The cultural politics of contemporary Hollywood film : power, culture, and society / Chris Beasley and Heather Brook.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beasley, Chris, author.

Beasley, Chris, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics in motion pictures.

Motion pictures--California--Los Angeles--History--20th century.

Motion pictures.

Motion pictures--California--Los Angeles--History--21st century.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 367 pages) : digital file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester, UK : Manchester University Press, 2019.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

data file

Summary:

Adopting and developing a 'cultural politics' approach, this comprehensive study explores how Hollywood movies generate and reflect political myths about social and personal life that profoundly influence how we understand power relations. Instead of looking at genre, it employs three broad categories of film. 'Security' films present ideas concerning public order and disorder, citizen-state relations and the politics of fear. 'Relationalities' films highlight personal and intimate politics, bringing norms about identities, gender and sexuality into focus. In 'socially critical' films, particular issues and ideas are endowed with more overtly political significance. The book considers these categories as global political technologies implicated in hegemonic and 'soft power' relations whose reach is both deep and broad.

" 'The authors draw on an impressive array of contemporary literature and critical studies to provide original and illuminating analyses of how contemporary Hollywood film is an important force of cultural politics.' From the foreword by Douglas Kellner, Distinguished Professor of Education at UCLA and author of Cinema Wars: Hollywood Film and Politics in the Bush/Cheney Era Movies are never politically innocent. They generate and reflect myths about nation, society, community, and personal life that profoundly influence how we understand our world and ourselves. Developing a new syncretic 'cultural politics' approach, this comprehensive and up-to-date study interrogates the stories Hollywood tells us, offering insights into both the pleasures and problems associated with what we watch. " --Back cover.

Contents:

Foreword by Douglas Kellner

1. Introduction: the cultural politics of popular film

2. Frames

Part I: Security

3. Security: order and disorder

4. War and order

5. Disorder and fear

6. Fearsome monsters

Part II: Relationalities

7. Gender and intimate relationships

8. Romance

9. Bromance

Part III: Social critique

10. Against the grain? Socially critical movies

11. Questioning the critical

Part IV: Global agendas

12. The big picture: the 'metropole' and peripheral 'others'

13. Responses from 'the margins'

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 292-337), filmography (pages 338-359), and index.

Description based on print record.

ISBN:

9781526135742

1526135744

OCLC:

1260322616