Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Hollywood has exerted a profound influence on British style and design. From its earliest days, Hollywood glamour in the form of make-up, hairstyles, and fashion was mimicked by women throughout Britain. But the influence of Hollywood was more than skin-deep. Nearly every form of British material culture in the twentieth century has been influenced to some extent by American style, disseminated through the medium of film to a broad and receptive market.With the erection of the Chrysler Building in New York in the late 20s, representing the city and modern American urban life, the Manhattan skyline became an enduring icon in popular culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Not only Hollywood film, but jazz and American companies all combined to bring the new Moderne style to bear on Britain. The architecture of shops, cinemas, and factories all reflect this influence, as did various forms of transportation and the interiors of homes. Even as late as the consumer boom in the 80s, revivals celebrating the Moderne style were popular in Britain as well as abroad. This influence was naturally not without its critics. The very popularity of American design challenged the aesthetics and elitism of British high arts and remains controversial. Anyone interested in design, material culture, film or architecture will find this book to be a lucid and absorbing exploration of a popular aesthetic.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of Figures (p. vii)
• Acknowledgements (p. ix)
• Introduction: Reclaiming the Personal and the Popular (p. 1)
• 1 The Jazz Age: American Ascendancy and the Debut of Deco (p. 21)
• 2 Bright Style in Dark Days: Streamlined Moderne and the Depression (p. 63)
• 3 Cold War Cultures: Hollywood and Modernism (p. 139)
• 4 Post-Modern Glamour: A Postscript (p. 169)
• Bibliography (p. 183)
• Index (p. 197)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In this well-researched book, film scholar Massey (Southampton Institute, UK) looks at the impact of art deco, introduced in 1925 at the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, on material culture in general and on design in Hollywood films in particular from the 1920s through the 1950s. Thanks to MGM set designer Cedric Gibbons and films such as Our Dancing Daughters (1928) and Our Modern Maidens (1929), style moderne became associated with haute couture, luxury, and glamour, epitomizing the streamlined style of modernity. Solidly grounded in the history of architectural design and fashion in the US and Britain and informed by recent work on gender and material culture, the book focuses on the impact of style moderne on everyday life within British working-class culture, ranging from the design of factories, cinemas, and seaside resorts to trends in makeup, hairstyles, and fashion. Documenting Hollywood's role in the Americanization of British culture, Massey moves beyond the influence of art deco in films to consider instances of postwar cultural "imperialism," e.g., Hollywood's promulgation of Christian Dior's "New Look" in fashion and countercultural-styles--tee-shirts, blue jeans, black-leather motorcycle jackets, and motorcycles themselves in films such as The Wild One (1954) and Easy Rider (1969). Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. J. Belton Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick