Since the mid-1980s, US audiences have watched the majority of movies they see on a video platform, be it VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, Video On Demand, or streaming media. Annual video revenues have exceeded box office returns for over twenty-five years. In short, video has become the structuring discourse of US movie culture. "Killer Tapes and Shattered Screens" examines how prerecorded video reframes the premises and promises of motion picture spectatorship. But instead of offering a history of video technology or reception, Caetlin Benson-Allott analyzes how the movies themselves understand and represent the symbiosis of platform and spectator. Through case studies and close readings that blend industry history with apparatus theory, psychoanalysis with platform studies, and production history with postmodern philosophy, "Killer Tapes and Shattered Screens" unearths a genealogy of post-cinematic spectatorship in horror movies, thrillers, and other exploitation genres. From "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) through "Paranormal Activity" (2009), these movies pursue their spectator from one platform to another, adapting to suit new exhibition norms and cultural concerns in the evolution of the video subject.

About the Author
Caetlin Benson-Allott is Assistant Professor of English and Film and Media Studies at Georgetown University.

Reviews
"Insightful and original... [A] genuinely significant study." -- Linnie Blake Times Higher Education "Exquisitely argued and researched work." 10 Best Film-Studies Books of 2013. -- Clayton Dillard Slant Magazine "Intriguing." -- W. W. Dixon CHOICE



Book Information
ISBN 9780520275126
Author Caetlin Benson-Allott
Format Paperback
Page Count 312
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 408g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 23mm