Capturing the culture : modern film, art and politics

In this series of essays, Grenier seeks to debunk fashionable film portrayals of less-than-saintly historical figures and cultural sacred cows. Mahatma Gandhi, Alice Walker, Isaak Dinesen, the French New Wave cinema and the American PEN Chapter of writers are just some of his targets. The True Child : George Lucas And The Star Wars Series -- The Uniforms That Guard : Kipling, Orwell, And Australia's Breaker Morant -- Bolshevism As The Politics Of Intent : Warren Beatty's Reds -- Is It A Cuddly Universe? : Spielberg's E.t. And Scott's Blade Runner -- Fassbinder, Germany, And The Bloomingdale's Factor -- The Gandhi Nobody Knows -- The Hard Left And The Soft : Hollywood Tests Its Radical Limits -- The Feminization Of Henry James : Vanessa Redgrave And The Bostonians -- The Clint Eastwood Phenomenon : How He Became The World's Favorite Movie Star -- Treason Chic : Britain Acclaims Its Traitors -- Eddie Murphy In Post-racist America -- The Auteur Cult : Truffaut And What France's Nouvelle Vague Was All About -- Writing Under A Dark Spell : George Orwell's 1984 -- The Serene Republic Of Letters : The Pen Club -- Are Writer's Crazy? A Literary Notebook -- African Dreaming : Alice Walker's The Color Of Purple --^ Hitler's Favorite Baroness : The Dinesen-streep Out Of Africa -- For Export Only : Pbs's The Africans -- Sex And The Military Man : Laclo's Liaisons Dangereuses -- Cry Fraud : Attenborough's Cry Freedom -- Splendor And The Beijing Party Line : Bertolucci's The Last Emperor -- From Russia With Angst : The Burgler -- Fidel And Vanity Fair Get Married : The Havana Film Festival -- Art Hysteria : The Modern's Committed To Print -- Eggs For The Soviet Omelette : The Russian Avant-garde Of The 1920s -- The Ruckus Over Jesus : Scorsese's The Last Temptation Of Christ -- Pbs At The Bat : Nestor Almendros's Nobody Listened -- The Film Director As Nazi : Ingmar Bergman -- The Romance Of Cocaine : Tequila Sunrise -- The Politics Of Sentimentality : Charlie Chaplin -- Heavy Thinking In The Afternoon : Oprah Winfrey And Shirley Maclaine -- Burning The Flag And Robert Mapplethorpe -- Mad Manichaeanism : Summer Blockbuster Movies -- Whose Vietnam? Brian De Palma's Casualties Of War --^ The Year Of The Orgasmic Woman : When Harry Met Sally -- Treason Redux : Le Carré's Russia House -- Madame Butterfly's Revenge : M. Butterfly On Broadway -- The Fbi, The Kkk, And A Sartrean Marxist : Costa Gavra's Betrayed -- Britain's Loony Left : Letter To Brezhnev -- The Sneaky Side Of Pacifism : Spielberg's Empire Of The Sun -- Can Jesus Save Madonna? : Like A Prayer -- Culture's Mega-stalinist : Brecht And The Threepenny Opera -- A Broadway Flop Goes Downmarket : Cbs's A Pack Of Lies -- Jane Fonda Saves Mexico : Carlos Fuentes's Old Gringo -- Was Shakespeare Alienated? Branagh's Anti-war Henry V. Richard Grenier ; Introduction By Robert H. Bork. Includes Index. For Arnaud Qui Fa toujours su Contents Introduction Robert H. Bork The Back Story Coming Attractions Feature Films 1 The True Child: George Lucas and the Star Wars Series 2 The Uniforms That Guard: Kipling, Orwell, and Australia’s Breaker Morant 3 Bolshevism as the Politics of Intent: Warren Beatty’s Reds 4 Is It a Cuddly Universe? Spielberg’s E.T. and Scott’s Blade Runner 5 Fassbinder, Germany, and the Bloomingdale’s Factor 6 The Gandhi Nobody Knows 7 The Hard Left and the Soft: Hollywood Tests Its Radical Limits 8 The Feminization of Henry James: Vanessa Redgrave and The Bostonians 9 The Clint Eastwood Phenomenon: How He Became the World’s Favorite Movie Star 10 Treason Chic: Britain Acclaims Its Traitors 11 Eddie Murphy in Post-Racist America 12 The ‘Auteur’ Cult: Truffaut and What France’s Nouvelle Vague Was All About Quick Takes 1 Writing Under a Dark Spell: George Orwell’s 1984 2 The Serene Republic of Letters: The PEN Club 4 African Dreaming: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple 6 For Export Only: PBS’s The Africans 7 Virtue in an Unknown Land: Argentina’s Official Story 8 Sex and the Military Man: Laclos’s Liaisons Dangeureuses 9 Cry Fraud: Attenborough’s Cry Freedom 10 Splendor and the Beijing Party Line: Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor 11 From Russia With Angst: The Burglar 12 Fidel and Vanity Fair Get Married: The Havana Film Festival 13 Art Hysteria: The Modern’s “Committed to Print” 14 Eggs for the Soviet Omelette: The Russian Avant-Garde of the 1920s 15 The Ruckus Over Jesus: Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Chris 16 PBS at the Bat: Nestor Almendros’s Nobody Listened 17 The Film Director as Nazi: Ingmar Bergman 18 The Romance of Cocaine: Tequila Sunrise 19 The Politics of Sentimentality: Charlie Chaplin 20 Heavy Thinking in the Afternoon: Oprah Winfrey and Shirley MacLaine 21 Burning the Flag and Robert Mapplethorpe 22 Mad Manichaeanism: Summer Blockbuster Movies 23 Whose Vietnam? Casualties of War 24 The Year of the Orgasmic Woman: When Harry Met Sally 25 Treason Redux: Le Carre’s Russia Hou 26 Madame Butterfly’s Revenge: M. Butterfly on Broadway 27 The FBI, the KKK, and a Sartrian Marxist: Costa-Gavras’s Betrayed 28 Britain’s Loony Left: Letter to Brezhnev 29 The Sneaky Side of Pacificism: Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun 30 Can Jesus Save Madonna? “Like a Prayer 31 Culture’s Mega-Stalinist: Brecht and The Threepenny Opera 32 A Broadway Flop Goes Downmarket: CBS’s Pack of Lies 33 Jane Fonda Saves Mexico: Carlos Fuentes’s Old Gringo 34 Was Shakespeare Alienated? Branagh’s Anti-War Henry V Index of Names This volume brings together 46 critical essays of Grenier, noted movie critic and social commentator. He lambastes the leftward leanings that have become fashionable in politicized Hollywood and among elements of the artistic elite, and shows how the often false values of film culture--whose members include a select few writers, producers, and directors--have spread into American political culture, subtly corrupting the perceptions and thinking of ordinary citizens. He also includes behind-the-scenes juicy tidbits on celebrities and the making of their films. ISBN 089633-149-0: $24.95 Essays address the relationship between film and political thought and discuss how specific films demonstrate that artists and intellectuals have become estranged from society