The picaresque \u003ci\u003eWestern Little Big Man\u003c\/i\u003e (1970) turned the bluecoats vs. Indians formula upside-down--the audience roots for the Indians instead of the cavalry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e The book covers 12 essential films, including \u003ci\u003eHarold and Maude\u003c\/i\u003e (1971), \u003ci\u003eSlaughterhouse-Five\u003c\/i\u003e (1972), \u003ci\u003eOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest\u003c\/i\u003e (1975) and \u003ci\u003eBeing There\u003c\/i\u003e (1979), with notes on \u003ci\u003eA Clockwork Orange\u003c\/i\u003e (1971). These films reveal a compounding complexity that reinforces the absurdity at the heart of dark comedy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46480980181143,"sku":"9780786495429","price":3728.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780786495429.jpg?v=1766310964","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/genre-busting-dark-comedies-of-the-1970s-twelve-american-films-9780786495429","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}