Hollywood and the Invention of England: Projecting the English Past in American Cinema, 1930-2017

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Drawing on new archival research into Hollywood production history and detailed analysis of individual films, Hollywood and the Invention of England examines the surprising affinity for the English past in Hollywood cinema. Stubbs asks why Hollywood filmmakers have so frequently drawn on images and narratives depicting English history, and why films of this type have resonated with audiences in America. Beginning with an overview of the cultural interaction between American film and English historical culture, the book proceeds to chart the major filmmaking cycles which characterise Hollywood's engagement with the English past from the 1930s to the present, assessing the value of English-themed films in the American film industry while also placing them in a broader historical context.

Reviews

So much scholarship asks, What is national film production This wonderful book poses a different question: How do films produce nations Stubbs provides an answer through meticulous archival work and focused readings of movies. This is an important contribution to films studies and to the practices of history. * Eric Smoodin, Professor of American Studies, University of California, Davis, USA *
In this authoritative and illuminating new study, Jonathan Stubbs investigates the cultural, political and industrial influences that shaped Hollywoods England. His book is an important account of a key aspect of film history and it is also important as a model of how film history should be researched and written. * Mark Glancy, Reader in Film History, Queen Mary University of London, UK *

Author Bio

Jonathan Stubbs is an Professor in the Faculty of Communication at Cyprus International University. Prior to this he taught at the University of East Anglia in the UK, where he also completed his PhD, and at the University of British Columbia in Canada. His book Historical Film: A Critical Introduction was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2013. His research has also been published in various academic journals including The Historical Journal of Film and Television, The Journal of Popular Culture, The Journal of British Cinema and Television, Exemplaria, and the Journal of American Studies of Turkey.