Hollywood Speaks Out: Pictures that Dared to Protest Real World Issues

In spite of its professed liberalism, Hollywood has always been risk–adverse, and most feature films deal with controversial issues long after the controversy is past. Hollywood Speaks Out explores that rare Hollywood feature that dared to tackle red–hot, social issues while America herself struggled to come to terms . Organized around issues that map the culture wars of the past and the present moment––poverty, racism, sexism, war, anti–Semitism, and homophobia––this engaging text captures American cultural and social history in cinematic real–time––from The Birth of a Nation , Boys Don’t Cry , and American Beauty to   Silkwood ,  Syriana , and Transamerica .

List of Figures. Foreword. Introduction. 1 Overview But who will come to see it? 2 War Hell for whom? 3 Anti–Semitism Some of my best friends . . .. 4 Prison and Justice Systems Not separate but unequal. 5 Labor–Management Whose side are you on? 6 Poverty Anyone can play. 7 Racism Recipe for superiority. 8 Politics The good and the bad. 9 Homophobia Who′s a bigot? 10 Technology Can we beat the machine? 11 Sexism Protecting old boys′ egos. 12 Hide or Seek Other genres: Will Hollywood shut up or speak up? Selected Readings. Index.

Robert L. Hilliard has taught at a number of universities throughout his career as a film and communication studies scholar, Dr. Hilliard was Chief of the Public Broadcasting Branch of the Federal Communications Commission and was Chair of the Federal Interagency Media Committee. He is the author of many books, including Writing for Television, Radio, and New Media (2007), and with co–author Michael Keith, The Broadcast Century and Beyond: A History of U.S. Radio and Television (2005); The Quieted Voice: The Rise and Demise of Localism in American Radio (2004), and Dirty Discourse: Sex and Indecency in Broadcasting (Wiley–Blackwell 2006).