Blue-collar Hollywood : liberalism, democracy, and working people in American film

321 Pages·2003·2.18 MB·English

by  Bodnar, John E.

BLUE-COLLAR HOLLYWOOD
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BLUE-COLLAR HOLLYWOOD
Liberalism, Democracy, and Working People
in American Film
JOHN BODNAR
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
BALTIMORE AND LONDON
© 2003 The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2003
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bodnar, John E., 1944–
Blue-collar Hollywood : liberalism, democracy, and working people in
American film / by John Bodnar.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8018-7149-2 (alk. paper)
1. Working class in motion pictures. 2. Motion pictures—United States—
History. I. Title.
PN1995.9.L28 B63 2003
791.43′6520623—dc21
2002006481
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
For Brenna, Donna, Eric, and Kipp
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Liberalism needed democracy. It had to have a
politics to complement its antipolitics. Benjamin Barber
All culture is mass culture under capitalism.
There is no working-class culture that is
not saturated with mass culture. Michael Denning
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Mass Culture and American Political
Traditions xv
ONE Political Cross-dressing in the Thirties 1
TWO The People’s War 55
THREE War and Peace at Home 87
FOUR Beyond Containment in the Fifties 133
FIVE The People in Turmoil 177
Liberalism at the Movies: A Conclusion 219
Notes 229
Sources 257
Index 277