Identifies over 200 recommended films for students, teachers, and film enthusiasts that portray events in American history, including woman-and multicultural-centered films.
Containing over 200 films, this resource is ideal for students, teachers, and other viewers who are interested in using films to enhance their knowledge of American historical events and periods. Along with traditional historical categories, such as the two World Wars, the Civil War, and the Great Depression, the book emphasizes immigrant, multicultural, and women-centered films to portray the fullness of the American experience. It also analyzes representations of people and events across different films for a variety of viewpoints, and considers how films reconfigure a past era through the issues of the day in which they were produced.
For ease of use, the book is organized into time periods. Each entry contains:
•the setting
•director
•cast
•credits
•the year of production
•distributor
Ratings are supplied to identify audience-appropriateness. The detailed narrative supplies a brief plot summary along with a thesis supported by strong examples from the film, such as excerpts of dialogue and factual details from history. The entries encourage readers to view the film through the lens of history and to consider it within the larger nexus of films listed in that particular chapter. Frequently, the historical focus considers both the time period depicted in the film and the time period in which it was made. The running times provide readers with a quick access to key scenes for further study. Each entry also concludes with sources for further reading, and indexes identify those films with multicultural and women's themes.
Introduction
America Before the Civil War
The Civil War, 1861-1865
The Way West, and America's Two Solitudes, 1840-1900
The Country versus the City: The Agrarian and Industrial Conflict, 1870-1940
Immigration and the Challenge to Anglo-Conformity, 1885-1961
World War One and Goodbye to All That, 1916-1933
The Great Depression, Documentary Expression, and Representing the Previously Unrepresented, 1929-1967
World War Two and the Individual Versus the Collective, 1933-1950s
Postwar Alienation and Despair, 1946-1962
Civil Rights and the Battle for Inclusion into the American Dream, 1949-Present
The Atomic Bomb, Cold War Paranoia, and the Expanding National Security State, 1946-Present
Vietnam and the Things We Carry, 1954-Present
The Counter Culture Rebellion and the Quest for Authenticity, 1961-Present
Watergate, Political Cynicism, and Hope, 1972-Present
Appendix: Multicultural Films
Appendix: Woman-centered Films
Title Index
General Index
Reviews
Recommended for all academic and public libraries.—Library Journal
This guide will serve a high school and college audience.—Lawrence Looks at Books
Tracey annotates more than 200 films that portray pre-Civil War times to the present, giving information about the film's setting, plot summary, and cast, and materials for further reading. Film buffs will enjoy it; teachers wanting a resource about films that they can use in history, English, or film studies classes will welcome it. It would be an asset to any college or high school with a film study course or a building- or system- level professional collection of curriculum materials.—The Book Report
