Hollywood is often characterised as a stronghold of left-liberal ideals. In
Reel Power
, Matthew Alford shows that it is in fact deeply complicit in serving the interests of the most regressive US corporate and political forces.
Films like
Transformers
,
Terminator: Salvation
and
Black Hawk Down
are constructed with Defence Department assistance as explicit cheerleaders for the US military, but Matthew Alford also emphasises how so-called 'radical' films like
Three Kings
Hotel Rwanda
Avatar
present watered-down alternative visions of American politics that serve a similar function.
is the first book to examine the internal workings of contemporary Hollywood as a politicised industry as well as scores of films across all genres. No matter what the progressive impulses of some celebrities and artists, Alford shows how they are part of a system that is hard-wired to encourage American global supremacy and frequently the use of state violence.