Description
In Reelpolitik Ideologies in American Political Film, Beverly Merrill Kelley examines more than a century of political movie history, providing a thorough historical background for diametrically opposed political ideologies in order to facilitate debate and dialectical learning. Kelley explores 185 American political movies (categorized by ideological themes and presented in chronological order) in order to illustrate the history of film as well as the history of the specific political ideology. Each chapter includes a case study which provides an in-depth analysis of the single film that best illustrates the ideology at hand, including: The Candidate (populism), Wall Street (elitism), The Godfather (fascism), All the President's Men (anti-fascism), Patton (interventionism), and M*A*S*H (isolationism). Reelpolitik Ideologies in American Political Film establishes a paradigmatic analysis of political films that details the cyclical nature of ideological dialectic throughout American history and identifies the values, attitudes, and beliefs of the voters who choose not to affiliate with Republicans and Democrats, and who often determine the outcomes of elections. The text also includes an extensive ideological filmology spanning more than 100 years of American cinema. This study represents a bold investigation of the political and social values of American film, and is an essential text in the study of the relationship between culture and politics.
About the Author
Beverly Merrill Kelley is a professor of communication and founder of the communication department at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.
Reviews
Director Sam Fuller said that film is a battlefield, and Reelpolitik is a fascinating report from the front. Drawing on her deep knowledge of politics and film history, Beverly Merrill Kelley has produced a work that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Kelley expertly shows how movies have framed battles over competing political ideologies. In doing so, she tells us much about artistic visions and historical trends. -- John J. Pitney Jr., Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics, Claremont McKenna College
Movies provide a gateway to forming and understanding who we are as a nation. Never before has a book so adroitly dissected the sinews of connecting tissue between film, politics, and power. Beverly Kelley has finally connected dots in a way that is both erudite and entertaining. -- William Knoke, author of Bold New World: The Essential Road Map to the Twenty-first Century
Employing three pairs of ideological themes as analytic lenses, Kelley examines the history of American cinema and bids us to imagine anew what we think we know about politics and its significance in the history of cinema throughout the 20th century. -- Herbert E. Gooch III, California Lutheran University
Book Information
ISBN 9780739172070
Author Beverly Merrill Kelley
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Lexington Books
Publisher Lexington Books
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 158mm * 24mm
About the Author
Beverly Merrill Kelley is a professor of communication and founder of the communication department at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.
Reviews
Director Sam Fuller said that film is a battlefield, and Reelpolitik is a fascinating report from the front. Drawing on her deep knowledge of politics and film history, Beverly Merrill Kelley has produced a work that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Kelley expertly shows how movies have framed battles over competing political ideologies. In doing so, she tells us much about artistic visions and historical trends. -- John J. Pitney Jr., Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics, Claremont McKenna College
Movies provide a gateway to forming and understanding who we are as a nation. Never before has a book so adroitly dissected the sinews of connecting tissue between film, politics, and power. Beverly Kelley has finally connected dots in a way that is both erudite and entertaining. -- William Knoke, author of Bold New World: The Essential Road Map to the Twenty-first Century
Employing three pairs of ideological themes as analytic lenses, Kelley examines the history of American cinema and bids us to imagine anew what we think we know about politics and its significance in the history of cinema throughout the 20th century. -- Herbert E. Gooch III, California Lutheran University
Book Information
ISBN 9780739172070
Author Beverly Merrill Kelley
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Lexington Books
Publisher Lexington Books
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 158mm * 24mm
