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Description

How are the films we watch shaping our political worldview? Studies show that films shape us—they affect our values, our beliefs, and our actions. Consequently understanding the messages reinforced by many popular films is vital for everyone, and especially for the student of politics.
Winning The Crowd: The Politics of Popular Films showcases careful, close readings of recent, popular films as serious texts of political thought. Ten contributors select a film or small set of related films—from the John Wick franchise to Pixar's The Incredibles—and analyze the political orientations that these films convey. The volume will be a helpful introduction for those interested in what Hollywood is teaching its viewers about power and the good life. It will also be a valuable model for those wishing to sharpen their own ability to think critically about the meaning of their evening entertainment.
How have your values and beliefs been formed by Hollywood? Winning The Crowd takes you on a guided journey through some of the smartest popular films of recent years.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Color Revolution: Pleasantville, the New Left, and the Making of a New American Identity
Chapter 2 Aristotelian Virtue on Death Row: Masculinity and Courage in The Green Mile
Chapter 3 Gladiator and the Dream of Rome
Chapter 4 Ship as State: The Political Teaching of Master and Commander
Chapter 5 The Incredibles and Tocqueville: Preserving Human Excellence in Democratic Times
Chapter 6 Nature and Nationhood in Gran Torino
Chapter 7 The Political Philosophy of the Dark Knight Trilogy
Chapter 8 For Agatha: Memory, Art, and Civil Society in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel
Chapter 9 For Queen and Country: The Burkean Conservatism of (Daniel Craig era) James Bond
Chapter 10 John Wick in Purgatorio

Product details

Published Mar 26 2025
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 252
ISBN 9781666955279
Imprint Lexington Books
Dimensions 9 x 6 inches
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Jonathan Ashbach

Contributor

Sean Beienburg

Contributor

Luigi Bradizza

Contributor

Adam Carrington

Contributor

Catherine Craig

Contributor

Jerome C. Foss

Contributor

Richard Jordan

Contributor

Aaron Kushner

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