We'll Always Have the Movies
American Cinema During World War II
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An “essential” study of what Americans watched during wartime, and how films shaped their understanding of events (Publishers Weekly).
During the highly charged years of World War II, movies perhaps best communicated to Americans who they were and why they were fighting. These films were more than just an explanation of historical events: they asked audiences to consider the Nazi threat; they put a face on both our enemies and allies, and they explored changing wartime gender roles.
We’ll Always Have the Movies shows how film after film repeated the narratives, character types, and rhetoric that made the war and each American’s role in it comprehensible. Robert L. McLaughlin and Sally E. Parry have watched more than six hundred films made between 1937 and 1946—including many never before discussed in this context—and have analyzed the cultural and historical importance of these films in explaining the war to moviegoers. This extensive study shows how filmmakers made the chaotic elements of wartime familiar, while actual events became film history, and film history became myth.
“A terrific book that explores not only the themes of hundreds of films but also their impact on patriotism and national will in a time of war.” —WWII History
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hollywood's WWII films played a vital role in helping average Americans understand the nations, conflicts and values involved. Their plots and images were often subject to government censorship, military recommendations and studio biases, but the movies brought to life distant battlefields, American allies and foreign enemies. To discuss the cultural meanings and impact of such films as Casablanca, Lifeboat and Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, Illinois State University professor McLaughlin and dean Parry viewed more than 600 movies made between 1937 and 1946. Their essential volume explores "the process by which actual events become film history and by which film history becomes myth." The authors chronologically discuss the interplay of historical fact, narrative storytelling and cultural stereotypes. Analyzing films, including such pre Pearl Harbor works as Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940) and postwar films like The Courage of Lassie (1946), they identify recurring cinematic formulas used for depicting heroism, gender roles and juvenile delinquency. Whether dealing with famous flicks or lesser known titles, McLaughlin and Parry maintain a scholarly tone, treating blockbusters and B-movies with equal rigor, but never forgetting the view from the peanut gallery or the history and movie buffs among them. Photos.
