White: Essays on Race and Culture

An often fascinating read in extremely intellgible English, Dyer shows how the idea of whiteness underpins more of Western visual culture than one might have thought. Ranging from fascinating discussions of how the actual chemical composition of film stock was engineered to maximize the representation of caucasian skin on celluloid to race in cheesy Italian sword-and-sandals films of the 1950s, this is a real triumph for academic writing--a work that's actually compelling for a non-specialist, but an important intervention in the field at the same time. The last chapter or two were a little less energetic than the predecessors, I thought, but overall, one of the best I've read of this kind.

Dyer's study of whiteness is a comprehensive piece. It covers all the grounds you'd expect and a few more. His style of deceptive academia (the way he explains theory and collates data from various complex sources, making them understandable and ready to grasp is a wonderul feat of writing) that strays from the usual school of academic over-writing is a true breath of fresh air. His personal insight, and anecdotal examples, are witty and vividly illustrative of his points. After his other successes in the past ('Stars' and his brilliant BFI book on 'Se7en'), Dyer firmly sets himself out as one of the finest film academics around. 'White' is exceptional.

Dyer is one of the most important film critics in the west. His exploration of what race and politics have to do with entertainment is absolutely crucial to understanding movies better. They are not only entertainment but a key to the way modern politics work in everyone's imagination. The only other popular culture critic as astute on this subject is the American writer Armond White and Dyer's latest work makes a welcome pair with White's The Resistance. To challenge film viewers to analyze their own relationship to the ideas and images on screen is among the most significant work a contemporary critic can undertake. Dyer's chapters on Jewel in the Crown and his analysis of western art and the influence of its ideas on popular culture will be important for as longa s there are movies.