Customer Reviews

Seeing the Bigger Picture (Politics, Media & Popular Culture)

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Considering there was only one short review on this excellent book, I thought it would be helpful to give a better description. Upwards of 200 films are discussed, with much less focus on television. About five episodes of the Simpsons is covered, which the authors feel to be a good place to find social and political commentary. About half of the book is a summary of films and the others half is a mixture of how the films reflect the thoughts and politics of the time. One of the things that I truely enjoyed was that the book was neutral on politics, which is very rare when reading on the topic. The first few chapters cover early films that support or reject ideologies such as capitalism, communism, and fascism. The section on Red Scare films was quite interesting. Next the presidency is considered. In general the authors note that the president was nearly always presented as a hero in films before the 90's, after which there were several films that portrayed him as a villian. Could the end of the cold war be an explanation? Civil Rights, Social injustice, election and campaign films are next to be covered. War is another topic that is taken from all perspectives. Films that promoted war efforts and those that see it as destructive are give equal evaluation. A must read for anyone interested in the interplay of Hollywood, politics and culture.

A truly great work of amazing scope and impact. I will never forget what I've experienced in these pages.