DOCSLIB.ORG

Wag the Dog and Politics in Hollywood." Wag the Dog: a Study on Film and Reality in the Digital Age

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wag the Dog and Politics in Hollywood. Thanouli, Eleftheria. "Wag the Dog and Politics in Hollywood." Wag the Dog: A Study on Film and Reality in the Digital Age. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2013. 105–142. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 26 Sep. 2021. <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781628929171.ch-004>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 26 September 2021, 09:44 UTC. Copyright © Eleftheria Thanouli 2013. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. 4 Wag the Dog and Politics in Hollywood Over the past three generations, the American political movie has been a resilient, frequently neglected but quietly tenacious mirror and shaper, barometer and vessel of US popular culture and national identity. Michael Coyne, Hollywood Goes to Washington 1 The use of metaphors such as ‘mirror’, ‘barometer’ and ‘vessel’ to describe the American political film is fairly telling of the close and yet complex connection between this particular ‘genre’ and its real life referent, i.e. the world of American politics. This intimate bond rendersWag the Dog particularly apt for exploring the relation between cinema and reality in yet another way, namely by focusing on its portrait of the world of politics and its outlook on the viewers’ potential for changing the reality around them. So far, I have demonstrated the growing complexities in the film/reality bipolar, indicating a series of formal and modal elements in the film’s construction that challenged a number of established narrative and semiological norms in analogue fiction filmmaking. Furthermore, I discussed how this particular film and its afterlife short-circuited the distance that separates the filmic from the afilmic reality, suggesting new ways for conceptualizing the relation between these two different ontological levels. Here, I would like to continue the investigation of this relation by returning to the filmic text in order to examine the conventions of the political film and its implications about the role of individuals in the political process. Films about politics are, by definition, engaged in addressing the personal actions and responsibilities of the characters in a political environment, indicating the ways in which they can, or most often cannot, make a difference in the world. Transforming reality to a better (or worse) cause is what constitutes the core of politics and, thus, thematically speaking Wag the Dog is once again ideal for unraveling a rather idiosyncratic side of Hollywood filmmaking. 9781441189363_txt_print.indd 105 03/06/2013 13:28 106 Wag the Dog: A Study on Film and Reality in the Digital Age This chapter will approach the triptych politics–Hollywood–reality in three parts; first, I will dwell on the obstacles involved in solidifying a stable generic identity for films that deal with politics, arguing that the peculiar ‘cultural verisimilitude’2 of these films unsettles the expectations of the industry and the audience alike. Second, I will explore Wag the Dog’s depiction of American politics, concentrating on the topic of agency and indicating various types of ‘actors’ in the political game. In its portrayal of the political scene in the United States in the late 1990s, Levinson’s film, I would like to argue, puts forward a considerably different outlook on contemporary politics; it challenges the tradi- tional faith in individual agency and foregrounds the role of contingency and complexity in the contemporary globalized world order. Finally, I will retread the history and theory of the American political movie in search for various approaches to human agency vis-à-vis the political system. Here, I will discuss certain notable cases such as The Candidate, The Parallax View, Primary Colors (1998) and The Ides of March. Then, I will contrast those fictional accounts of the political world with a supposedly ‘real’ one found in the widely acclaimed documentary The War Room. Once again, the problem of drawing boundaries in the reel/real world will come to the fore, as the books comes full circle with the discussion of the fiction/non-fiction distinctions. Defining the ‘political film’ Many movies were thus caught in a tug of war between edification and enter- tainment, between problem raising and happy endings. Under these conditions, relatively few films turned out to be overtly political. Andrew Sarris, Politics and Cinema3 Whether messages should be sent through Western Union or through movies has been widely debated among filmmakers and critics alike. Even though the industry’s policy promoted the entertaining side of the films, it has become common knowledge that all films, explicitly or not, convey messages and affect public consciousness in ways that have yet to be fully explained. Amidst the bulk of films that are produced in Hollywood, there are those few that openly address significant political, historical or social issues in an effort to raise public awareness and even stir controversy in the audience. In this list, one could include examples as diverse