Perverse Spectators The Practices of Film Reception

"Janet Staiger tackles the most perplexing issues in film theory and aesthetics. She builds on her pioneering work in reception studies with applications of psychoanalytic theory and historical materialist analysis. Perverse Spectators will continue to shift critical interest toward that neglected factor in film studiesthe audienceand toward the modes of address and reception that differentiate one set of spectators from another." - Donald Crafton,University of Notre Dame "One of the best contemporary American film scholars over the past decade. Perverse Spectators points towards new directions which the study of cinema must consider in the coming years." - Henry Jenkins,MIT "A brief survey cannot do justice to Staiger's rich, rewarding work. The writing style is refreshingly lucid, even while she negotiates complicated ideas and diverse spectator positions." (JUMP CUT)