Description
Book SynopsisIn Hollywood Left and Right, Steven J. Ross tells an important 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 Hollywood''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 near
Trade Reviewan intriguing series of biographical studies. * Independent *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Movie Stars and Politics ; 1. The First Political Movie Star: Charlie Chaplin ; 2. The Man Who Brought Hollywood into the Republican Party: Louis B. Mayer ; 3. Little Caesar and the HUAC Mob: Edward G. Robinson ; 4. Hollywood and the Conservative Revolution: George Murphy and Ronald Reagan ; 5. Politics in Black and White: Harry Belafonte ; 6. Movement Leader, Grassroots Builder: Jane Fonda ; 7. Moses and the Red Tide: Charlton Heston ; 8. President Bulworth, or, Will Mr. Beatty Go to Washington? Warren Beatty ; 9. Governor Arnold and the New Age of Celebrity Politics: Arnold Schwarzenegger
