American Politics in Hollywood Film
American Politics in Hollywood Film

Author: Ian Scott

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Published: 2011-05-06

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0748646280

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How is the American political landscape represented in cinema? What is the relationship between Hollywood and Washington? From Arnold Schwarzenegger's rise to the Governorship of California through to the drama of the celebrity-fuelled 2008 Presidential election, Hollywood and politics have never been more intimate.This thoroughly updated and revised new edition continues to analyse the theoretical and conceptual relationship of Hollywood to national politics and the way film content and criticism has aligned itself to political culture and debate.Chronicling the evolution of American political cinema from the 1930s, this book explores the genre's symbiotic relationship with the American political culture and history. Through textual analysis of a range of films and television series, Scott provides a critique of current and past developments across several sub-genres, including the bio-pic, the election film and documentary.New for this edition* Analysis of the post-9/11 and Bush era's effect on the American politics and cinema* In-depth discussion of political documentaries, such as Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Fog of War, as well as films from the 2000s, such as Man of the Year and State of Play* Expanded coverage of television series from The West Wing, through to 24 and John Adams

Hollywood Left and Right
Hollywood Left and Right

Author: Steven J. Ross

Publisher: OUP USA

Published: 2011-09-06

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 0195181727

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In Hollywood Left and Right, Steven J. Ross tells a story that has escaped public attention: the emergence of Hollywood as a vital center of political life and the important role that movie stars have played in shaping the course of American politics.Ever since the film industry relocated to Hollywood early in the twentieth century, it has had an outsized influence on American politics. Through compelling larger-than-life figures in American cinema--Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Edward G. Robinson, George Murphy, Ronald Reagan, Harry Belafonte, Jane Fonda, Charlton Heston, Warren Beatty, and Arnold Schwarzenegger--Hollywood Left and Right reveals how the film industry's engagement in politics has been longer, deeper, and more varied than most people would imagine. As shown in alternating chapters, the Left and the Right each gained ascendancy in Tinseltown at different times. From Chaplin, whose movies almost always displayed his leftist convictions, to Schwarzenegger's nearly seamless transition from action blockbusters to the California governor's mansion, Steven J. Ross traces the intersection of Hollywood and political activism from the early twentieth century to the present.Hollywood Left and Right challenges the commonly held belief that Hollywood has always been a bastion of liberalism. The real story, as Ross shows in this passionate and entertaining work, is far more complicated. First, Hollywood has a longer history of conservatism than liberalism. Second, and most surprising, while the Hollywood Left was usually more vocal and visible, the Right had a greater impact on American political life, capturing a senate seat (Murphy), a governorship (Schwarzenegger), and the ultimate achievement, the Presidency (Reagan).

Hollywood Goes to Washington
Hollywood Goes to Washington

Author: Michael Coyne

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2008-09-30

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1861895771

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Fantasy and politics are familiar dancing partners that rarely separate, even in the face of post–Election Day realities. But Hollywood has a tradition of punching holes in the fairy tales of electoral promises with films that meditate on what could have been and should have been. With Hollywood Goes to Washington,Michael Coyne investigates how the American political film unravels the labyrinthine entanglements of politics and the psyche of the American electorate in order to reveal brutal truths about the state of our democracy. From conspiracy dramas such as The Manchurian Candidate to satires like Wag the Dog, Hollywood Goes to Washington argues that political films in American cinema have long reflected the issues and tensions roiling within American society. Coyne elucidates the mythology, iconography, and ideology embedded in both classic and lesser-known films—including Gabriel Over the White House, Silver City, Advise and Consent, and The Siege—and examines the cinematic portrayals of presidents in the White House, the everyman American citizen, and the nebulous enemies who threaten American democracy. The author provocatively contends that whether addressing the threat of domestic fascism in Citizen Kane or the disillusionment of Vietnam and paranoia of the post-Watergate era in Executive Action, the American political film stands as an important cultural bellwether and democratic force—one that is more vital than ever in the face of decreasing civil liberties in the present-day United States. Compelling and wholly original, Hollywood Goes to Washington exposes the political power of the silver screen and its ramifications for contemporary American culture.

Here's Looking at You
Here's Looking at You

Author: Ernest D. Giglio

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780820470993

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Here's Looking at You: Hollywood, Film & Politics examines the tangled relationship between politics and Hollywood, which manifests itself in celebrity involvement in political campaigns and elections, and in the overt and covert political messages conveyed by Hollywood films. The book's findings contradict the film industry's assertion that it is simply in the entertainment business, and examines how, while the majority of Hollywood films are strictly commercial ventures, hundreds of movies - ranging from Birth of a Nation to Fahrenheit 9/11 - do indeed contain political messages. Here's Looking at You serves as a basic text for political film courses and as a supplement in American government and film studies courses, and will also appeal to film buffs and people in the film industry.