as Casablanca (1942), Cabaret (1972), The Godfather (1972), Platoon (1986), JFK (1991) and Primary Colors. Films like 9781441189363_txt_print.indd 106 03/06/2013 13:28 Wag the Dog and Politics in Hollywood 107 these are often characterized as ‘political’ for touching upon themes related to ideology, society, race or identity, and for resisting the innocuous formula of a Hollywood happy ending.4 However, the definition of the ‘political’ still remains broad enough. If we choose to narrow it down, then we should consider as ‘political films’ only those that deal with the world of American institu- tional politics per se, featuring political figures and political processes, such as elections and campaigns. Why would that be necessary? Because a more precise definition of the ‘political’ and a more ‘exclusive’ list5 of political films will enable us to clarify whether the political film can be construed as a concrete genre alongside the musical or the western. So far, prominent theoreticians of the filmic genres have not designated a separated space for the ‘political film’ on the generic map of Hollywood cinema. For instance, Steve Neale’s thorough account presented in Genre and Hollywood briefly mentions some political films, in the strictest sense, under the categories of ‘social problem film’ and ‘drama’.6 On the other hand, Stephen Prince entitles his essay ‘Political Film in the Nineties’, but his scope in fact includes what he calls ‘socially conscious filmmaking’ whose genealogy begins with Griffith’s Intolerance (1916). The problem of defining the political film has been particularly stressed in those, relatively few, publications that examine the cinema where American politics is in sharp focus. Among those is Michael Coyne’s book Washington Goes to Hollywood published in 2008. Coyne accounts for the dearth of book-length studies on films about politics by pointing to the fact that the narratives in question have not been accorded the status of a distinct genre. Whereas the western, the musical or even the film noir have been minutely theorized by film academics in myriads of publications, the ‘political genre’ has evaded such scholarly attention so far. According to Coyne, this significant oversight could be attributed to the fact that the political film7 amounts to ‘a genre by virtue of content than form’, while being ‘essentially fluid’ and ‘trans-generic’.8 All three claims, however, are equally problematic and theoretically obtuse. The ‘content versus form’ dichotomy has not proved particularly functional within genre theory, whereas other more nuanced approaches, such as Rick Altman’s semantic/syntactic approach, have been more successful in delineating the fine boundaries of each genre as well as its transformations.9 For instance, one could easily identify a series of semantic elements that constitute the core of the political genre, including politicians and institutional processes, as well as a specific iconography that comprises establishing shots of public buildings, close framings of office spaces and even 9781441189363_txt_print.indd 107 03/06/2013 13:28 108 Wag the Dog: A Study on Film and Reality in the Digital Age a distinct dressing mode. Moreover, the relations of those semantic elements could easily be framed within various syntaxes, the fluctuations of which could justify the renewal of the genre across time. It is likely that the political film in the 1930s veered towards the structures of melodrama with a more Manichean approach to politics, whereas later on in the 1960s it adopted the syntax of the suspense thriller to emphasize the role of conspiracy in politics at the time. Such could be the reasoning within a semantic/syntactic approach, which also invali- dates Coyne’s other two characteristics, i.e. fluidity and hubridity. Even though it is commonly felt that all genres change over time and step into each other’s territory, the most theoretically astute explanation on these matters is found in Steve Neale’s article ‘Questions of genre’. There, he argues that genres are better understood as ‘processes’ dominated by repetition as well as difference, variations and change.10 Thus, fluidity is not an essential quality of the political film that thwarts definition. In fact, all genres are inherently fluid, urging us to sharpen our tools for capturing their process-like nature. At the same time, Neale notes that hybrids are by no means a rarity in Hollywood as many would have us believe. Quite the contrary; nearly all films could be considered hybrids to the extent that they tend to combine a romance plot with others.11 Furthermore, Coyne’s lack of a theoretical scaffolding to construct the political genre prevents him from capitalizing on his otherwise insightful observations regarding political films. For instance, in his introduction he embraces Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.’s framework of ‘paradoxes’ within American history, such as Experiment/Ideology, Equality/Tolerance of Inequality, Order/Violence, Conformity/Diversity, Materialism/Idealism and America as Redeemer/America as One Nation Among Many.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 7.Castrillo-Echart
