American film and politics from Reagan to Bush Jr

by Philip Davies (Editor), Paul Wells (Editor)

Overview

Covers a crucial two decades in American history, when the links between Hollywood and Washington DC were at their strongest.. The period is 'book-ended' by the mighty political and cinematic figures of Reagan and Clinton.. Covers a period in which movies have become targets of political rhetoric of 'family values'.. Essays examine cinematic views of key American political institutions - the presidency and electoral process, politically significant places such as New York City and the American South, the promotion of major issues like gender, family and race. This is a subject which has gained new significance in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC, which have changed both the political climate, and the priorities of the movie industry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780719058653
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	06/27/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Philip John Davies AcSS is Professor of American Studies at De Montfort University, and Chair of the British Association for American Studies. Paul Wells is Professor and Head of Media Studies at the University of Teeside

Table of Contents

Introduction - Philip John Davies & Paul Wells
1. American cinema, political criticism and pragmatism: A therapeutic reading of Fight Club and Magnolia - Paul Watson
2. 'Ask not what America can do for you…': Views from the White House: Hollywood in elections and elections in Hollywood - Philip John Davies
3. Oliver Stone's presidential films - Albert Auster
4. '…in order to form a more perfect union': some manifest destinies: Gender and family values in the Clinton presidency and 1990s Hollywood film - Carol R. Smith
5. '…and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea': crossing boundaries: New York City in American film - Leonard Quart
6. Dixie's land: Cinema of the American South - Ralph Willett
7. '…into the crucible with you all, God is making the American…': melting pots and pans: Independent Cinema and modern Hollywood: pluralism in American cultural politics - Brian Neve
8. 'I wanna be like you-oo-oo': Disnified politics and identity from 'The Little Mermaid' to' Mulan' - Paul Wells
9. 'Oh! Say, does the star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?' : contemporary conflict and contradiction: Ambiguity and Anger : Representations of African Americans in contemporary Hollywood film - Mary Ellison
10. The Adversarial Imagination - Phil Melling

Editorial Reviews

Suggesting that American films are simultaneously a repository of conservative values and an embodiment of shifting political agendas over the past five decades, Davies (American studies, De Montfort U., UK) and Wells (media and cultural studies, U. of Teesside, UK) gather eleven essays that look at the political contexts of movies, the ways they address political themes, how political figures and frameworks have been positioned and defined, and how such films find a popular base. Specific topics include the treatment of gender and family values in the Clinton era, Oliver Stone's presidential films, cinema of the American South, Disney's creation of gender and ethnic identity, and representations of African Americans. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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