Overview

In Hollywood Left and Right, Steven J. Ross tells a story that has escaped public attention: the emergence of Hollywood as a vital center of political life and the important role that movie stars have played in shaping the course of American politics. Ever since the film industry relocated to Hollywood early in the twentieth century, it has had an outsized influence on American politics. Through compelling larger-than-life figures in American cinema--Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Edward G. Robinson, George Murphy, Ronald Reagan, Harry Belafonte, Jane Fonda, Charlton Heston, Warren Beatty, and Arnold Schwarzenegger--Hollywood Left and Right reveals how the film industry's engagement in politics has been longer, deeper, and more varied than most people would imagine. As shown in alternating chapters, the Left and the Right each gained ascendancy in Tinseltown at different times. From Chaplin, whose movies almost always displayed his leftist convictions, to Schwarzenegger's nearly seamless transition from action blockbusters to the California governor's mansion, Steven J. Ross traces the intersection of Hollywood and political activism from the early twentieth century to the present. Hollywood Left and Right challenges the commonly held belief that Hollywood has always been a bastion of liberalism. The real story, as Ross shows in this passionate and entertaining work, is far more complicated. First, Hollywood has a longer history of conservatism than liberalism. Second, and most surprising, while the Hollywood Left was usually more vocal and visible, the Right had a greater impact on American political life, capturing a senate seat (Murphy), a governorship (Schwarzenegger), and the ultimate achievement, the Presidency (Reagan).

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9780195181722

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Reviews

entertaining, intelligent and well-balanced book Sunday Times

<br> This is the smartest and most thorough investigation of Hollywood's role in American politics I have read, as well the first and only to give the Hollywood Right its due. -Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls<p><br> Steven J. Ross's Hollywood Left and Right is a deeply researched and well-written exploration of of the sometimes bloody crossroads where our celebrity system and our political system intersect. It's a must-read for anyone interested in how opinion has been formed (and sometimes distorted) by the mass media over the last century of American life. -Richard Schickel, author of Conversations with Scorsese<p><br> So Hollywood is a coven of fanatical lefties? Steve Ross tells that story with new detail and nuance, but he also meticulously and convincingly conveys the even deeper affinity between conservatism and Hollywood-an affinity that, as he amply shows, has had a far more powerful impact on American politics. -Neal Gabler, author of Walt Disney<p><br>

<br> Well written, entertaining, and enlightening, this is highly recommended, especially for film buffs interested in the intersection of politics and culture. -Library Journal<br><p><br> This is the smartest and most thorough investigation of Hollywood's role in American politics I have read, as well the first and only to give the Hollywood Right its due. -Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls<p><br> Steven J. Ross's Hollywood Left and Right is a deeply researched and well-written exploration of of the sometimes bloody crossroads where our celebrity system and our political system intersect. It's a must-read for anyone interested in how opinion has been formed (and sometimes distorted) by the mass media over the last century of American life. -Richard Schickel, author of Conversations with Scorsese<p><br> So Hollywood is a coven of fanatical lefties? Steve Ross tells that story with new detail and nuance, but he also meticulously and convincingly conveys the even deep

<br> meticulously researched and well-plotted -Ted Johnson, Variety<p><br> Hollywood Left and Right is nonfiction at its best: entertaining and engaging, probing and provocative, detailed and comprehensive in coverage, multifaceted and far-ranging in its treatment, objective and balanced, appropriately paced in covering a complex, big story. <br>-Stephen Roulac, New York Journal of Books<br><p><br> Steven J. Ross convincingly shows in Hollywood Left and Right that since its early days, the movie industry has been as quietly conservative as publicly liberal. <br>-Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times<br><p><br> [F]ascinating...compelling survey of politics and celebrity. -Rowan Kaiser, A.V. Club<p><br> Well written, entertaining, and enlightening, this is highly recommended, especially for film buffs interested in the intersection of politics and culture. -Library Journal<br><p><br> Steven Ross's engrossing book about the interplay between movie stars, politics and America's celebrity

Author Information

An eminent historian of film, Steven J. Ross is recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Films Scholars Award and author of the prize-winning book, Working-Class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in America.

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