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Dadun, University of Navarra Pablo Castrillo Towards a narrative definition of [email protected] PhD Candidate and Lecturer. the American political thriller film University of Navarra. Spain. Pablo Echart Abstract [email protected] Senior Lecturer in The Hollywood political thriller is a film genre of unique Screenwriting. University of relevance in the United States, often acting as a reflection of the Navarra. Spain. fears and anxieties of its historical times. At the same time, however, the definition of its identity and boundaries still leaves Submitted room for further specification, perhaps due to the frequent June 4, 2015 consideration of the political thriller as part of the broader Approved September 30, 2015 categories of either thriller narratives or political films. By revising the available literature and filmography and analyzing the narrative features of the classical political thriller, this © 2015 Communication & Society article proposes a deeper definition of the genre that takes into ISSN 0214-0039 account the nature of the broader ‘thriller’ category of films E ISSN 2386-7876 springing from a specific mode of crime fiction that focuses on a doi: 10.15581/003.28.4. 109-123 www.communication-society.com victim or threatened individual as its protagonist, depicts and conveys intense emotional states, portrays an unbalanced and highly existentialist worldview, and travels into the 2015 – Vol. 28(4), pp. 109-123 extraordinary while at the same time holding on to very concrete expectations of verisimilitude. The political thriller How to cite this article: specifies this broader form of narration and links it to dramatic Castrillo, P.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Reelism: a Rhetorical Criticism of Reflection and Interpretation in Political Films
    POLITICAL REELISM: A RHETORICAL CRITICISM OF REFLECTION AND INTERPRETATION IN POLITICAL FILMS Jennifer Lee Walton A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2006 Committee: John J. Makay, Advisor Richard Gebhardt Graduate Faculty Representative John T. Warren Alberto Gonzalez ii ABSTRACT John J. Makay, Advisor The purpose of this study is to discuss how political campaigns and politicians have been depicted in films, and how the films function rhetorically through the use of core values. By interpreting real life, political films entertain us, perhaps satirically poking fun at familiar people and events. However, the filmmakers complete this form of entertainment through the careful integration of American values or through the absence of, or attack on those values. This study provides a rhetorical criticism of movies about national politics, with a primary focus on the value judgments, political consciousness and political implications surrounding the films Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Candidate (1972), The Contender (2000), Wag the Dog (1997), Power (1986), and Primary Colors (1998). iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank everyone who made this endeavor possible. First and foremost, I thank Doctor John J. Makay; my committee chair, for believing in me from the start, always encouraging me to do my best, and assuring me that I could do it. I could not have done it without you. I wish to thank my committee members, Doctors John Warren and Alberto Gonzalez, for all of your support and advice over the past months.
    [Show full text]
  • Ebook Download the Plays, Screenplays and Films of David
    THE PLAYS, SCREENPLAYS AND FILMS OF DAVID MAMET PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Steven Price | 192 pages | 01 Oct 2008 | MacMillan Education UK | 9780230555358 | English | London, United Kingdom The Plays, Screenplays and Films of David Mamet PDF Book It engages with his work in film as well as in the theatre, offering a synoptic overview of, and critical commentary on, the scholarly criticism of each play, screenplay or film. You get savvy industry tips and strategies for getting your screenplay noticed! Mamet is reluctant to be specific about Postman and the problems he had writing it, explaining. He shrugs off the whispers floating up and down the Great White Way about him selling out and going Hollywood. Contemporary playwright David Mamet's thought-provoking plays and screenplays such as Wag the Dog , Glengarry Glen Ross for which he won the Pulitzer Prize , and Oleanna have enjoyed popular and critical success in the past two decades. The Winslow Boy, Mamet's revisitation of Terence Rattigan's classic play, tells of a thirteen-year-old boy accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order and the tug of war for truth that ensues between his middle-class family and the Royal Navy. House of Games is a psychological thriller in which a young woman psychiatrist falls prey to an elaborate and ingenious con game by one of her patients who entraps her in a series of criminal escapades. Paul Newman plays Frank Calvin, an alcoholic and disgraced Boston lawyer who finds a shot at redemption with a malpractice case. I Just Kept Writing. The impressive number of essays , novels , screenplays , and films that Mamet has produced They might be composed and awesome on the battlefield, but there is a price, and that is their humanity.
