Faculty Books, Films & Installations

The concept of settler colonialism offers an invaluable lens to reframe early westerns and travel films as re-enactments of this country’s repressed past. In short, these films stage a remarkable vision of white settlers’ westward expansion that reveals a transformation in what “American Progress” came to mean. Two interconnected pathways structure this book. The primary path links five chapters devoted to early westerns from the early 1900s to the late 1910s. A crucial shift occurs between the third and fourth chapters, coinciding with the outbreak of the Great War....

Geared toward middle grade readers, Ham-let is a fun and endearing graphic novel reimagining of a classic Shakespearean tale. This satirical story stars a cast of anthropomorphic animals based on characters from Shakespeare’s greatest plays.

The eponymous Pig Prince himself returns home from college to find that his uncle Claude betrayed and murdered his father to seize the throne! But this familiar fable veers into the zany and adventurous when Ham-let calls upon his best friend Horatio and a troupe of rowdy, self-centered actors to aid him in halting his uncle’s evil ...

Bringing together the latest developments in the study of serial formatting practices – remakes, sequels, series – Film Reboots (co-editors Daniel Herbert and  Constantine Verevis, Edinburgh University Press, 2020) is the first edited collection to specifically focus on the new millennial phenomenon of rebooting. Through a set of vibrant case studies, this collection investigates rebooting as a practice that seeks to remake an entire film series or franchise, with ambitions that are at once respectful and revisionary. Examining such notable examples as Batman, Ghostbusters

In this powerful and inspiring program produced by FTVM’s own Oliver Thornton, over two dozen of American Literature’s most creative minds join book lovers across the country to celebrate American ingenuity at a time when we need it most -- discussing what it means to them, how it fires their imaginations and why books are so important to us, now more than ever.

The study of media industries has become a thriving subfield of media studies. It already comprises a diverse intellectual history, a range of fascinating questions and topics, and many theoretical and methodological frameworks. Media Industry Studies provides the roadmap to this vibrant area of study. Blending a comprehensive overview of foundational literature with an examination of the varied scales and sites media industry studies have considered, the book explores connections among research questions, topics, and methodologies. It includes examples from many media industries - film...

Making School Matter - University Liggett School and the Academic Research Program premiered at 7:30 p.m., Monday, January 27, 2020, on Detroit Public Television.

The film is the culmination of a four-year documentary project that followed four students attending University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. All high school-aged students at University Liggett School participate in the Academic Research Program, a four-year curriculum that takes a subject they are passionate about and turns it into an in-depth research project that teaches them the skills they...

Motor City Movie Culture, 1916-1925 is a broad textured look at Hollywood coming of age in a city with a burgeoning population and complex demographics. Richard Abel investigates the role of local Detroit organizations in producing, distributing, exhibiting, and publicizing films in an effort to make moviegoing part of everyday life. Tapping a wealth of primary sources material—from newspapers, spatiotemporal maps, and city directories to rare trade journals, theater programs, and local newsreels—Abel shows how entrepreneurs worked to lure moviegoers from Detroit’s diverse ethnic...

Tegel prison, Berlin, in the fall of 1944. Helmuth James von Moltke is awaiting trial for his leading role in the Kreisau Circle, one of the most important German resistance groups against the Nazis. By a near miracle, the prison chaplain at Tegel is Harald Poelchau, a friend and coconspirator of Helmuth and his wife, Freya. From Helmuth’s arrival at Tegel in late September 1944 until the day of his execution by the Nazis on January 23, 1945, Poelchau would carry Helmuth’s and Freya’s letters in and out of prison daily, risking his own life. Freya would safeguard these letters for the rest of...

Oliver Thornton's new documentary, Orchestra Hall – A Centennial Celebration premiered on Detroit Public Television on Wednesday, October 23, 2019. The series will tell the story of Orchestra Hall across six 7-8-minute “webisodes” that will be distributed every week across DPTV’s broadcast and social media platforms to coincide with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s centennial efforts. This series will culminate in a 90-minute pledge event to air on Detroit Public Television December 2, 2019.

In the post–World War I American climate of isolationism, nativism, democratic expansion of civic rights, and consumerism, Italian-born star Rodolfo Valentino and Italy’s dictator Benito Mussolini became surprising paragons of authoritarian male power and mass appeal. Drawing on extensive archival research in the United States and Italy, Giorgio Bertellini’s work shows how their popularity, both political and erotic, largely depended on the efforts of public opinion managers, including publicists, journalists, and even ambassadors. Beyond the democratic celebrations of the Jazz Age, the...

In a new documentary, Mackinac – Our Famous Island, Detroit Public TV and Mackinac State Historic Parks takes viewers along its many shores and trails to experience the natural beauty of the island, visit landmarks that reveal its earliest history and introduce the people who still work to preserve this special place. There is far more to this sacred island than horses and fudge, and DPTV cameras capture the landscape and beauty while connecting us to the diverse communities and people who have been stewards of Mackinac Island throughout its history.

Contemporary media seems incredibly unoriginal, as Hollywood produces an endless flood of remakes, sequels, reboots, and franchises. We watch as the same stories, characters, and images appear again and again in different films, on new platforms, and as toys and other merchandise. Are these works simply crass commercial products, utterly devoid of creativity, or do they offer filmmakers a unique opportunity to reimagine iconic characters and modern myths?

Film Remakes and Franchises examines how remakes and sequels have been central to the film industry from its very inception...

An Uncommon Education – Celebrating 200 Years of the University of Michigan is a short-form documentary series to air on Detroit Public Television (DPTV) throughout 2017 as part of a multimedia effort of recognize 200 years of the University’s role as an educator and institution in the state, nation, and world.

Written and produced by Oliver Thornton (assisted by Associate Producer Matthew Stinson, SAC '10 and Carly Keyes, SAC '16), this series is spread over ten broadcast and web vignettes; each vignette will attempt to track the evolution of how the institution ignited the sparks...

Oliver Thornton's documentary Inside Grand Hotel premiered on March 2, 2017, on Detroit Public T.V. The film explores some of the Grand Hotel’s most iconic spaces - including rooms, suites, the kitchen, and other staff areas - not normally experienced by the masses. Additionally, it documents the hotel's unique business story, revealing the individuals behind the scenes who create the magic of Grand Hotel’s experience and disclosing the day-to-day operations behind this island tourist destination. 

Inside Grand Hotel worked with Detroit Public Television...

Marek's film is a 70-minute documentary entitled Irreplaceables: Why Teachers Matter Most was shot in collaboration with over a half dozen public schools in and around Detroit.

Schools and districts around the nation serving at-risk students have been on a fast track trying to fix ongoing academic failures. Numerous changes to policy, testing requirements, standards, curricula, and school models have come and gone, but the achievement gap still looms large -- and with students and teachers on test-overload, there are still no great gains to show for it. Meanwhile, the research ...

Thornton's documentary, Pioneer Family - On Van Hoosen Farm, recently premièred at the Rochester Hills Emagine Theater; its broadcast première occurred on December 6, 2016, on Detroit Public Television at 8:00 p.m. On Van Hoosen Farm explores how five generations of Taylors and Van Hoosens raised their families and worked the land: "There are countless stories of the families who established the communities we live in today, but seldom is there a story as unique, incredible and engaging as the story of Van Hoosen Farm in Rochester Hills. Settled among&nbsp...