ABSTRACT

Through an analysis of hundreds of Hollywood movies, this book examines some of the most contentious social issues of our time, including racism, social inequality, sexism, and gerontophobia. With studies of some of the most enduring film genres in Hollywood’s history, including romantic films such as Casablanca, war movies from World War II through the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, alienation films, including Five Easy Pieces and Lost in Translation, the school movie, from Goodbye, Mr. Chips to other films set in academia, including Dead Poets Society and Dangerous Minds, the book outlines and demonstrates the sociological approach to viewing films and highlights the socially conservative nature of much Hollywood movie production, which draws on common stereotypes and reinforces dominant cultural values - but is also capable of challenging and serving to change them.

chapter 1|7 pages

Introduction

A sociologist goes to the movies

chapter 2|24 pages

Patriotic gore

War movies and the American flag

chapter 3|19 pages

The ends of teaching

Desire and ambition in the school genre

chapter 4|30 pages

Romance movies

Tales as old as time

chapter 5|23 pages

The coming of age

Older characters in Hollywood films

chapter 6|24 pages

Alienation across the life course

Disconnections from society

chapter 7|29 pages

The grip of tradition

Hollywood film and the reproduction of gender inequality

chapter 8|26 pages

CONCLUSION: Three Kongs

Race, gender, and fear in Hollywood ape films