Hollywood in Havana : US Cinema and Revolutionary Nationalism in Cuba before 1959 / Megan Feeney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Feeney, Megan, Author.

Series:

Chicago scholarship online.

Chicago scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion pictures, American--Cuba--History--20th century.

Motion pictures, American.

Motion pictures, American--Cuba--Influence.

National liberation movements--Cuba.

National liberation movements.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (310 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

From the turn of the twentieth century through the late 1950s, Havana was a locus for American movie stars, with glamorous visitors including Errol Flynn, John Wayne, and Marlon Brando. In fact, Hollywood was seemingly everywhere in pre-Castro Havana, with movie theaters three to a block in places, widely circulated silver screen fanzines, and terms like "cowboy" and "gangster" entering Cuban vernacular speech. Hollywood in Havana uses this historical backdrop as the catalyst for a startling question: Did exposure to half a century of Hollywood pave the way for the Cuban Revolution of 1959? Megan Feeney argues that the freedom fighting extolled in American World War II dramas and the rebellious values and behaviors seen in postwar film noir helped condition Cuban audiences to expect and even demand purer forms of Cuban democracy and national sovereignty. At the same time, influential Cuban intellectuals worked to translate Hollywood ethics into revolutionary rhetoric-which, ironically, led to pointed critiques and subversions of the US presence in Cuba. Hollywood in Havana not only expands our notions of how American cinema was internalized around the world-it also broadens our view of the ongoing history of US-Cuban interactions, both cultural and political.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Looking Up: Hollywood and Revolutionary Cuban Nationalism

1. The Film Business That Unites: Early US Cinema in Havana, 1897-1928

2. Teaching Eyes to See: The Advent of Cuban Film Criticism, 1928-1934

3. Our Men in Havana: Hollywood and Good Neighborly Bonds, 1934-1941

4. You Are Men! Fight for Liberty! Hollywood Heroes and the Pan-American Bonds of World War II

5. Breaking the Chains: Hollywood Noir in Postwar Havana, 1946-1952

6. Rebel Idealism: Hollywood in Havana during the Batistato, 1952-1958

Epilogue. The Show Goes On: Hollywood in Havana after 1958

Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Sources

Notes

Index of Films

Index of Subjects

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2019.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780226593722

022659372X

OCLC:

1078553489