The Military Film Complex: Destroying the Myth of Liberal Hollywood.
Trendsetter or follower? Hollywood has made over 5,000 war films in the past 100 years. Today’s episode probes whether Hollywood has been complicit in building a culture of warmongering and nationalism, whether inadvertently or by design. With a little help from our friend Krin - who has authored three books on Hollywood - and a handful of other resources, we look back over a few different eras in Hollywood and try to figure out whether the industry is holding up a mirror or influencing our feelings toward war. One thing the episode destroys is the myth that Hollywood is the cultural mouthpiece for the left.
Chapters
Intro: 00:01:49
Chapter One: Hollywood Doesn’t Fit Neatly in Any Box: 00:04:25
Chapter Two: A Deep History of Influence: 00:10:04
Chapter Three: Hollywood Goes to War: 00:19:05
Chapter Four: Influencer or Mirror: 00:28:06
Chapter Five: The Persistent Liberal Hollywood Myth: 00:38:54
Post Show Musings: 00:54:52
Outro: 01:16:58
Resources
The Atlantic: What's Wrong With 'The Hurt Locker'
NPR: Remembering Hollywood's Hays Code, 40 Years On
IMDb: War (Sorted by US Box Office Descending)
The Guardian: Conflict of interest: why Hollywood failed to honestly address the ‘war on terror’
Military.com: Why John Wayne Was Labeled a ‘Draft Dodger’ During World War II
Book Love
Jack G. Shaheen: Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People
Ernest Giglio: Here's Looking at You: Hollywood, Film and Politics, Fourth Edition
Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner: Camera Politica: The Politics of Contemporary Hollywood Film
Krin’s Books:
Black Magic: White Hollywood and African American Culture
Jammin' at the Margins: Jazz and the American Cinema
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