Echoes of Reaganism in Hollywood Blockbuster Movies from the 1980s to The 2010s.

• Superior document: American Culture Series ; v.15
• Author: Ben Mna, Ilias.
• Place / Publishing House: Frankfurt a.M. : : Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften,, 2021.; ©2021.
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: American Culture Series
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (380 pages)

The book traces the reverberations of Ronald Reagan's ideology in selected Hollywood blockbuster movies. The analysis includes filmic content as well as production and distribution. It is concluded that political metaphors and an economic setting inherited from the 1980s continue to shape the style and content of Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking.

Table of Contents

Cover -- Copyright information -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 Tracing Echoes in Film -- Chapter Overview -- The Case for the Continued Reaganization of Hollywood Blockbusters -- The Media Spectacle According to Douglas Kellner -- The Hollywood "Hard Body" According to Susan Jeffords -- George Lakoff's "Strict Father Model" as a Political Framing Device -- Roland Barthes' Concept of Mythologies as a Tool for Deconstructing Capitalist Imagery -- Defining Hollywood Blockbusters as a Formula -- Key Ideological and Methodological Terms -- Neoliberalism -- Neoconservatism -- Messianic Americanism -- Metatexts/Subtexts -- Potentials and Limitations -- Chapter 2 Key Myths and Metaphors in Reagan's Rhetoric -- Chapter Overview -- The "Small-Government" Metaphor -- The "Star Wars" Program as a Pop Culture Invocation for Cold War Rearmament -- Counter-Terrorism as "War" against the Other -- The White Male Entrepreneur as Mythical Hero for the Nation -- Chapter 3 E.T.-The Extra-Terrestrial as a Reaganite "Small-Government Fable" -- Introduction and Chapter Overview -- Hollywood Studios at Heaven's Gate: The Production Background of E.T. -- Film Analysis -- The Dystopian Nature of Government and Bureaucracy in E.T. -- The Restoration of the Father through White, Male, Middle-Class Individualism -- The Pop Cultural Legacy of E.T.-The Extra-Terrestrial -- Chapter 4 The Recycling of Reagan's Cold War Rhetoric in Independence Day -- Introduction and Chapter Overview -- When Disaster Strikes at the Box Office: The Production Background of Independence Day -- Film Analysis -- Technological Superiority in Outer Space as an Expression of US-American Hegemony -- The Role of "Messianic Americanism" in Defeating the Other -- The Pop Cultural Legacy of Independence Day.

Chapter 5 The Dark Knight as an Echo Chamber for Reaganite Counter-Terrorism Rhetoric -- Introduction and Chapter Overview -- A New Class of Criminals: The Production Background of The Dark Knight -- Film Analysis -- "War on Terror" and "Terror War" in The Dark Knight -- "Terror" Is What Others Do: Racial Otherness in The Dark Knight and in Neoconservative Rhetoric -- The Pop Cultural Legacy of The Dark Knight -- Chapter 6 Hard-Bodied Entrepreneurialism in The Avengers -- Introduction and Chapter Overview -- The Superhero (Formula) Keeps Coming Back: The Production Background of The Avengers -- Film Analysis -- Entrepreneurialism and National Defense in The Avengers -- Gendered "Hard Bodies" in Times of War -- The Pop Cultural Legacy of The Avengers -- Conclusions and Outlook -- Main Conclusions and their Relevance for Contemporary Discussions -- Implications for Blockbuster Movies as a Formula -- From Ronald to Donald: When Blockbuster Logic Meets Political Spectacles -- List of Figures -- Bibliography -- Series index.