Hollywood's White House: The American Presidency in Film and History

by Peter C. Rollins (Editor), John E. O'Connor (Editor)

Overview

Winner of the 2003 Ray and Pat Browne Book Award, given by the Popular Culture Association The contributors to Hollywood's White House examine the historical accuracy of these presidential depictions, illuminate their influence, and uncover how they reflect the concerns of their times and the social and political visions of the filmmakers. The volume, which includes a comprehensive filmography and a bibliography, is ideal for historians and film enthusiasts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813137964
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	07/07/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	965,166
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Peter C. Rollins is Regents Professor Emeritus of English and American Film Studies at Oklahoma State University and is former editor of the journal Film & History. He is the coeditor of numerous books, including Hollywood’s Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film.

John E. O’Connor is professor emeritus of the Federated Department of History at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University. He is also a founding editor of Film & History and the coeditor of several books.

Editorial Reviews

This collection of 23 essays edited by Rollins (editor, Film and History) and O'Connor (coeditor, Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film) takes an academic look at the presidency in film, various miniseries, television's The West Wing, and even Saturday Night Live. The title is a bit misleading since the subject matter extends beyond Hollywood, and the range of films is narrower in scope than expected. Adopting a decidedly historic rather than a cinematic point of view, these essays compare fact and fiction. As the editors state in the foreword, "A main theme of this book is Hollywood's failure to depict adequately the presidents of the United States." Some interesting theories appear in Luc Herman's "Bestowing Knighthood" regarding the use of media to connect presidents Kennedy and Clinton and Ian Scott's "Populism, Pragmatism and Political Reinvention," which discusses director Frank Capra and the politics of his time. The essays are supported by numerous sources that provide some good leads to more on the subject, and the chronological filmography will come in handy. As Linda Alkana says in "The Absent President," "Historians use film to teach history." In that respect, this book is useful. Recommended for academic libraries.-Barbara Kundanis, Batavia P.L., IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Winner of the 2004 Ray and Pat Browne Award given by the Popular Culture Association.

From the Publisher

An excellent example of the American theater.... We are the audience. We will be a much more informed audience after reading the essays in this book.

Journal of American Culture

A scholarly examination of the portrayal of the American presidency in film.

Choice

This well-written book, with contributions by both film critics and historians, is an interesting study of the real presidency and the reel presidency.

USA Today Magazine