A drive-in theatre of the mind: Nostalgic populism and the déclassé video object -- 42nd street forever? Constructing 'grindhouse cinema' from exhibition to genre to transmedia concept -- Paratexts, pastiche, and the direct-to-video aesthetic: Towards a retrosploitation mediascape -- Dressed to regress? The retributive politics of the retrosploitation pastiche -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Selected filmography and videography of retrosploitation media.

HKBU library

YT20205 M08

Too often dismissed as nothing more than 'trash cinema', exploitation films have become both earnestly appreciated cult objects and home video items that are more accessible than ever. In this wide-ranging new study, David Church explores how the history of drive-in theatres and urban grind houses has descended to the home video formats that keep these lurid movies fondly alive today. Arguing for the importance of cultural memory in contemporary fan practices, Church focuses on both the re-release of archival exploitation films on DVD and the recent cycle of 'retrosploitation' films like Grindhouse, Machete, Viva, The Devil's Rejects, and Black Dynamite. At a time when older ideas of subcultural belonging have become increasingly subject to nostalgia, Grindhouse Nostalgia presents an indispensable study of exploitation cinema's continuing allure, and is a bold contribution to our understanding of fandom, taste politics, film distribution, and home video. --Provided by publisher.