Contends that many popular films depict sexual abuse of males as humorous, thereby fostering culture of violence. Considers humorous portrayals of male sexual abuse in comedy films and videos, locates these portrayals in social context, and discusses potential harm they cause male victims. Includes summaries of nine films made since 1982 which…

A new movie version of Shakespeare's classic troubling comedy, "The Merchant of Venice" (Brokaw, Cowan, Navidi, Piette, & Radford, 2004), has appeared, bringing up an ancient issue of the possible bigotry of the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare's plays about minority characters in the Venetian Republic have caused more and more…

This paper traces the interest by academic popular culture scholars in the films of the American slapstick comedy group of the 1930s and 1940s, "The Three Stooges." Noting that between 1990 and 1995 at least 17 scholarly articles have been presented at various popular culture association meetings, the paper touches upon the universal and…

This resource presents scripts for 15 classical plays from ancient Greece and Rome. The scripts are adapted for classroom presentation by intermediate level students. Each play includes an introduction, instructions for staging and costumes, a vocabulary list, and a cast of characters. Enough roles are provided for participation by every child in…

This collection of papers is part of a growing scholarly literature dealing with puppetry and other forms of expressive culture which involve people looking at and reframing themselves and their social lives. The collection is intended to contribute to an understanding of the significance of puppetry as a form of popular culture and an…

Examines the subject matter, plot structures and theme variations of Simon's more popular plays and concludes that despite mass audience appeal, his works are technically and thematically unsatisfying. Players Magazine, N.I.U. Theatre, DeKalb, Illinois 60115. Subscription Rates: $5.00, one year; $8.50, two years; foreign, $1.00 additional. (MH)

A collection of sixteen one-act royalty-free plays for teenagers, including detailed directions for costuming and staging, is presented. The variety of the dramatic material makes the plays suitable for production by drama classes, amateur theatre groups and drama workshops. The plays appear in one of the two parts of the book: I. Comedies, and…

Surveyed Voltaire's 50 plays to examine traits and roles assigned to elderly, influence of genre and author's age on portrayals, and factors to which elder's traits were attributed. Found elderly portrayed more favorably in tragedy than in comedy; no effect of period of life on portrayals. Wisdom was only trait consistently and specifically…

Assesses the fiction of a prolific children's author, one who wears both comic and tragic masks equally well. (NKA)

Provides an overview of the liturature on Chaplin and the character he portrayed--Charlot, "the little fellow,"--throughout the world. (JMF)