Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America: Dust That Never Settles
In this book, Eric Trenkamp addresses a question that many American cinema fans may have asked themselves over the past 20 years – “why is everything superheroes now?” Although it might be easy to dismiss Hollywood’s last two decades of comic book movies as nothing more than overly simplified morality tales, the reality is much more complex. The pervasiveness of the comic book genre throughout American culture, Trenkamp argues, perpetuates a subtextual myth about what it means to be an “American” in the contemporary world. At the core of this myth is the image of who Hollywood considers to be the ideal American hero – the White male savior. This book explores the evolution of this ever-changing image of White superiority in American cinema, which can be traced from the earliest silent Westerns, through decades of war films, and up to the modern day comic book genre. Through provocative and engaging analysis of a wide variety of Hollywood films, Trenkamp demonstrates the industry’s history of popularizing White supremacy and the ways in which these films can act as propaganda to support various dehumanizing U.S. policies, both abroad and at home. Scholars of film studies, comic studies, genre studies, American studies, race studies, pop culture, and history will find this book particularly useful.

1140479297
Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America: Dust That Never Settles
In this book, Eric Trenkamp addresses a question that many American cinema fans may have asked themselves over the past 20 years – “why is everything superheroes now?” Although it might be easy to dismiss Hollywood’s last two decades of comic book movies as nothing more than overly simplified morality tales, the reality is much more complex. The pervasiveness of the comic book genre throughout American culture, Trenkamp argues, perpetuates a subtextual myth about what it means to be an “American” in the contemporary world. At the core of this myth is the image of who Hollywood considers to be the ideal American hero – the White male savior. This book explores the evolution of this ever-changing image of White superiority in American cinema, which can be traced from the earliest silent Westerns, through decades of war films, and up to the modern day comic book genre. Through provocative and engaging analysis of a wide variety of Hollywood films, Trenkamp demonstrates the industry’s history of popularizing White supremacy and the ways in which these films can act as propaganda to support various dehumanizing U.S. policies, both abroad and at home. Scholars of film studies, comic studies, genre studies, American studies, race studies, pop culture, and history will find this book particularly useful.

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Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America: Dust That Never Settles

Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America: Dust That Never Settles

by Eric Trenkamp
Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America: Dust That Never Settles

Race, War, and the Cinematic Myth of America: Dust That Never Settles

by Eric Trenkamp

Hardcover

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Overview

In this book, Eric Trenkamp addresses a question that many American cinema fans may have asked themselves over the past 20 years – “why is everything superheroes now?” Although it might be easy to dismiss Hollywood’s last two decades of comic book movies as nothing more than overly simplified morality tales, the reality is much more complex. The pervasiveness of the comic book genre throughout American culture, Trenkamp argues, perpetuates a subtextual myth about what it means to be an “American” in the contemporary world. At the core of this myth is the image of who Hollywood considers to be the ideal American hero – the White male savior. This book explores the evolution of this ever-changing image of White superiority in American cinema, which can be traced from the earliest silent Westerns, through decades of war films, and up to the modern day comic book genre. Through provocative and engaging analysis of a wide variety of Hollywood films, Trenkamp demonstrates the industry’s history of popularizing White supremacy and the ways in which these films can act as propaganda to support various dehumanizing U.S. policies, both abroad and at home. Scholars of film studies, comic studies, genre studies, American studies, race studies, pop culture, and history will find this book particularly useful.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781793647504
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 03/09/2022
Pages: 180
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.44(d)

About the Author

Eric Trenkamp is assistant chair for the Film/Video Department at the Pratt Institute.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Author’s Note

Chapter 1: From Spurs To Capes

Chapter 2: A Myth Of America

Chapter 3: The Myth Made Flesh - John Wayne

Chapter 4: The Segregationist Blockbusters

Chapter 5: The New Western Frontier

Chapter 6: Birth of a Genre

Chapter 7: The Post-September 11th Comic Book Movie

Chapter 8: Theories of Conspiracy

Chapter 9: World War without End

Bibliography

Appendix

List of Illustrations

About the Author

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