Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist

Reading the Hollywood Reds

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Film
Cover of the book Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist by Jeff Smith, University of California Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jeff Smith ISBN: 9780520958517
Publisher: University of California Press Publication: March 26, 2014
Imprint: University of California Press Language: English
Author: Jeff Smith
ISBN: 9780520958517
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication: March 26, 2014
Imprint: University of California Press
Language: English

Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist examines the long-term reception of several key American films released during the postwar period, focusing on the two main critical lenses used in the interpretation of these films: propaganda and allegory. Produced in response to the hearings held by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) that resulted in the Hollywood blacklist, these films’ ideological message and rhetorical effectiveness was often muddled by the inherent difficulties in dramatizing villains defined by their thoughts and belief systems rather than their actions. Whereas anti-Communist propaganda films offered explicit political exhortation, allegory was the preferred vehicle for veiled or hidden political comment in many police procedurals, historical films, Westerns, and science fiction films. Jeff Smith examines the way that particular heuristics, such as the mental availability of exemplars and the effects of framing, have encouraged critics to match filmic elements to contemporaneous historical events, persons, and policies. In charting the development of these particular readings, Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist features case studies of many canonical Cold War titles, including The Red Menace, On the Waterfront, The Robe, High Noon, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist examines the long-term reception of several key American films released during the postwar period, focusing on the two main critical lenses used in the interpretation of these films: propaganda and allegory. Produced in response to the hearings held by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) that resulted in the Hollywood blacklist, these films’ ideological message and rhetorical effectiveness was often muddled by the inherent difficulties in dramatizing villains defined by their thoughts and belief systems rather than their actions. Whereas anti-Communist propaganda films offered explicit political exhortation, allegory was the preferred vehicle for veiled or hidden political comment in many police procedurals, historical films, Westerns, and science fiction films. Jeff Smith examines the way that particular heuristics, such as the mental availability of exemplars and the effects of framing, have encouraged critics to match filmic elements to contemporaneous historical events, persons, and policies. In charting the development of these particular readings, Film Criticism, the Cold War, and the Blacklist features case studies of many canonical Cold War titles, including The Red Menace, On the Waterfront, The Robe, High Noon, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

More books from University of California Press

Cover of the book Confessions of a Radical Chicano Doo-Wop Singer by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Animal Ethos by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book An Archive of Hope by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Three Kingdoms by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Contested Illnesses by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Race and the Brazilian Body by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book The Drunken Monkey by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Funny Pictures by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book The Poems of Hesiod by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Field Guide to Birds of the Northern California Coast by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Crossing the Kingdom by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Replenished Ethnicity by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Reading between the Wines by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Ain't No Trust by Jeff Smith
Cover of the book Shorebird Ecology, Conservation, and Management by Jeff Smith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy