Citizen Spielberg

"Friedman's passion for Spielberg films is contagious. Reading Citizen Spielberg makes you want to revisit old favorites like Jurassic Park (1993) and less familiar gems like Empire of the Sun (1987), both to appreciate Spielberg's artistry and assess Friedman's arguments. " --Australasian Journal of American Studies
"Essential . . . Perhaps Friedman's greatest achievement is deciphering--in remarkably entertaining fashion--why every Spielberg film is vital to understanding his entire career." --The Film Stage
"Citizen Spielberg is an indispensable study of outstanding scholarship and criticism about Steven Spielberg's life, work, and place in American film and cultural history. Friedman writes with commitment and conviction, opening new channels of understanding into Spielberg, his films, and his times."--Sam B. Girgus, author of Clint Eastwood's America
"Friedman claims to have penned the first comprehensive analysis of [Spielberg's] films, and he may well be right."--Library Journal
"Friedman's treatment is an exhaustive and necessary catalog."--American Interest
"There is [a lack of] an exhaustive overview of the components of Spielberg's corpus, the issues which animate his most significant works, the roots of his immense popularity amongst audiences, and the influence his vast spectrum of imaginative products exerts on the public consciousness. Friedman fills that void with a systematic analysis of the various genres in which the director has worked and concludes that Spielberg's films present a sustained artistic vision combined with a technical flair matched by few other filmmakers, and makes a compelling case for Spielberg to be considered as a major film artist."--Screening the Past
"Citizen Spielberg does a service to a monstrously influential director and an oeuvre whose investigations of emotion -- especially constrained masculine emotions -- have received insufficient book-length study."--Bloomsbury Review
"Friedman seeks a more nuanced approach to Spielberg's cinematic output as director; taking readers through an analysis of his films and responding to the critical assessments of others, Friedman asserts that 'Spielberg is a far more complex, sophisticated, and wry filmmaker than most mainstream critics and academic scholars appreciate.’”--Shofar

"Encourage your brightest students to investigate Citizen Speilberg. It's the sort of book that by eschewing jargon but employing serious critical analysis could have a profound effect."--Splice
"There is [a lack of] an exhaustive overview of the components of Spielberg's corpus, the issues which animate his most significant works, the roots of his immense popularity amongst audiences, and the influence his vast spectrum of imaginative products exerts on the public consciousness. Friedman fills that void with a systematic analysis of the various genres in which the director has worked and concludes that Spielberg's films present a sustained artistic vision combined with a technical flair matched by few other filmmakers, and makes a compelling case for Spielberg to be considered as a major film artist." * Screening the Past *
"Citizen Spielberg does a service to a monstrously influential director and an oeuvre whose investigations of emotion--especially constrained masculine emotions--have received insufficient book-length study." * Bloomsbury Review *
"Friedman seeks a more nuanced approach to Spielberg's cinematic output as director; taking readers through an analysis of his films and responding to the critical assessments of others, Friedman asserts that 'Spielberg is a far more complex, sophisticated, and wry filmmaker than most mainstream critics and academic scholars appreciate.’” * Shofar *
"Encourage your brightest students to investigate Citizen Speilberg. It's the sort of book that by eschewing jargon but employing serious critical analysis could have a profound effect." * Splice *
"Friedman's treatment is an exhaustive and necessary catalog." * American Interest *