1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910793600203321

Autore

Beasley Chris

Titolo

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

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Manchester, UK : , : Manchester University Press, , 2019

©2019

ISBN

1-5261-3574-4

Descrizione fisica

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

Disciplina

791.436581

Soggetti

Politics in motion pictures

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

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

Film and Media

Film Theory & Criticism

PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism

United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

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

Nota di contenuto

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.

Sommario/riassunto

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.