'Grease Is the Word'

Description

Fresh insight into the impact and legacy of the cultural phenomenon ‘Grease’

With its catalogue of hit songs, iconic characters, memorable quotes and familiar scenes, ‘Grease’ is truly a behemoth of US and global popular culture. From the stage show’s debut in 1971, to the Hollywood film of 1978, to the numerous rereleases and anniversary celebrations of the twenty-first century, it has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, success across a range of media. ‘Grease’’s extended run on Broadway through the 1970s ensured it a prominent place within broader debates on the musical, 1950s nostalgia and American youth. Numerous stage revivals have followed, with theatres across the world revisiting Rydell High in front of sell-out audiences. Hollywood has time and again sought to recreate ‘Grease’ the movie’s phenomenal box-office success with a procession of similarly themed rock and roll youth musicals (‘Footloose’, ‘Dirty Dancing’, the ‘High School Musical’ franchise, to name a few). However, even as these productions enjoy their own renown, in terms of sheer longevity, prominence and popularity, ‘Grease’ was, is and will remain ‘the word’ when it comes to musical blockbusters.

Bringing together a group of international scholars from diverse academic backgrounds, ‘Grease Is the Word’ provides a series of fresh and detailed analyses of the cultural phenomenon ‘Grease’. From the stage show’s first appearance in 1971 to twenty-first century responses to the ‘Grease Megamix’, ‘Grease Is the Word’ reflects on the musical’s impact and enduring legacy. With essays covering everything from production history, political representations, industrial impact, music, stars and reception, the book shines a spotlight on one of Broadway’s and Hollywood’s biggest commercial successes. By adopting a range of perspectives, and drawing on various visual, textual and archival sources, the contributors maintain a vibrant dialogue throughout, offering a timely reappraisal of a musical that continues to resonate with fans and commentators the world over. Written in an engaging, accessible manner, the book will appeal to students, academics, and anyone interested in American popular culture.

Introduction, Oliver Gruner and Peter Krämer; 1. From Chicago to Broadway: The Origins of ‘Grease’, Scott Warfield, University of Central Florida; 2. ‘We Were Just Trying to Entertain’: ‘Grease’ in Production, Alexander G. Ross, University of East Anglia; 3. ‘Bland? Who, Me?’: Olivia Newton-John on the Road to ‘Xanadu’, Oliver Gruner, University of Portsmouth; 4. Travolta Fever, Adrian Garvey, Queen Mary University of London; 5. A View from the Bridge: ‘Grease’’s Los Angeles, Celestino Deleyto, University of Zaragoza; 6. ‘Grease’, the Jukebox Fifties and Time’s Percolations, Christine Sprengler, University of Western Ontario; 7. ‘We Go Together’: Meta-diegesis and Internal Voices in ‘Grease’, Beth Carroll, University of Southampton; 8. ‘An Easy Winner’: The Marketing, Reception and Success of ‘Grease’, Peter Krämer, University of East Anglia; 9. Vanishing Pregnancies to Flying Cars: Examining Changing Reactions to the Carnival in ‘Grease’, Frances Smith, University of Sussex; 10. ‘Grease’, Late Teens and the Twentysomething Audience Today, Rebecca Feasey, Bath Spa University; 11. Look at Me on DVD: ‘Grease’ in the Home, Simon Hobbs, University of Portsmouth; Index.

Sujets

• Arts
• Película fotográfica
• General officer
• Performing arts
• General
• Film

Informations

• Publié par: Anthem Press
• Date de parution: 22 novembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• EAN13: 9781785271120
• Langue: English

