American Politics and Hollywood Film (America in the 20th/21st Century)

Rating:
Summary: Jeff Hart's review of American Politics and Hollywood Film
Review: This is a good book on an important topic. Not only does it carefully describe and analyze a large number of Hollywood films on American politics, it also provides brief discussions of relevant film theories. As a result, the book might be quite useful in undergraduate courses where the instructor wants to provide a gentle entry point for students to film theory while also engaging them in debates about American politics.

Chapter 1 is devoted to an exposition of theory. Chapter 2 introduces the reader to a number of films of the 1930s and 1940s that have been forgotten in an effort to put classic films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Citizen Kane into historical context. Chapter 3 focuses on films that deal with electoral campaigns. Chapter 4 deals with "conspiracy films" - including most of Oliver Stone's work, but also films like Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men, and Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor. Ian Scott discusses these films as part of the larger genre of action thrillers, but also does a good job of parsing their political messages. Chapter 5 focuses on political biographies, particularly on films about specific presidents like Wilson, Sunrise at Campobello, JFK, and Nixon. Chapter 6 deals with the strange satirical political films of the 1990s like Wag the Dog, Bob Roberts, and Primary Colors. The book lacks a concluding a chapter.

The argument put forward in this book is that Hollywood "...has served to ground many of the fundamental principles and beliefs of the nation into the consciousness of its citizenry through symbolic as well as pedagogic means." More negatively, the author argues that Hollywood "has somehow been complicit in the simplification of the democratic debate..." [p. 3]

Scott notes that Hollywood uses existing myths/symbols to make filmic statements. In most Hollywood films about U.S. politics, liberal use is made of important monuments. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, for example, the Lincoln Memorial is used to symbolize integrity in democratic leadership. The colossal but benign image of Lincoln is associated with "triumph in the face of adversity, with sacrifice, and with preservation of the republic in a time of great upheaval." In Oliver Stone's movie Nixon, there is an important scene in which Richard Nixon debates with antiwar protesters at the Lincoln Memorial.

Another theme highlighted by Scott is the frequent plot element of "betrayed values." In films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Citizen Kane, The Candidate, Primary Colors, and Bulworth, one of the key characters is portrayed as having betrayed his or her own core values during the film. The film then explores how that character deals with self-betrayal.

Rating:
Summary: Jeff Hart's review of American Politics and Hollywood Film
Review: This is a good book on an important topic. Not only does it carefully describe and analyze a large number of Hollywood films on American politics, it also provides brief discussions of relevant film theories. As a result, the book might be quite useful in undergraduate courses where the instructor wants to provide a gentle entry point for students to film theory while also engaging them in debates about American politics.

Chapter 1 is devoted to an exposition of theory. Chapter 2 introduces the reader to a number of films of the 1930s and 1940s that have been forgotten in an effort to put classic films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Citizen Kane into historical context. Chapter 3 focuses on films that deal with electoral campaigns. Chapter 4 deals with "conspiracy films" - including most of Oliver Stone's work, but also films like Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men, and Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor. Ian Scott discusses these films as part of the larger genre of action thrillers, but also does a good job of parsing their political messages. Chapter 5 focuses on political biographies, particularly on films about specific presidents like Wilson, Sunrise at Campobello, JFK, and Nixon. Chapter 6 deals with the strange satirical political films of the 1990s like Wag the Dog, Bob Roberts, and Primary Colors. The book lacks a concluding a chapter.

The argument put forward in this book is that Hollywood "...has served to ground many of the fundamental principles and beliefs of the nation into the consciousness of its citizenry through symbolic as well as pedagogic means." More negatively, the author argues that Hollywood "has somehow been complicit in the simplification of the democratic debate..." [p. 3]

Scott notes that Hollywood uses existing myths/symbols to make filmic statements. In most Hollywood films about U.S. politics, liberal use is made of important monuments. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, for example, the Lincoln Memorial is used to symbolize integrity in democratic leadership. The colossal but benign image of Lincoln is associated with "triumph in the face of adversity, with sacrifice, and with preservation of the republic in a time of great upheaval." In Oliver Stone's movie Nixon, there is an important scene in which Richard Nixon debates with antiwar protesters at the Lincoln Memorial.

Another theme highlighted by Scott is the frequent plot element of "betrayed values." In films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Citizen Kane, The Candidate, Primary Colors, and Bulworth, one of the key characters is portrayed as having betrayed his or her own core values during the film. The film then explores how that character deals with self-betrayal.