Document Type

Essay

Publication Date

Winter 2004

Publication Title

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Volume

4

Issue

1

Pages

1-2

Abstract

The editors of Reel Baseball begin by acknowledging the roots of their collection, which explores the intersection between movies and baseball. Since 1989 the National Baseball Hall of Fame has hosted the Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture. Since 1997, McFarland has published all papers presented at the symposium. Reel Baseball, then, functions both as a document and as an artifact of the "integral" place of baseball movies in American culture. Indeed, the book not only includes essays presented at the symposium, it has two foreword sections: one written by Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey and the other by Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture Founder, Alvin L. Hall [1]. As well as essays considering three sorts of baseball movies -- those centred on baseball, those centred on Babe Ruth and those with baseball elements -- Reel Baseball includes interviews the editors conducted with directors, producers, actors, broadcasters and even some "real" baseball people. These four categories then comprise the sections into which the book is divided. It is worth noting that each section is preceded by a thematically related illustration penned by award-winning syndicated editorial cartoonist Frank Galasso. Thus, Reel Baseball attempts to achieve the delicate balance required of a critical celebration, if you will, for that is really the aim of the book: to appeal to fans and to fans, like the current author, who happen to be academics.

Comments

© Marc Ouellette. Posted with permission of the author.

Original Publication Citation

Ouellette, M. (2003). Reel baseball: Essays and interviews on the national pastime, Hollywood and American culture. Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture 4(1). http://reconstruction.digitalodu.com/Issues/041/TOC.htm

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