Extrait

‘Grease Is the Word’
‘Grease Is the Word’
Exploring a Cultural Phenomenon
Edited by Oliver Gruner and Peter Krämer
Anthem Press
An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company
www.anthempress.com
This edition first published in UK and USA 2020
by ANTHEM PRESS
75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK
or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK
and
244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA
© 2020 Oliver Gruner and Peter Krämer editorial matter and selection; individual chapters © individual contributors
The moral right of the authors has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019949300
ISBN-13: 978-1-78527-110-6 (Hbk)
ISBN-10: 1-78527-110-5 (Hbk)
This title is also available as an e-book.
CONTENTS
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
List of Contributors
Introduction
Part I A Phenomenon Is Born
Chapter One From Chicago to Broadway: The Origins of Grease (Scott Warfield)
Chapter Two ‘We Were Just Trying to Entertain’: Grease in Production (Alexander G. Ross)
Chapter Three ‘Bland? Who, Me?’: Olivia Newton-John on the Road to Xanadu (Oliver Gruner)
Chapter Four Travolta Fever (Adrian Garvey)
Part II At the Centre of a ‘Nostalgia Craze’: Grease in the 1970s
Chapter Five A View from the Bridge: Grease ’s Los Angeles (Celestino Deleyto)
Chapter Six Grease, the Jukebox Fifties and Time’s Percolations (Christine Sprengler)
Chapter Seven ‘We Go Together’: Meta-Diegesis and Internal Voices in Grease (Beth Carroll)
Chapter Eight ‘An Easy Winner’: The Marketing, Reception and Success of Grease (Peter Krämer)
Part III Grease ’s Afterlives
Chapter Nine Vanishing Pregnancies to Flying Cars: Examining Changing Reactions to the Carnival in Grease (Frances Smith)
Chapter Ten Grease , Late Teens and the Twenty-Something Audience (Rebecca Feasey)
Chapter Eleven Look at Me on DVD: Grease in the Home (Simon Hobbs)
Select Bibliography
Index
Figures
2.1 ‘Grease is the Word’: The film’s opening credit sequence. Copyright Paramount
2.2 The ‘Greased Lightning’ fantasy sequence. Copyright Paramount
3.1 Negative responses to Sandy’s ‘wholesome’ femininity. Copyright Paramount
3.2 Sandy struggles with her cigarette. Copyright Paramount
4.1 Danny’s star entrance in Grease . Copyright Paramount
4.2 Saturday Night Fever . Copyright Paramount
4.3 Danny’s ‘cool’ and ‘vulnerable’ personas in Grease . Copyright Paramount
5.1 Journey’s end: Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) at the Los Angeles River. Copyright Paramount
5.2 The Ephemeral Latina: Cha Cha (Annette Charles) briefly takes centre stage, then disappears. Copyright Paramount
6.1 The Frosty Palace: A public site of youth socialization. Copyright Paramount
6.2 The jukebox, Danny and Sandy. Copyright Paramount
7.1 Johnny Casino and the Gamblers at Rydell High. Copyright Paramount
7.2 Danny (John Travolta) stranded at the Drive-in. Copyright Paramount
9.1 Jan (Kelly Donnelly) and Putzie (Kelly Ward) pose at the carnival. Copyright Paramount
9.2 Sonny (Michael Tucci) and Marty (Dinah Manoff) provide a more surreal image. Copyright Paramount
9.3 Doody (Barry Pearl) finds himself posing next to a pug. Copyright Paramount
Acknowledgements
The editors would like to begin by thanking Tamar Jeffers McDonald, who came up with the original idea for this volume, and developed the project during its early stages. Tamar’s enthusiasm, her vision and her foundational work helped us shape the book’s content and inspired us to see it through to publication. Our thanks, also, to Megan Greiving and Abi Pandey at Anthem Press for their help throughout the book’s development, and for being ceaselessly supportive during all stages of the publication process. We are grateful to the peer reviewers for their extremely helpful comments and suggestions. Last, but by no means least, we would like to thank the contributors for their hard work, commitment to the project, eloquent arguments, patience and all-round good humour – it has been an absolute pleasure working with you.
Oliver spent much of late 2017 and early 2018 haranguing would-be readers of his Olivia Newton-John chapter. He would like to thank Simon Hobbs, who commented on several drafts, and endured numerous ‘one last question’ e-mails. Eva Balogh offered many helpful suggestions, and furnished him with several Newton-John LPs. Everyone at the University of Portsmouth’s ‘Celebrity’ Seminar in March 2018 heard an early, clunky, version of the chapter, and gave much appreciated feedback. He thanks Maggie and Peter Gruner for their continued support, and sharp eyes when it comes to grammatical detail. Finally, thanks to Deborah for her love and support, for listening and advising on many Grease -related topics, and for everything else she does, and Aileen for bopping along to ‘You’re the One That I Want’ with him.
Peter spent much of the time that he worked on this book at his mother’s house in Germany. He has to admit that, despite the fact that she turned 80 in September 2018, it was still very much a case of her taking care of him, rather than the other way round. Wonderful food, frequent games of Scrabble, the arrival of many visitors and various outings reminded him that, yes, there is a life beyond academia, and also that it was his mom who first took him to the cinema in the 1960s, thus setting him on the path to studying, and writing about, film. Thanks, mom!
Contributors

Beth Carroll is a lecturer in film studies at the University of Southampton. Her research interests include studying the interaction between images and sound in film and videogames, and understanding issues related to audience engagement, such as those associated with phenomenology and emotion. Her monograph Feeling Film: A Spatial Approach (2016) examines a spatial methodology for the film musical. Carroll also co-edited, with K. J. Donnelly, Contemporary Musical Film (2017), which explores the role of the musical genre post 2000.
Celestino Deleyto is a professor of Film and English Studies at the University of Zaragoza, Spain. He is the author of From Tinseltown to Bordertown: Los Angeles on Film (2016), The Secret Life of Romantic Comedy (2009) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (2010) with María del Mar Azcona. He has published articles on film genre, romantic comedy, transnational cinema and cosmopolitan theory in Screen, Cinema Journal, PostScript, Film Criticism and Transnational Cinemas , among others. Deleyto is currently researching on borders, transnational cinema and cosmopolitan theory.
Rebecca Feasey is a senior lecturer in media communications at Bath Spa University. She has written the book-length studies: Masculinity and Popular Television (2008), From Happy Homemaker to Desperate Housewives: Motherhood and Popular Television (2012), and Mothers on Mothers: Maternal Readings of Popular Culture (2016). She is currently writing about the representation of women who are unable to mother in line with traditional maternal practices.
Adrian Garvey is a film historian who teaches at Queen Mary University of London. His PhD was on the actor James Mason, and he has published work on Mason, British film comedy, silent film stardom and other aspects of British and American cinema.
Oliver Gruner is a senior lecturer in visual culture at the University of Portsmouth, UK. His research examines the historical film, collective memory and cultural representations of the 1960s. He is the author of Screening the Sixties: Hollywood Cinema and the Politics of Memory (2016), and has had essays published in the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Rethinking History and The Poster as well as several edited collections.
Simon Hobbs is a lecturer in visual culture at the University of Portsmouth and the author of Cultivating Extreme Art Cinema: Text, Paratext and Home Video Culture (2018). He has published in the areas of extreme art film, exploitation film and paratext studies. His work has appeared in various edited collections and journals.
Peter Krämer is a senior research fellow in Cinema & TV in the Leicester Media School at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. He also is a senior fellow in the School of Art, Media and American Studies at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, as well as a regular guest lecturer at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, and at the University of Television and Film Munich, Germany. He is the author or editor of nine academic books, including The New Hollywood: From Bonnie and Clyde to Star Wars (2005) and The Hollywood Renaissance: Revisiting American Cinema’s Most Celebrated Era (2018, co-edited with Yannis Tzioumakis).
Alexander G. Ross was educated at the universities of Heidelberg, Cambri