An Illustrated History of Filmmaking

This book covers film history in a whimsical and fanciful way, through cartoons and brief write-ups. Perfect for youngsters, but not quite what I was looking for.

Wonderful. Very interesting.

The illustrations are fantastic and the brief descriptions are easy to digest. However, there is an (albeit incredibly subtle agenda) hinted at throughout it. The book goes out of its way more than once to inform the reader that women were oppressed since the beginning of film and that they continue to be oppressed today. Although this is laid out in a few scattered sentences, the message is clear - on page 60, there is even a segment that reads "The creative industry has had a tradition of prejudice towards women, something which has unfortunately endured." What is ironic about this is that the book manages to gloss over the incredibly wealthy, influential, and downright inspiring silent film actress, organization founder, and studio owner, Mary Pickford.At her prime, Pickford made $10,000 every week and by the end of her life she had met Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was apparently so famous that her mansion was a frequently requested stop by foreign ambassadors. She even raised 18 billion dollars worth of war bonds during World War I for the Allied cause. With a legacy this powerful, you would think she would make it into the book - but no. Instead, she is not mentioned a single time.Long story short, I can't expect everything, but I do expect consistency and honesty. One does not simply point out the lack of women in film history without mentioning the women who were incredibly successful.There's also an odd part where two pages are dedicated to the film "Mad Max: Fury Road." Despite being the lead, Tom Hardy is only drawn into one of the pictures - he is not labeled, named, or even mentioned. However, Charlize Theron and the film's female editor and costume designer, Margaret Sixel and Jenny Beavan are mentioned, along with the film's director, George Miller, and the actor for the film's villain, Hugh Keays-Byrne. While it can be argued that the standout actor/actress of the film is certainly Theron, it doesn't make sense to specifically label secondary characters while leaving the lead nameless and unmentioned. Tom Hardy himself would likely disagree with me on this as he seems to be a feminist (albeit one that I agree with and respect,) but I still find the priorities odd.