An Army of Phantoms : American Movies and the Making of the Cold War

__An Army of Phantoms__ is a major new work of history and film criticism from the highly regarded critic J. Hoberman. Here he applies the same dynamic synergy of American politics and American popular culture to the Cold War’s first decade that he brought to the 1960s in the critically acclaimed __The Dream Life__. The years between 1946 and 1956 brought U.S. dominance over Europe and a new war in Asia, as well as the birth of the civil rights movement and the stirrings of a new youth culture. The period saw the movie industry purged of its political left while the rise of ideological action hero John Wayne came to dominate theaters. Analyzing movies and media events, Hoberman has organized a pageant of cavalry Westerns, apocalyptic sci-fi flicks, and biblical spectaculars wherein Cecil B. DeMille rubs shoulders with Douglas MacArthur, atomic tests are shown on live TV, God talks on the radio, and Joe McCarthy is bracketed with Marilyn Monroe. Here is a history of film that is also, to paraphrase Jean-Luc Godard, about the film of history. Essential reading for film and history buffs, __An Army of Phantoms__ recasts a crucial era in the light of the silver screen. From Publishers Weekly Village Voice film critic Hoberman offers the first installment of a projected three-volume chronicle of American films during the cold war years 1946–1956. Since Hoberman sees politics "filtered through the prism of Hollywood movies—their scenarios, back stories and reception," he begins with 1950's Destination Moon, which anticipated the "space race" and called for a lunar military base, echoing a National Security Council proposal for a massive rearmament to counter the Soviet atom bomb. Onscreen antifascist heroism and more atomic associations mushroom through the early chapters. Surveying such anticommunist films as The Red Menace and The Iron Curtain, Hoberman covers witch hunts, House Committee on Un-American Activities tactics, racial dramas such as Pinky, message movies, the blacklist, protests, propaganda, HUAC humiliations, and the "Cold War's key fictional text," Orwell's 1984, all capped by a trenchant analysis of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. With exhaustive research into linkages between headlines and Hollywood, Hoberman skillfully probes movie metaphors and underlying themes in all film genres to show how cinema mirrored world events. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. "In An Army of Phantoms: American Movies and the Making of the Cold War, Village Voice critic J. Hoberman frames 1945 to 1956 in Hollywood's assumption that 'fantasy could be instrumentalized.' Fantasies include the voice of God on the radio, invasions from outer space, Westerns and a teenage menace. Monstrous ambitions beget screen monsters in this erudite study that's essential for anyone interested in American film....An Army of Phantoms is the prequel to Hoberman's earlier study of the 1960s, The Dream Life. Next he targets the Reagan 1980s. This Cold War saga will make you impatient for it." —San Francisco Chronicle An Army Of Phantoms- A Major New Work Of Film History And Cultural Criticism From J. Hoberman, One Of The Foremost Film Critics Writing Todayùaddresses The Dynamic Synergy Of American Politics And American Popular Culture During The Cold War's First Decade. Heralded By A Mushroom Cloud Over Hiroshima, The Years Between 1946 And 1956 Brought An Explosion Of Affluence And Anxiety. Along With U.s. Dominance Over Europe And A New War In Asia Came The Birth Of The Civil Rights Movement And The First Stirrings Of A New Youth Culture. The Period Saw The Movie Industry Purged Of Its Political Left At The Same Time As The Ideological Action Hero John Wayne Reached The Peak Of His Career. Analyzing Hollywood's Cavalry Westerns, Apocalyptic Sci-fi Flicks, And Biblical Spectaculars, Along With Media Events, Congressional Hearings And Political Campaigns, And Drawing On Fbi Files And Studio Records, Hoberman Has Orchestrated A Colorful, Sometimes