There are certain films and shows that resonate with audiences everywhere--they generate discussion and debate about everything from gender, class, citizenship and race, to consumerism and social identity. This new 'teachable canon' of film and television introduces students to alternative classics that range from silent film to CSI.

• Its most famous prop is a blanket, and its star endorsement was that real men do not wear undershirts. The humble and even corny touchstones of Frank Capra's Academy-Award winning 1934 comedy It Happened One Night belie its power and consequential status in the history of classic Hollywood cinema.
• Through mad-cap action, spunky heroines, gender politics, and class/gender conflicts, It Happened One Night invites discussion of film history, the studio system, and the problems posed by sound cinema for early-1930s censorship codes.
• A strong case study for teaching American Depression Era history, and film genre development.

Upcoming books in the series:

Miami Vice by James Lyons
CSI by Derek Kompare
Law & Order by Alison McCracken
Magnolia by Christina Lane
Top Hat by Peter Evans
Hairspray by Dana Heller