Deconstructing Reaganism
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Deconstructing Reaganism: An Analysis of American Fantasy Films

Deconstructing Reaganism: An Analysis of American Fantasy Films


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About the Book

As in so many other areas of American society, the political legacy of Ronald Reagan had an imposing presence in many contemporary American films, particularly between 1980 and 2000. Six films, which collectively represent the spectrum of Reaganism’s most popular tropes, demonstrate quite compellingly that in celebrating nostalgically the blissful pleasantries of family stability and social order so essential to Reagan’s political philosophy, an unsettling and unsatisfying mythology has been created about a period in which many Americans were acutely aware that something was missing, even if they could not pinpoint it at the time. This leads the critical viewer to largely unacknowledged subtexts in all six films that begin to reveal the contradictions, incoherencies, and paradoxes rooted in popular Reaganesque portrayals. Utilising a detailed qualitative case study methodology, this book incorporates theoretical foundations that expand upon Fairclough’s path-breaking research on media discourse and Todorov’s broadly articulated framework of fantasy in order to explore: 1) Which elements of Fairclough’s framework for critical discourse analysis can be applied to explore the discursive structures within these American fantasy films? 2) How far do the films follow Reaganist concepts of a “new” American society? 3) How far do notions of the “fantastic” and postmodern concepts break with common patterns of Reaganism reflected in these films? While many critics rightly cite the numerous elements in these films that appear to reinforce fundamental message points underlying Reaganism, this study demonstrates how the films’ characters and plot lines also serve to reveal the inherent and irreconcilable incoherence of the sociopolitical and sociocultural tenets of Reaganism.

About the Author :
Douglas E. Forster earned his PhD in the Department of English, Communication, Film and Media at Anglia Ruskin University. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Japan Women's University in Tokyo, where his main focus is teaching English as a foreign language. His research interests include critical social analysis of American films and television.

Review :
'Deconstructing Reaganism is a very well written, impressively well-informed and highly original study of postmodern subtexts in contemporary Hollywood cinema. It explores in how far even popular films like Back to the Future, Big, The Family Man and The Truman Show reveal the incoherencies and paradoxes in Reaganist ideas of a "new" American society. I would highly recommend this book, not only to researchers in the field, but to EFL teachers, their students and the numerous critical spectators that have grown up with these films.'- Guido Rings, Professor of Postcolonial Studies and Faculty Director of Research Students, Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK.'Marty spoke nervously. "Doc, I'm from the future. I came here in a time machine that you invented. Now I need your help to get back to the year 1985...." Doc said, "Tell me future boy. Who is president of the United States in 1985?" Marty answered, "Ronald Reagan." "Ronald Regan?" retorted Doc. "The actor? Ha! Then who is Vice President? Jerry Lewis?" These are a few famous lines from the fantasy film Back to the Future. Fantasy, right? Dr. Douglas Forster, however, shows how this fantasy became reality. Critiquing Back to the Future, and five other fantasy films from the same period, Forster shows how Reagan and his spin-doctors used stagecraft to create an alternative reality of the good old days that many believe to this day. This is deeply insightful and highly recommended reading for political scientists, sociologists, linguists, language teachers, film critics, and movie buffs.' - Joseph Poulshock, PhD, Professor of English Linguistics, Tokyo Christian University and Editor of BeeOasis.com. 'From Reagan's "Star Wars" Strategic Defense Initiative, to his characterization of the Soviets as an "Evil Empire," many would argue that there has always been a long connection between Reagan's worldview, political agenda, and the world of fantasy. Dr. Forster's book is a unique and truly insightful look at six well-known Hollywood fantasy films, and how far each both promotes and subverts Reagan ideology. With crisp writing and an almost limitless number of compelling observations about their portrayal of Reaganistic values, it is a joy to revisit and learn from these films.'- Dr Charles Browne, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Meiji Gakuin University


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Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9781443858885
  • Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
  • Publisher Imprint: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
  • Edition: Unabridged edition
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: N
  • Width: 148 mm
  • ISBN-10: 1443858889
  • Publisher Date: 02 Jun 2014
  • Binding: Hardback
  • Height: 212 mm
  • No of Pages: 305
  • Sub Title: An Analysis of American Fantasy Films


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