    [Show full text]
  • It's a Conspiracy
    IT’S A CONSPIRACY! As a Cautionary Remembrance of the JFK Assassination—A Survey of Films With A Paranoid Edge Dan Akira Nishimura with Don Malcolm The only culture to enlist the imagination and change the charac- der. As it snows, he walks the streets of the town that will be forever ter of Americans was the one we had been given by the movies… changed. The banker Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore), a scrooge-like No movie star had the mind, courage or force to be national character, practically owns Bedford Falls. As he prepares to reshape leader… So the President nominated himself. He would fill the it in his own image, Potter doesn’t act alone. There’s also a board void. He would be the movie star come to life as President. of directors with identities shielded from the public (think MPAA). Who are these people? And what’s so wonderful about them? —Norman Mailer 3. Ace in the Hole (1951) resident John F. Kennedy was a movie fan. Ironically, one A former big city reporter of his favorites was The Manchurian Candidate (1962), lands a job for an Albu- directed by John Frankenheimer. With the president’s per- querque daily. Chuck Tatum mission, Frankenheimer was able to shoot scenes from (Kirk Douglas) is looking for Seven Days in May (1964) at the White House. Due to a ticket back to “the Apple.” Pthe events of November 1963, both films seem prescient. He thinks he’s found it when Was Lee Harvey Oswald a sleeper agent, a “Manchurian candidate?” Leo Mimosa (Richard Bene- Or was it a military coup as in the latter film? Or both? dict) is trapped in a cave Over the years, many films have dealt with political conspira- collapse.
    [Show full text]
  • Film Appreciation Wednesdays 6-10Pm in the Carole L
    Mike Traina, professor Petaluma office #674, (707) 778-3687 Hours: Tues 3-5pm, Wed 2-5pm [email protected] Additional days by appointment Media 10: Film Appreciation Wednesdays 6-10pm in the Carole L. Ellis Auditorium Course Syllabus, Spring 2017 READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY! Welcome to the Spring Cinema Series… a unique opportunity to learn about cinema in an interdisciplinary, cinematheque-style environment open to the general public! Throughout the term we will invite a variety of special guests to enrich your understanding of the films in the series. The films will be preceded by formal introductions and followed by public discussions. You are welcome and encouraged to bring guests throughout the term! This is not a traditional class, therefore it is important for you to review the course assignments and due dates carefully to ensure that you fulfill all the requirements to earn the grade you desire. We want the Cinema Series to be both entertaining and enlightening for students and community alike. Welcome to our college film club! COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will introduce students to one of the most powerful cultural and social communications media of our time: cinema. The successful student will become more aware of the complexity of film art, more sensitive to its nuances, textures, and rhythms, and more perceptive in “reading” its multilayered blend of image, sound, and motion. The films, texts, and classroom materials will cover a broad range of domestic, independent, and international cinema, making students aware of the culture, politics, and social history of the periods in which the films were produced.
    [Show full text]
  • 9/11 Report”), July 2, 2004, Pp
    Final FM.1pp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page i THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT Final FM.1pp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page v CONTENTS List of Illustrations and Tables ix Member List xi Staff List xiii–xiv Preface xv 1. “WE HAVE SOME PLANES” 1 1.1 Inside the Four Flights 1 1.2 Improvising a Homeland Defense 14 1.3 National Crisis Management 35 2. THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW TERRORISM 47 2.1 A Declaration of War 47 2.2 Bin Ladin’s Appeal in the Islamic World 48 2.3 The Rise of Bin Ladin and al Qaeda (1988–1992) 55 2.4 Building an Organization, Declaring War on the United States (1992–1996) 59 2.5 Al Qaeda’s Renewal in Afghanistan (1996–1998) 63 3. COUNTERTERRORISM EVOLVES 71 3.1 From the Old Terrorism to the New: The First World Trade Center Bombing 71 3.2 Adaptation—and Nonadaptation— ...in the Law Enforcement Community 73 3.3 . and in the Federal Aviation Administration 82 3.4 . and in the Intelligence Community 86 v Final FM.1pp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page vi 3.5 . and in the State Department and the Defense Department 93 3.6 . and in the White House 98 3.7 . and in the Congress 102 4. RESPONSES TO AL QAEDA’S INITIAL ASSAULTS 108 4.1 Before the Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania 108 4.2 Crisis:August 1998 115 4.3 Diplomacy 121 4.4 Covert Action 126 4.5 Searching for Fresh Options 134 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Series 28: 10) ND Louis Malle, VANYA on 42 STREET 1994, 119 Minutes)
