Dana Stevens on Buster Keaton And The Invention Of The 20th Century

Published January 27, 2022 at 4:11 PM MST

In a new book, the film critic Dana Stevens explores the creative genius of Buster Keaton. She is, of course, interested in Keaton’s indelible contributions to cinema, but she also sees him as a window, or better yet, a mirror of his cultural era.

Keaton began life as the child star of his family’s vaudeville act and went on to mastermind some of the greatest silent comedies of all time. Along the way, he crossed paths with many of the most influential people of the first half of the 20th century. He hit it big on the stage, on the big screen and on a new-fangled entertainment: television. In her book Camera Man, Dana Stevens pulls focus on Keaton’s life as a way of reviewing the numerous and profound cultural changes that happened in his lifetime. She joins us Friday at noon to talk about it.

Air date: Jan. 27, 2022 noon and Jan. 28, 2022 at 11 a.m. MT

Dana Stevens' book is Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century [Indie Bound|Bookshop|Amazon|Audible]