Surreal Pageant Wherein Cecil B. Demille Rubs Shoulders With Douglas Macarthur, Atomic Tests Are Shown On Live Tv, God Talks On The Radio, And Joe Mccarthy Is Bracketed With Marilyn Monroe. Essential Reading For Film And History Buffs, An Army Of Phantoms Expands On The Analysis Of The 1960's Found In Hoberman's Critically Acclaimed The Dream Life And Offers A Lively And Astute History Of Film That Is Also, To Paraphrase Jean-luc Godard, About The Film Of History. --book Jacket. Pt. 1. Aliens Among Us : Hollywood, 1946-47 -- Pt. 2. Fighting For The Ministry Of Truth, Justice, And The American Way, 1948-50 -- Pt. 3. Redskin Menace From Outer Space : America At War, 1950-52 -- Pt. 4. The Paxamericanarama : Eisenhower Power, 1953-55 -- Pt. 5. Searchin' : America On The Road, 1955-56. J. Hoberman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [341]-366) And Index. The film critic's sweeping analysis of American cinema in the Cold War era is both “utterly compulsive reading [and] majestic” in its “breadth and rigor” (Film Comment). An Army of Phantoms is a major work of film history and cultural criticism by leading film critic J. Hoberman. Tracing the dynamic interplay between politics and popular culture, Hoberman offers “the most detailed year-by-year look at Hollywood during the first decade of the Cold War ever published, one that takes film analysis beyond the screen and sets it in its larger political context” (Los Angeles Review of Books). By “tell[ing] the story not just of what's on the screen but of what played out behind it,” Hoberman demonstrates how the nation's deep-seated fears and wishes were projected onto the big screen. In this far-reaching work of historical synthesis, Cecil B. DeMille rubs shoulders with Douglas MacArthur, atomic tests are shown on live TV, God talks on the radio, and Joe McCarthy is bracketed with Marilyn Monroe (The American Scholar). From cavalry Westerns to apocalyptic sci-fi flicks, and biblical spectaculars; from movies to media events, congressional hearings and political campaigns, An Army of Phantoms “remind[s] you what criticism is supposed to be: revelatory, reflective and as rapturous as the artwork itself” (Time Out New York). “An epic... alternately fevered and measured account of what might be called the primal scene of American cinema.” —Cineaste “There's something majestic about the reach of Hoberman's ambitions, the breadth and rigor of his research, and especially the curatorial vision brought to historical data.” —Film Comment Introduction : from God's mouth to your ear -- Prologue : Mission for Hollywood-Stalingrad to V-J Day -- Aliens among us : Hollywood, 1946-47. MGM's Manhattan Project : The beginning or the end? -- When HUAC came to Hollywood ... -- Showtime (“Hooray for Robert Taylor!”) -- Decision at the Waldorf : The big mop-up -- Fighting for the Ministry of Truth, Justice, and the American Way, 1948-50. The Iron Curtain parts and the campaign begins -- Fort Apache, our home -- Hollywood alert: From Red Menace to storm warning -- “The Saucers Are Real!” (and guilty of treason) -- Sunset/Panic/In a lonely place -- Countdown -- Redskin menace from outer space: America at war, 1950-52. Across Rio Grande...into Manchuria? -- This Is Korea? -- The communist was a thing for the FBI! -- Three cases : Joseph L., Carl F., and Elia Kazan -- Campaign '52 : take us to our leader, Big Jim -- High Noon in the universe -- The PaxAmericanArama : Eisenhower Power, 1953-55 -- “No one on this Earth can help you” : above and beyond and fantasies of invasion -- The hammer, the witch trials, and pickup on South Street -- After Quo Vadis : Onward Christian soldier, watch out for the wild one -- Marilyn ascends, Joe goes down -- Sh-Boom Them! (DeMillennium approaching ...) -- Searchin' : America on the road, 1955-56. Coonskin kids, or the Martians have landed -- On the brink of the wild frontier : Kiss Me Deadly, Rebel Without a Cause -- Better red than dead : body-snatched prisoners of Comanche mind control -- “That'll be the day!” The Spirit of'56 -- Epilogue : the face of the crowd.