    April 8, 2014 (Series 28: 10) ND Louis Malle, VANYA ON 42 STREET 1994, 119 minutes) Directed by Louis Malle Written by Anton Chekhov (play “Dyadya Vanya”), David Mamet (adaptation) and Andre Gregory (screenplay) Cinematography by Declan Quinn Phoebe Brand ... Nanny Lynn Cohen ... Maman George Gaynes ... Serybryakov Jerry Mayer ... Waffles Julianne Moore ... Yelena Larry Pine ... Dr. Astrov Brooke Smith ... Sonya Wallace Shawn ... Vanya Andre Gregory ... Himself LOUIS MALLE (director) (b. October 30, 1932 in Thumeries, Nord, France—d. November 23, 1995 (age 63) in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California) directed 33 films and television shows, including 1994 Vanya on 42nd Street, 1992 Damage, 1990 May and 1954 Station 307 (Short)—and was the cinematographer for Fools, 1987 Au Revoir Les Enfants, 1986 “God's Country” (TV 5: 1986 “God's Country” (TV Movie documentary), 1986 “And Movie documentary), 1986 “And the Pursuit of Happiness” (TV the Pursuit of Happiness” (TV Movie documentary), 1962 Vive Movie documentary), 1985 Alamo Bay, 1984 Crackers, 1981 My le tour (Documentary short), 1956 The Silent World Dinner with Andre, 1980 Atlantic City, 1978 Pretty Baby, 1975 (Documentary), and 1954 Station 307 (Short). Black Moon, 1974 A Human Condition (Documentary), 1974 Lacombe, Lucien, 1971 Murmur of the Heart, 1969 Calcutta ANTON CHEKHOV (writer—play “Dyadya Vanya”) (b. Anton (Documentary), 1967 The Thief of Paris, 1965 Viva Maria!, 1963 Pavlovich Chekhov, January 29, 1860 in Taganrog, Russian The Fire Within, 1962 A Very Private Affair, 1960 Zazie dans le Empire [now Rostov Oblast, Russia]—d. July 15, 1904 (age 44) metro, 1958 The Lovers, 1958 Elevator to the Gallows, and 1953 in Badenweiler, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) Crazeologie (Short).
    [Show full text]
  • John Ben Shepperd, Jr. Memorial Library Catalog
    John Ben Shepperd, Jr. Memorial Library Catalog Author Other Authors Title Call Letter Call number Volume Closed shelf Notes Donated By In Memory Of (unkown) (unknown) history of the presidents for children E 176.1 .Un4 Closed shelf 1977 Inaugural Committee A New Spirit, A New Commitment, A New America F 200 .A17 (1977) Ruth Goree and Jane Brown 1977 Inaugural Committee A New Spirit, A New Commitment, A New America F 200 .A17 (1977) Anonymous 1977 Inaugural Committee A New Spirit, A New Commitment, A New America F 200 .A17 (1977) Bobbie Meadows Beulah Hodges 1977 Inaugural Committee A New Spirit, A New Commitment, A New America F 200 .A17 (1977) 1977 Inaugural Committee A New Spirit, A New Commitment, A New America F 200 .A17 (1977) 1977 Inaugural Committee A New Spirit, A New Commitment, A New America F 200 .A17 (1977) 1977 Inaugural Committee A New Spirit, A New Commitment, A New America F 200 .A17 (1977) 1981 Presidential Inaugural Committee (U.S.) A Great New Beginning: the 1981 Inaugural Story E 877.2 .G73 A Citizen of Western New York Bancroft, George Memoirs of General Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States E 382 .M53 Closed shelf John Ben Shepperd A.P.F., Inc. A Catalogue of Frames, Fifteenth Century to Present N 8550 .A2 (1973) A.P.F. Inc. Aaron, Ira E. Carter, Sylvia Take a Bow PZ 8.9 .A135 Abbott, David W. Political Parties: Leadership, Organization, Linkage JK 2265 .A6 Abbott, John S.C. Conwell, Russell H. Lives of the Presidents of the United States of America E 176.1 .A249 Closed shelf Ector County Library Abbott, John S.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's Adapted Screenplays
    Absorbing the Worlds of Others: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s Adapted Screenplays By Laura Fryer Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of a PhD degree at De Montfort University, Leicester. Funded by Midlands 3 Cities and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. June 2020 i Abstract Despite being a prolific and well-decorated adapter and screenwriter, the screenplays of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala are largely overlooked in adaptation studies. This is likely, in part, because her life and career are characterised by the paradox of being an outsider on the inside: whether that be as a European writing in and about India, as a novelist in film or as a woman in industry. The aims of this thesis are threefold: to explore the reasons behind her neglect in criticism, to uncover her contributions to the film adaptations she worked on and to draw together the fields of screenwriting and adaptation studies. Surveying both existing academic studies in film history, screenwriting and adaptation in Chapter 1 -- as well as publicity materials in Chapter 2 -- reveals that screenwriting in general is on the periphery of considerations of film authorship. In Chapter 2, I employ Sandra Gilbert’s and Susan Gubar’s notions of ‘the madwoman in the attic’ and ‘the angel in the house’ to portrayals of screenwriters, arguing that Jhabvala purposely cultivates an impression of herself as the latter -- a submissive screenwriter, of no threat to patriarchal or directorial power -- to protect herself from any negative attention as the former. However, the archival materials examined in Chapter 3 which include screenplay drafts, reveal her to have made significant contributions to problem-solving, characterisation and tone.
