- Industry: Printing & publishing
- Number of terms: 1330
- Number of blossaries: 0
- Company Profile:
Routledge is a global publisher of academic books, journals and online resources in the humanities and social sciences.
(born 1958) (both) With Joel as the director-screenwriter and Ethan as the producer-screenwriter, the brothers have a uniquely skewed vision of ordinary life which permeates and complicates otherwise simple tales of murder, kidnapping and fraud with the human frailties of the characters themselves. As NYU trained independent film-makers, deeply critical of Hollywood legends in Barton Fink (1991), they have gained increasing budgets and acceptance, including a screenwriting Oscar for Fargo (1996), which also garnered a Best Actress Award for Joel’s wife, Frances McDormand (b. 1958)
Industry:Culture
(born 1958) After leading the Jackson 5 to many successful singles as a child, music videos (MTV) recreated Jackson’s tremendous solo career by showcasing his incredible talent for dance.
“Thriller,” “Beat It” and “Billy Jean,” among other videos, gained effusive critical and popular acclaim. Later, though, Jackson ignited controversy over dramatic changes in his physical appearance, suggesting excessive plastic surgery. He also was accused of molesting one or more of the children who regularly came to visit his home. While the alleged misconduct—and many reclusive traits—made Jackson fodder for media jokes and gossip, he remains the “King of Pop.”
Industry:Culture
(born 1958) Twenty-four-year-old Detroit, MI native, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone (aka Madonna) burst onto the music scene in a New York City dance club in 1982. Soon after, her second album earned her first no. 1 hit and gold single, and the nicknames “Material Girl” and “Boy Toy.” All of her first eleven albums reached the top 15, selling over a million copies each. Visible in many media, Madonna’s acting credits include a Broadway play and the films Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Evita (1996) and The Next Best Thing (1999). MTV plays her music videos more than any other artist’s. An astute businesswoman, she created Maverick Entertainment, her own multimedia empire.
Industry:Culture
(born 1960) Best-known for his diving feats at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, when he continued to compete after hitting his head against the board during the preliminary rounds. After being stitched up, Louganis came back to win the gold medals for both platform and springboard, as he had at the 1988 Los Angeles, CA games.
At Seoul, Louganis was already HIV-positive, taking AZT to enable him to compete.
A year later he announced his retirement and became a stage actor. Two of his roles were as gay men; in 1994 he publicly acknowledged his sexuality at Gay Games IV in New York City. His autobiography Breaking the Surface (1995), describes the experiences of a gay athlete.
Industry:Culture
(born 1961) African American comic and actor who has honed his edgy style in stand-up and street-smart characters on Saturday Nïght Live, which he joined at the age of nineteen. These included a ghetto satire of children’s television host Mr Rogers and references to black stereotypes in media (Buck-wheat). Murphy’s highly successful film career has included action and comic parts, often showcasing his flexibility in developing multiple characters within the movie (Coming to America, 1988; Bowfinger, 1999; The Nutty Professor movies, 1996 and 2000). He retains his concert career as well.
Industry:Culture
(born 1962) Actor and director who has brought intelligence and disturbing psychological depth to extremely varied roles. A child actor for Disney, Foster made a startling breakthrough in 1976 as the edgy addict in Taxi Driver and as a 1920s nightclub star in Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone. Foster won Oscars for her gritty portrayal of a working-class, gang-rape victim in The Accused (1988) and again for her pas de deux with Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs (1992); she has also worked in French cinema and with Woody Allen. Her directorial debut was the 1991 Little Man Tate, focused on the situation of a child prodigy.
Industry:Culture
(born 1963) Charismatic and creative independent director/ actor/screenwriter/producer whose films show wide knowledge of popular genres and global cinema even as he has transformed them. Emerging from his experience as a video clerk alternating with acting, Tarantino’s eclectic sensibilities became apparent in Reservoir Dogs (1992), before gaining global accolades with Pulp Fiction (1993). He continues to be both the creator and subject of mass media attention; meanwhile, his Jackie Brown (1997) revitalized blaxploitation films across racial lines.
Industry:Culture
(born 1963) Widely acknowledged to be the greatest basketball player ever and, with his ability to soar over players, certainly the most exciting. Jordan was the beneficiary of NBA decisions to showcase individual talent at the end of the 1970s, leading to the rise of marquee players like Julius Erving, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Isaiah Thomas, all of whom he eclipsed. Signed by the Chicago Bulls in 1984, Jordan almost single-handedly pulled the franchise up from the basement of the NBA to six championships between 1991 and 1998, an unbroken run interrupted only by his year-long retirement and attempt to break into major league baseball in 1993. Jordan’s contribution to marketing has been as significant as his contribution to basketball. Earning more money from product sponsorship (especially Nike) than from basketball, he was one of the best known Americans around the world throughout the 1990s, his number 23 Chicago Bulls shirt seen on the backs of kids from Latin America and Europe to the Philippines.
Industry:Culture
(born 1964) Novelist of the literary brat pack of the 1980s, whose debut novel Less than Zero (1985) depicted an empty drug- and sex-driven Los Angeles, CA. Ellis’ fascination with the glamour and darkness of an urbane world of pop culture and affluence reached a crescendo in American Psycho (1991), the obsessive chronicle of an all-consuming yuppie murderer, which caused a flap when dropped by its original publisher, Simon & Schuster.
Industry:Culture
(born 1966) Victim of a savage beating by four white Los Angeles police officers who were caught on video by a bystander. The tape, frequently shown on network news shows, created widespread consensus about the officers’ guilt. The California jury’s May 1992 acquittal of the officers shocked many. It was explained by the jury’s selection from the politically conservative suburbs of Los Angeles, CA and the fact that it included no African Americans, as well as artful defense strategies. Anger in South Central LA led to the most violent race riot in American history, during which fifty-four people were killed, thousands injured and property damaged in excess of 11 billion. Federal civil-rights charges were later brought against the officers and they were found guilty King eventually disappeared from public view.
Industry:Culture
