Silent cinema and contemporaneous literature explored themes of mesmerism; possession; and the ominous agency of corporate bodies that subsumed individual identities. At the same time; critics accused film itself of exerting a hypnotic influence over spellbound audiences. Stefan Andriopoulos shows that all this anxiety over being governed by an outside force was no marginal oddity; but rather a pervasive concern in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Tracing this preoccupation through the periodrsquo;s filmsmdash;as well as its legal; medical; and literary textsmdash;Andriopoulos pays particular attention to the terrifying notion of murder committed against onersquo;s will. He returns us to a time when medical researchers described the hypnotized subject as a medium who could be compelled to carry out violent crimes; and when films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Dr. Mabuse; the Gambler famously portrayed the hypnotistrsquo;s seemingly unlimited power on the movie screen. Juxtaposing these medicolegal and cinematic scenarios with modernist fiction; Andriopoulos also develops an innovative reading of Kafkarsquo;s novels; which center on the merging of human and corporate bodies. Blending theoretical sophistication with scrupulous archival research and insightful film analysis; Possessed adds a new dimension to our understanding of todayrsquo;s anxieties about the onslaught of visual media and the expanding reach of vast corporations that seem to absorb our own identities.
#1840188 in eBooks 2008-09-17 2008-09-17File Name: B001U5VJZ4
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I like the pictures and textBy Gomer JonesI bought this book as a companion to Pittsburgh Streamlined Trolleys; which I purchased a few years ago. I like the pictures and text; but would have like to seen an extra view or two of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportations 1949 St. Louis PCC cars. I did see cars 14 24 at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum many years ago; and thought they were interesting. Otherwise; the pictures are very good and text is informative for this Baltimore streetcar buff..0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. PTC / SEPTA Trolleys is a MUST ReadBy SanibelMikeGreat history book on Philly transportation when I was a kid.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good For All Transit Historians Those Into Philadelphias Public Transit Past.By George GongGood mix of pictures and variety of stuff. Not just streetcars of yesterday. A few motor coach trolleybus pictures in there as well. Typical Arcadia quality. But that was not meant as a negative!