    [Show full text]
  • Sonic, Infrasonic, and Ultrasonic Frequencies
    SONIC, INFRASONIC, AND ULTRASONIC FREQUENCIES: The Utilisation of Waveforms as Weapons, Apparatus for Psychological Manipulation, and as Instruments of Physiological Influence by Industrial, Entertainment, and Military Organisations. TOBY HEYS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John Moores University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2011 1 ABSTRACT This study is a trans-disciplinary and trans-historical investigation into civilian and battlefield contexts in which speaker systems have been utilised by the military-industrial and military-entertainment complexes to apply pressure to mass social groupings and the individuated body. Drawing on authors such as historian/sociologist Michel Foucault, economist Jacques Attali, philosopher Michel Serres, political geographer/urban planner Edward Soja, musician/sonic theorist Steve Goodman, and cultural theorist/urbanist Paul Virilio, this study engages a wide range of texts to orchestrate its arguments. Conducting new strains of viral theory that resonate with architectural, neurological, and political significance, this research provides new and original analysis about the composition of waveformed geography. Ultimately, this study listens to the ways in which the past and current utilisation of sonic, infrasonic, and ultrasonic frequencies as weapons, apparatus for psychological manipulation, and instruments of physiological influence, by industrial, civilian, entertainment, and military organisations, predict future techniques of socio­ spatialised organisation. In chapter one it is argued that since the inception of wired radio speaker systems into U.S. industrial factories in 1922, the development of sonic strategies based primarily on the scoring of architectonic spatiality, cycles of repetition, and the enveloping dynamics of surround sound can be traced to the sonic torture occurring in Guantanamo Bay during the first decade of the twenty-first century.
    [Show full text]
  • The Big Goodbye
    Robert Towne, Edward Taylor, Jack Nicholson. Los Angeles, mid- 1950s. Begin Reading Table of Contents About the Author Copyright Page Thank you for buying this Flatiron Books ebook. To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters. Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup For email updates on the author, click here. The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. For Lynne Littman and Brandon Millan We still have dreams, but we know now that most of them will come to nothing. And we also most fortunately know that it really doesn’t matter. —Raymond Chandler, letter to Charles Morton, October 9, 1950 Introduction: First Goodbyes Jack Nicholson, a boy, could never forget sitting at the bar with John J. Nicholson, Jack’s namesake and maybe even his father, a soft little dapper Irishman in glasses. He kept neatly combed what was left of his red hair and had long ago separated from Jack’s mother, their high school romance gone the way of any available drink. They told Jack that John had once been a great ballplayer and that he decorated store windows, all five Steinbachs in Asbury Park, though the only place Jack ever saw this man was in the bar, day-drinking apricot brandy and Hennessy, shot after shot, quietly waiting for the mercy to kick in.
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous Critiques of Colonialism
    The Transit of Empire This page intentionally left blank The Transit of Empire Indigenous Critiques of Colonialism Jodi A. Byrd University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis | London Publication of this book was made possible, in part, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. A version of chapter was published as “‘Been to the Nation, Lord, but I Couldn’t Stay There’: American Indian Sovereignty, Cherokee Freedmen, and the Incommensurability of the Internal,” Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies , no. (). Copyright by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press Third Avenue South, Suite Minneapolis, MN - http://www.upress.umn.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Byrd, Jodi A. The transit of empire : indigenous critiques of colonialism / Jodi A. Byrd. p. cm. — (First peoples : new directions in indigenous studies) ISBN ---- (hardback : acid-free paper) ISBN ---- (paperback : acid-free paper) . Indians of North America—Government relations—History. Indians of North America—Colonization—United States. Imperialism—Social aspects—United States. Racism—United States—History. I. Title. E.B .—dc Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer. For Jay This page intentionally left blank Onward, James, and remember me as a goddess on your transit. Let this trip be the transit of night— not the loss of a faint speck in the wilderness of sky .
    [Show full text]