Projecting Politics
Projecting Politics

Author: Elizabeth Haas

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-04-10

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 1317520033

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The new edition of this influential work updates and expands the scope of the original, including more sustained analyses of individual films, from The Birth of a Nation to The Wolf of Wall Street. An interdisciplinary exploration of the relationship between American politics and popular films of all kinds—including comedy, science fiction, melodrama, and action-adventure—Projecting Politics offers original approaches to determining the political contours of films, and to connecting cinematic language to political messaging. A new chapter covering 2000 to 2013 updates the decade-by-decade look at the Washington-Hollywood nexus, with special areas of focus including the post-9/11 increase in political films, the rise of political war films, and films about the 2008 economic recession. The new edition also considers recent developments such as the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, the controversy sparked by the film Zero Dark Thirty, newer generation actor-activists, and the effects of shifting industrial financing structures on political content. A new chapter addresses the resurgence of the disaster-apocalyptic film genre with particular attention paid to its themes of political nostalgia and the turn to global settings and audiences. Updated and expanded chapters on nonfiction film and advocacy documentaries, the politics of race and African-American film, and women and gender in political films round out this expansive, timely new work. A companion website offers two additional appendices and further materials for those using the book in class.

Cinema Wars
Cinema Wars

Author: Douglas M. Kellner

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-09-13

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1444360493

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Cinema Wars explores the intersection of film, politics, and US culture and society through a bold critical analysis of the films, TV shows, and documentaries produced in the early 2000s Offers a thought-provoking depiction of Hollywood film as a contested terrain between conservative and liberal forces Films and documentaries discussed include: Black Hawk Down, The Dark Knight, Star Wars, Syriana, WALL-E, Fahrenheit 9/11 and other Michael Moore documentaries, amongst others Explores how some films in this era supported the Bush-Cheney regime, while others criticized the administration, openly or otherwise Investigates Hollywood’s treatment of a range of hot topics, from terrorism and environmental crisis to the Iraq war and the culture wars of the 2000s Shows how Hollywood film in the 2000s brought to life a vibrant array of social protest and helped create cultural conditions to elect Barack Obama

American Film and Politics from Reagan to Bush Jr.
American Film and Politics from Reagan to Bush Jr.

Author: Philip John Davies

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2002-10-11

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780719058653

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Focusing on the two decades leading to the beginning of the 21st century, this collection examines central issues in American politics and society through the films of the period. Using everything from Oliver Stone to Disney, Clint Eastwood to John Sayles, Jurassic Park to Dumb and Dumber, the international array of authors explore a number of themes. These include: the cinematic views of political institutions; of politically significant places; of the projection of major issues such as gender, family, and race; and the cultural politics of the film makers themselves in America at the start of a new century.

Politics, Hollywood Style
Politics, Hollywood Style

Author: John Heyrman

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2017-12-20

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1498551939

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This book analyzes major films about the American political process from the 1930's through the 2010's. Films are grouped historically and analyzed for their portrayal of American politicians and the political system, uncovering patterns and trends regarding the ways that American politics is portrayed. It also explores how politics are reflected in and affected by these films. For example, compromise is often portrayed as a mistake, and heroes generally seek to redeem a corrupt political system. This book categorizes films by how politics are depicted in them (e.g., cynically, idealistically, etc.). This book also considers the depiction of race and gender in films, as well as the ideological slant of the stories told.

Camera Politica
Camera Politica

Author: Michael Ryan

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 1988-06-22

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780253206046

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" a modern mythography, a study of contemporary Hollywood films based on the tools offered by feminism, psychoanalysis, Marxist cultural theory, and deconstruction." --Village Voice "Solidly thought-out observation of the films of the 70's and 80's that comment on the system." --Audience "... intelligent, open advocacy. Its responsible arrangement of carefully described cultural materials will challenge students and instructors alike." --Teaching Philosophy Camera Politica is a comprehensive study of Hollywood film during a period of tremendous change in American history, a period that witnessed the end of the American empire, crises in the economy, a failure of political leadership, loss at war, and the rise of the Right.

American Political Movies
American Political Movies

Author: James Combs

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-12-17

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1317929020

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Essays here explore the relationship between politics and explicitly political feature films from the beginning of the movie industry to World War I, and for each decade through to the 1980's. The included filmography is particularly useful. Originally published in 1990, the method of inquiry put forward in this text is nonetheless extendable to the decades following its publication.