ABSTRACT
Visual culture is rich with references to foreign policy. Imagery of the making and consequences of foreign policy are ubiquitous. The threat or advent of conflict has often spurred Hollywood to make popular films that address the foreign policy challenges of the United States and other Western democracies. Rebels, mavericks, loners and, indeed, sociopaths of many kinds make up the world of foreign policy on film. The motivations for foreign policy action (and inaction) are often complex and driven not just by one's own perceived interests but by those of others. However, viewers of popular fictional films are often only given one perspective on a foreign policy issue. In other words, it is not merely the plotlines of popular films that matter but that the very medium of visual entertainment itself creates, over time, entrenched expectations of what the conduct of foreign policy should look like.
