The Films of the Eighties: A Social HistoryIn this remarkable sequel to his Films of the Seventies: A Social History, William J. Palmer examines more than three hundred films as texts that represent, revise, parody, comment upon, and generate discussion about major events, issues, and social trends of the eighties. Palmer defines the dialectic between film art and social history, taking as his theoretical model the "holograph of history" that originated from the New Historicist theories of Hayden White and Dominick LaCapra. Combining the interests and methodologies of social history and film criticism, Palmer contends that film is a socially conscious interpreter and commentator upon the issues of contemporary social history. In the eighties, such issues included the war in Vietnam, the preservation of the American farm, terrorism, nuclear holocaust, changes in Soviet-American relations, neoconservative feminism, and yuppies. Among the films Palmer examines are Platoon, The Killing Fields, The River, Out of Africa, Little Drummer Girl, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Silkwood, The Day After, Red Dawn, Moscow on the Hudson, Troop Beverly Hills, and Fatal Attraction. Utilizing the principles of New Historicism, Palmer demonstrates that film can analyze and critique history as well as present it. |
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In Reagan - era America , Parker set out to deliver a potent message about racism and white supremacist violence . He chose , however , not to present that film's message from a black point of view . His was a choice quite similar to ...
Violent killing machines like The Terminator ( 1984 ) and Robocop ( 1987 ) replace the depraved human villains of the past . More friendly , childlike machines like R2D2 and C3PO of the Star Wars series ( 1977 , 1980 , 1983 ) , Number 5 ...
In a war , " as Samuel Popkin has stated , " the first and foremost issue is the containment of violence . " 5 Dirty Harry operating in San Francisco is trying to contain violence . Harry has a gun and the bad guys have guns ...
Off Limits clearly demonstrates the futility of trying to contain violence in a war zone such as Saigon . Films like Platoon ( 1986 ) , Off Limits , Full Metal Jacket ( 1987 ) , or Hamburger Hill ( 1987 ) provide fuel for the American ...
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Contents
16 | |
The Coming Home Films | 61 |
The Terrorism Film Texts | 114 |
The Nuclear War Film Texts | 179 |
From the Evil Empire to Glasnost | 206 |
The Feminist Farm Crisis and Other Neoconservative | 246 |
The Yuppie Texts | 280 |
Film in the Holograph of New History | 308 |
Index | 325 |