Sofia Coppola and Generation X (So Far)

Anxious and Effervescent

Robert C. Sickels

$189

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Lexington Books
15 August 2024

Film movie production: technical skills; Popular culture; Gender studies, gender groups

Series: Generation X: Studies in Culture, Demographics, and Media Representation

While the work of Sofia Coppola has often been dismissed as being stereotypically feminine and placing more focus on spectacle over substance, Sofia Coppola and Generation X (So Far): Anxious and Effervescent draws attention to common characteristics present in Coppola’s films to present an authorial signature and aesthetic that are both familiar yet evocative of Generation X’s perception in the public consciousness. In analyzing Coppola’s films from The Virgin Suicides (1999) to Priscilla (2023), this book argues that her filmography acts as a reflection of her generation's evolving mindset and self-image from its prominence during the late 1980s to its current sentiment of discomfort with its fading influence.

By: Robert C. Sickels
Imprint: Lexington Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781793655844
ISBN 10: 1793655847
Series: Generation X: Studies in Culture, Demographics, and Media Representation
Pages: 246
Publication Date: 15 August 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

"Chapter 1: Anxious and Effervescent Chapter 2: ""You like me, don't you?"" The Virgin Suicides (1999) Chapter 3: ""Does it get easier?"" Lost in Translation (2003) Chapter 4: ""This is ridiculous."" Marie Antoinette (2006) Chapter 5: I'm fucking nothing."" Somewhere (2010) Chapter 6: ""Girls! Time for your Adderall!"" The Bling Ring (2013) Chapter 7: ""This is a nightmare. I can't do this."" A Very Murray Christmas (2013) Chapter 8: ""I'm as blunt as I need to be."" The Beguiled (2017) Chapter 9: ""You can't go deaf to women's voices. You know that, right?"" On the Rocks (2020) Chapter 10: ""You're losing me to a life of my own."" Priscilla (2023) Chapter 11: ""Listen to the girl / As she takes on half the world."""

Robert C. Sickels is professor of film & media studies at Whitman College and the Alma Meisnest Chair of Humanities.

Reviews for Sofia Coppola and Generation X (So Far): Anxious and Effervescent

This clear and lively book makes a historical and cultural case for viewing Sofia Coppola as a leading Generation X filmmaker. In looking at her aesthetics and style, Sickles offers insight into the roles that feel and tone play in shaping an artistic view of the world. Instead of focusing on narrative meaning and closure, Coppola is depicted as a director dedicated to a more open and ambiguous grasp of human experience. -- Robert Samuels, UC Santa Barbara