American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film: From 1492 to Three Kings

TREVOR McCRISKEN is lecturer in American politics and international studies at the University of Warwick. He is the author of American Exceptionalism and the Legacy of Vietnam: US Foreign Policy Since 1974.

ANDREW PEPPER is lecturer in English and American literature at Queen's University, Belfast. He is the author of The Contemporary American Crime Novel.

Lessons from Hollywood's American Revolution (Revolution ; The Patriot)
Rattling the chains of history : Steven Spielberg's Amistad and "telling everyone's story" (Roots ; Amistad)
Hollywood's Civil War dilemma : to imagine or unravel the nation? (Gettysburg ; Glory ; Ride with the devil ; Cold Mountain)
Saving the good war : Hollywood and World War II in the post-Cold War world (Saving Private Ryan ; The thin red line ; U-571 ; Pearl Harbor)
Oliver Stone and the decade of trauma (Platoon ; Born on the fourth of July ; Heaven and Earth ; JFK ; Nixon)
From civil rights to black nationalism : Hollywood v. black America? (Panther ; Mississippi burning ; The hurricane ; Malcolm X ; Ali)
Hollywood's post-Cold War history : the "righteousness" of American interventionism (Three kings ; Black Hawk down)

Bringing exciting new perspectives to how and why Hollywood has sought to repicture American history, this book offers analysis of more than twenty mainstream contemporary films, including The Patriot, Amistad, Glory, Ride with the Devil, Cold Mountain, Saving Private Ryan, TheThin Red Line, Pearl Harbor, U-571, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Heaven and Earth, JFK, Nixon, Malcolm X, Ali, Black Hawk Down, and Three Kings. Both authoritative and engaging, American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film is the first book to comprehensively explore the post-cold war period of filmmaking, and to navigate the complex ways that film mediates history—sometimes challenging or questioning, but more frequently reaffirming traditional interpretations.