American politics in Hollywood film / Ian Scott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Scott, Ian, 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics in motion pictures.

Motion pictures--Political aspects--United States.

Motion pictures.

Motion pictures--Political aspects.

United States.

Physical Description:

vii, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh Univ Press, [2011]

Summary:

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 post-9/11 and Bush era's effect on the American politics and cinema

In-depth discussion of political documentaries, such as Fahrenheit9/11 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 Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Film, Ideology and American Politics 11

Hollywood and the Portrayal of American Political Ideas 19

The Iconography of Hollywood Politics 24

2 Political Films in the Classic Studio Era 34

Inside the Corridors of Power 44

Symbolism, Iconography and the Movies of Frank Capra 53

3 Hollywood on the Campaign Trail 80

Hollywood and Early Election Campaigns 91

The Boys on the Bus 97

Contemporary Election Movies 103

4 Action, Conspiracy and Paranoia in Hollywood Political Films 114

The Pre-Cold War Thriller Films 120

Post-1945: Cold War Conspiracy 124

Alan J. Pakula and the Classic Paranoia Style 137

Political Thrillers in the Contemporary Era 146

5 Political Biography in Film 158

Origins and Evolution 166

Drama and Politics: The Biographies of Oliver Stone 178

6 Hollywood and America in the New Foreign Policy Era 190

Trust No One 196

Decoding the Documentary 210

Conclusions 214

7 Hollywood and Contemporary Domestic Politics 218

Who Took the Politics out of Political Movies? 218

Political Films in the 1990s 223

The 2000s and Beyond 243

Conclusions 247.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0748640231

9780748640232

074864024X

9780748640249

OCLC:

505428070