Publication date:
16 February 2004Length of book:
344 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersDimensions:
227x162mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9780742530416
Reelpolitik II moves past typical left-right political distinctions to examine political ideologies cycling through U.S. history during the '50s and '60s. These eight Cold War movies especially equipped the moviegoer with a unique vantage point to scrutinize the arms race, the Red Scare, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War. They also helped audiences to observe the way film functions as a purveyor of American mythology, a megaphone to shout political messages, a metaphorical route to the emotions, a flattering mirror, an unflattering microscope, and a magic carpet ride back to the future.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the film world moved from black and white to color, and politics moved from black and white to shades of gray. Kelley tells this story with sociological sweep, but also with a good eye for characters. John Wayne, Sam Fuller, and Stanley Kubrick all come back to life to tell us about their times. It's a fine book about real art, real people, and real politics.