American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film [Paperback]

Trevor McCrisken (Author), Andrew Pepper (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2005

"The major thesis of this challenging, stimulating book rests on the proposition that the historical record is not "fixed, inviolate, and unchanging." Both thoughtful and engaging scholars, McCrisken and Pepper reach fascinating, provocative conclusions. Those interested in the intersection of film and history will appreciate this unique study. Essential."-Choice Magazine Hollywood has always been fascinated by America's past, but never more so than in the past fifteen years. Bringing exciting new perspectives to how and why Hollywood has sought to repicture American history, this book offers analysis of more than twenty mainstream contemporary films, including The Patriot, Amistad, Glory, Ride with the Devil, Cold Mountain, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, Pearl Harbor, U-571, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Heaven and Earth, JFK, Nixon, Malcolm X, Ali, Black Hawk Down, and Three Kings. Both authoritative and engaging, American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film is the first book to comprehensively explore the post-cold war period of filmmaking, and to navigate the complex ways that film mediates history-sometimes challenging or questioning, but more frequently reaffirming traditional interpretations. The authors consider why such films are becoming increasingly integral to the ambitions of a globally focused American film industry. Structured by historical periods, chapters cover significant events and eras such as the American Revolution, slavery and the Civil War, World War II, the sixties and seventies, civil rights and black nationalism, the Vietnam War, and post-cold war global conflicts. The lessons learned from the examples will be illuminating for general readers and college students alike. Trevor McCrisken is lecturer in American politics and international studies at the University of Warwick. He is the author of American Exceptionalism and the Legacy of Vietnam: US Foreign Policy Since 1974. Andrew Pepper is lecturer in English and American literature at Queen's University, Belfast. He is the author of The Contemporary American Crime Novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is an accessible, enjoyable study of movies dealing with events from American history ! this study ! deserves a wide readership among students and aficionados of both American history and Hollywood films. The essays are presented in an engaging and ernest style ! the analyses are probing and provocative: models of the kind of creative questioning that leads to fresh insights. A succinct and disciplined book! will undoubtedly find a place in the expanding canon of works on American history and Hollywood film. American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film is a well researched, well argued and generally well written work of scholarship... It brings together for analysis a significant group of Hollywood historical films... Here there is a kind of critical mass that allows the authors to make important suggestions about the treatment of major issues such as gender, race and war in both Hollywood and the larger American culture in the last 15 years. -- Professor Robert Rosenstone, California Institute of Technology 'Scholars who explore the relationship between film and history generally adopt one of two approaches: they write about film on history or they write about history on film. Trevor McCrisken and Andrew Pepper manage to combine the two approaches in a succinct and disciplined book that is intended for a broad audience. The authors deftly manage to present Hollywood dramas as cultural products of their time and simultaneously reflect on how various filmic interpretations of America's past contrbute to shaping and extending the historical record itself! the book will undoubtedly find a place in the expanding canon of works on American history and Hollywood film.' - Australasian Journal of American Studies, December 2006 This is an accessible, enjoyable study of movies dealing with events from American history ! this study ! deserves a wide readership among students and aficionados of both American history and Hollywood films. The essays are presented in an engaging and ernest style ! the analyses are probing and provocative: models of the kind of creative questioning that leads to fresh insights. A succinct and disciplined book! will undoubtedly find a place in the expanding canon of works on American history and Hollywood film. American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film is a well researched, well argued and generally well written work of scholarship... It brings together for analysis a significant group of Hollywood historical films... Here there is a kind of critical mass that allows the authors to make important suggestions about the treatment of major issues such as gender, race and war in both Hollywood and the larger American culture in the last 15 years. 'Scholars who explore the relationship between film and history generally adopt one of two approaches: they write about film on history or they write about history on film. Trevor McCrisken and Andrew Pepper manage to combine the two approaches in a succinct and disciplined book that is intended for a broad audience. The authors deftly manage to present Hollywood dramas as cultural products of their time and simultaneously reflect on how various filmic interpretations of America's past contrbute to shaping and extending the historical record itself! the book will undoubtedly find a place in the expanding canon of works on American history and Hollywood film.' - Australasian Journal of American Studies, December 2006 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Trevor McCrisken is lecturer in American politics and international studies at the University of Warwick. He is the author of American Exceptionalism and the Legacy of Vietnam: US Foreign Policy Since 1974. Andrew Pepper is lecturer in English and American literature at Queen’s University, Belfast. He is the author of The Contemporary American Crime Novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (March 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813536219
• ISBN-13: 978-0813536217
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,190,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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