The Films of the Eighties: A Social HistorySouthern Illinois University Press, 1993 - 335 pages In 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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... drug cartels stated , " There should be no safe haven for these narco - terrorists . " Soon after , Congressman Mickey Edwards , speaking for the congressional delegation , stated , " Noriega's involvement in drug deal- ing and money ...
... drug cartels . In order to establish their territories in American cities such as Miami , those drug cartels employ street warfare . In order to form their cartels on an international scale , they consolidate their interests by terror ...
... drug trade . In the L.A. area there are 600 street gangs with more than 700,000 members , and in 1987 there were 387 gang - related killings in L.A. County . It is the drug trade that brings these street gangs into existence and fuels ...
Contents
The Vietnam War as Film Text | 16 |
The Coming Home Films | 61 |
The Terrorism Film Texts | 114 |
Copyright | |
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