
Winning the Crowd
The Politics of Popular Films
Jonathan Ashbach(Editor)
Lexington Books (Publisher)
Published on 15. January 2025
Book
Hardback
252 pages
978-1-6669-5527-9 (ISBN)
Description
How are the films we watch shaping our political worldview? Studies show that films shape us-they affect our values, our beliefs, and our actions. Consequently understanding the messages reinforced by many popular films is vital for everyone, and especially for the student of politics.
Winning The Crowd: The Politics of Popular Films showcases careful, close readings of recent, popular films as serious texts of political thought. Ten contributors select a film or small set of related films-from the John Wick franchise to Pixar's The Incredibles-and analyze the political orientations that these films convey. The volume will be a helpful introduction for those interested in what Hollywood is teaching its viewers about power and the good life. It will also be a valuable model for those wishing to sharpen their own ability to think critically about the meaning of their evening entertainment.
How have your values and beliefs been formed by Hollywood? Winning The Crowd takes you on a guided journey through some of the smartest popular films of recent years.
Winning The Crowd: The Politics of Popular Films showcases careful, close readings of recent, popular films as serious texts of political thought. Ten contributors select a film or small set of related films-from the John Wick franchise to Pixar's The Incredibles-and analyze the political orientations that these films convey. The volume will be a helpful introduction for those interested in what Hollywood is teaching its viewers about power and the good life. It will also be a valuable model for those wishing to sharpen their own ability to think critically about the meaning of their evening entertainment.
How have your values and beliefs been formed by Hollywood? Winning The Crowd takes you on a guided journey through some of the smartest popular films of recent years.
Reviews / Votes
Like the movies it discusses, Winning The Crowd: The Politics of Popular Films is both entertaining and powerful. It makes you see your favorite movies-like the James Bond series-in a new way. But it also makes you see all movies in a new way, as a force of cultural power, civic formation, and political education. As a movie critic would say: Five stars! -- Susan McWilliams Barndt, Pomona CollegeMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
543 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6669-5527-9 (9781666955279)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2025
1st Edition
Lexington Books
€91.49
Available for download

E-Book
01/2025
1st Edition
Lexington Books
€91.49
Available for download
Persons
Jonathan Ashbach is Elizabeth Randel and Ana Scales Assistant Professor in American Constitutional Law at Oklahoma Baptist University.
Editor
University of Toledo
Contributions
Content
Chapter 1 Color Revolution: Pleasantville, the New Left, and the Making of a New American Identity
Chapter 2 Aristotelian Virtue on Death Row: Masculinity and Courage in The Green Mile
Chapter 3 Gladiator and the Dream of Rome
Chapter 4 Ship as State: The Political Teaching of Master and Commander
Chapter 5 The Incredibles and Tocqueville: Preserving Human Excellence in Democratic Times
Chapter 6 Nature and Nationhood in Gran Torino
Chapter 7 The Political Philosophy of the Dark Knight Trilogy
Chapter 8 For Agatha: Memory, Art, and Civil Society in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel
Chapter 9 For Queen and Country: The Burkean Conservatism of (Daniel Craig era) James Bond
Chapter 10 John Wick in Purgatorio
Chapter 2 Aristotelian Virtue on Death Row: Masculinity and Courage in The Green Mile
Chapter 3 Gladiator and the Dream of Rome
Chapter 4 Ship as State: The Political Teaching of Master and Commander
Chapter 5 The Incredibles and Tocqueville: Preserving Human Excellence in Democratic Times
Chapter 6 Nature and Nationhood in Gran Torino
Chapter 7 The Political Philosophy of the Dark Knight Trilogy
Chapter 8 For Agatha: Memory, Art, and Civil Society in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel
Chapter 9 For Queen and Country: The Burkean Conservatism of (Daniel Craig era) James Bond
Chapter 10 John Wick in Purgatorio