TRUTH & SOUL: A ROBERT DOWNEY SR. READER – NOW CROWDFUNDING!

NOW CROWDFUNDING!
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A film visionary known for risqué humour and fearless satire, Robert Downey, Sr. is one of American cinema’s most distinctive and playful artists. From his experimental 1960s shorts to his iconoclastic 1980s comedies and beyond, Downey led a remarkable and prolific life in which he produced varied and challenging works that are still beloved by audiences today, from the clash of Madison Avenue and Black nationalism in his early classic Putney Swope to his shocking humans-as-dogs musical Pound, all the way up to later works like Hugo Pool, a surprisingly tender romantic comedy that engages with the realities of living with ALS. And while Downey is best known for his eccentric filmography, his far-ranging artistic influence extends to other important cultural spheres including the New York underground arts scene, off-Broadway theatre, music, comedy and even educational theory.

Featuring new essays by 22 scholars, critics, archivists, music historians and pop culture chroniclers alongside a selection of reprinted archival writings, Truth and Soul: A Robert Downey, Sr. Reader explores the cultural legacy of the many offbeat and fascinating works that he produced over his career, with a particular focus on how they intersect with race, class, consumerism, gender politics, family and debates of “highbrow”/”lowbrow” art. Each chapter provide readers with the context to understand and explore Downey’s work and to uncover the real truth and soul that brought life and laughter to his whimsical works.

Edited by Kier-La Janisse and Clint Enns
2025 | 6 X 8″ | Full Colour | approx 360 pages
Designed by Luke Insect with cover + chapter headings by Andy Votel

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