ABSTRACT
The American cinema, as has been discussed, has been intertwined with public normative concerns since the earliest days of the movie industry. One peculiar aspect of the American film industry that has affected its relationship with political power has been the geography of that industry. Politics precedes urbanism, but the city brought forth a new, different, and complex set of political and governmental concerns. Several factors led to the decline of the urban political machines. One film that does address urban machine politics directly, however, is The Last Hurrah. The politics of Hudson City is a quilt of contemporary American urban ills and grievances. The relationship of the city to the concerns of politics may be more immediate and obvious than those of the cinema. John Sayles wrote, directed, edited, and played the role of Carl Laemmle in City of Hope, an ironically titled film about contemporary American inner-city politics.
