Politics in Popular Movies: Rhetorical Takes on Horror, War, Thriller, and Sci-Fi Films

ISBN-13: 9781612055565 / Angielski / Twarda / 2014 / 256 str.

John S. Nelson

Opis

Popular movies can be surprisingly smart about politics. At times, these are the portentous politics of state or war; but often, they are the everyday politics of family, romance, business, church, and school. Politics in Popular Movies analyzes the politics in many well-known films in four popular forms: horror, war, thriller, and science fiction. The aims are to appreciate specific movies and their shared forms, to understand their many politics, and to provoke some rollicking conversations. The means are loosely related "film takes" that venture ambitious, playful, and engaging arguments on political styles encouraged by recent films. Politics in Popular Movies shows how conspiracy films expose oppressive systems. It explores how various thrillers prefigured American experiences of 9/11 and then shaped aspects of the War on Terror. It details how some horror films embrace new media, while others use ultra-violence to spur political action. The book explains how a popular genre is emerging to examine nonlinear politics of globalization, terrorism, and more. It traces how recent war movies develop a fascinating range of political arguments. And it appreciates ways that science-fiction movies reflect populist politics from the Occupy and Tea Party movements, rethink the political foundations of current societies, and even remake our cultural images of the future.

Spis treści

1. Film Takes: Rhetorical Appreciations of Popular Politics Part One: Popular Genres 2. Politics in Conventions: Conspiracy as a Cinematic Trope for System 3. Politics in Subtexts: Horror Movies as Facing Political Evils in Everyday Life 4. Politics in Innovations: Fractal Films as New Rhetorics for Nonlinear Politics Part Two: Political Experiences 5. Emotion and Empathy: From Sins and Pains to Bodies and Deeds in Horror Movies 6. Character and Community: From Contracts to Contacts in Science-Fiction Films 7. Atmosphere and Argument: From Vicarious to Virtual Experience in War Movies Part Three: Cinematic Terrors 8. Movies Prefigure Politics: How Thrillers Anticipated Terrorist Attacks on America 9. Movies Disfigure Politics: How Vampire Hunters Pursued the War on Terror 10. Movies Configure Politics: How Horror, Dystopia, Thriller, and Noir Shape Terrorism 11. Conclusion: Political Styles in Popular Movies

O autorze

John S. Nelson does political theory and communication at The University of Iowa, where he has directed the Project on Rhetoric of Inquiry, the Bridging Project, and the Honors Program. He has edited Poroi, an electronic journal, plus university-press series from Chicago and Wisconsin. His books include Video Rhetorics (Illinois) and Tropes of Politics (Wisconsin).