Bigger Than Blockbusters: Movies That Defined America PDF
Preview Bigger Than Blockbusters: Movies That Defined America
Bigger than Blockbusters This page intentionally left blank Bigger Blockbusters than Movies That Defined America James Roman GREENWOODPRESS Westport,Connecticut(cid:2)London ThankstoJarahMoeshandShaShaFengfortheirvaluableeditorialassistance. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Roman,JamesW. Biggerthanblockbusters:moviesthatdefinedAmerica/JamesRoman. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-313-33995-0(alk.paper) 1.Motionpictures—UnitedStates—History.2.Motionpictures—Socialaspects— UnitedStates.I.Title.II.Title:Onehundredfilmsthatchangedthetwentiethcentury. PN1993.5.U6R64 2009 791.430973—dc22 2008033457 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable. Copyright(cid:3)C 2009byJamesRoman Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher. LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2008033457 ISBN:978-0-313-33995-0 Firstpublishedin2009 GreenwoodPress,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881 AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc. www.greenwood.com PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ForMardee,HeatherGail,andBenjaminZiggy AndinlovingmemoryofSavannah(tootie),whohuddledatmyfeet duringthewritingofthisbook This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Chapter1 ThroughaGlass...Darkly,1915–1938 1 Chapter2 ARumbletoWar,1939–1942 29 Chapter3 BoomandBust:TheFilmsofPost-WarAmerica,1946–1947 42 Chapter4 TheHop,Bop,andStroll,1950–1959 52 Chapter5 TheSpaceRace,CivilRights,andaNationTorn,1960–1969 112 Chapter6 PlatformShoes,PetRocks,Disco,andaDysfunctional Presidency,1970–1979 175 Chapter7 Bits,Bytes,andBoomers,1980–1989 250 Chapter8 GenX,RealityTV,Terror,Impeachment,Seinfeld, BeavisandButthead,1990–1999 283 Chapter9 TheNewMillennium,2000–2008 311 Appendix1:AlphabeticalListingofFilms 381 Appendix2:ChronologicalListingofFilms 383 Bibliography 385 Index 395 vii This page intentionally left blank Preface The purpose of writing and editing a book entitled Bigger than Blockbusters: Movies that DefinedAmericaisnotsimplytoaddtotheclutterofeditedtextsthatpurporttoarticulate whatthereadershouldconsiderasimportantfilms,butrathertoofferthereaderacom- pellingrationaletoconsiderwhyanyofthefilmslisteddeservetobeculturaliconsthat changed twentieth and twenty-first century America. To accomplish this, one must makedeterminationsthatmaynotalwaysbeagreeabletoalargeraudienceofcriticsbut indeedwillaccommodatetherationale forchoosingfilmsastheyaredefinedaspromi- nent cultural forces in America. Because America’s population is so diverse, part of the objective is to identify films that reach beyond the discrete interests of audiences and touch a vibrant chord in everyone’s psyche. That doesn’t necessarily presume a film mustbeablockbusterorhavebeenawardedagaggleofAcademyAwards.Itdoesmean thatsuchafilmshouldhavehadsomeinfluenceontheliterary,cinematic,andbehav- ioral culture of our time, reflecting not only our virtues but also our hypocrisy. Such a filmisexpressiveofdefiningourfoiblesandmeasuringthecapacitiesofbehaviorwithin adynamicofafilm’scanvasthatgoesbeyondnurturingthepublic’staste. Some films also make dramatic and prominent statements about historical events that have affected America and the world, thus becoming part of the narrative associ- ated with a time and place ritualizing events that took place. Films do not have to be dramatically compelling to be culturally impressive; they may have a lighter side that offers humor and pathos in an endearing theme. They may also be provocative and revealing,creatingaresonatingdisturbanceoftruthandfact. We speak of revolutions and identify various chronological epochs as revolution- ary, such as the Industrial Revolution, or with political inference like the American or Russian Revolutions. The term has also entered the vernacular within the context of society as the Cultural Revolution. What is a cultural revolution, and can we define it when it’s happening? Or is it the case, as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart noted aboutthedefinitionofhardcorepornography,“IknowitwhenIseeit.” Theworldoffilm,narrative,andnonfictionhasbeenadefiningforceforAmerican and global culture since the first publicly screened short films. In 1895, when the brothers Lumi(cid:2)ere projected their first films of everyday life at a theater in Paris, one of those films, The Arrival of the Train at the Station, shocked some of the audience as it appeared that the projected image of the train was heading straight for them. Thomas Edison, inventor of the phonograph and the peephole kinetoscope, exhibited the first films in the United States. Two notable ones were Fred Ott’s Sneeze (January 1894) and ix
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