The Tunnel at the End of the Light: Essays on Movies and Politics

by Jim Shepard

"Shepard may be the best lesser-known film critic." ― The New York Times Book Review

The first book of nonfiction from one of our great fiction writers. Given that most Americans proudly consider themselves non-political, where do our notions of collective responsibility come from? Which self-deceptions, when considering ourselves as actors on the world stage, do we cling to most tenaciously? Why do we so stubbornly believe, for example, that our country always means well when intervening abroad?  

The Tunnel at the End of the Light  argues that some of our most persistent and destructive assumptions, in that regard, might come from the movies. In these ten essays Jim Shepard weaves close readings of film with cultural criticism to explore the ways in which movies work so ubiquitously to reflect how Americans think and act. Whether assessing the “high-spirited glee of American ruthlessness” captured in GoodFellas , or finding in Lawrence of Arabia a “portrait of the lunatic serenity of our leaders’ conviction in the face of all evidence and their own lack of knowledge,” he explores how we enter into conversations with specific genres and films― Chinatown, The Third Man , and Badlands among others―in order to construct and refine our most cherished illusions about ourselves. 

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Essays

272 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2017

About the author

Jim Shepard is the author of seven novels, including most recently The Book of Aron, which won the Sophie Brody Medal for Achievement in Jewish Literature from the American Library Association and the PEN/New England Award for fiction, and five story collections, including his new collection, The World To Come. Five of his short stories have been chosen for the Best American Short Stories, two for the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, and one for a Pushcart Prize. He teaches at Williams College.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A restart that happened serendipitously through trying to find a kitten behind a bookshelf. IDF a few years ago, but being the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, finding this dusty volume instead of the kitten—sneaky brat— the timing couldn’t have been better. What an absolute treasure Shepard is (hurry w/ your next short story collection, please). A series of essays on cinema along with stunning and sometimes darkly funny insights about post 9/11 America, but really just America, and the ways we prop ourselves in self-delusion and the grievous harm that results. His essay on The Third Man is up there with Rebecca Solnit’s piece on Giant. I’ve missed this kind of writing so much.

[Antonio Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best film criticism I’ve ever encountered. But the crux of this compilation of essays is its incorporation of film and the policy’s of its time.

And Tin House Books never disappoints!

[Robert Foreman]

I didn't know if I would like this book, but I liked this book.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jim Shepard is one of my very favorite short story writers, with an astonishing gift for delineating the human condition with warmth, humor, and realism. This, his first book of essays, displays virtually none of those gifts. These essays, which give gives movies a political reading, are loose, disjointed, and chatty, with just enough perceptive insights scattered throughout to make them worth reading. Jim wrote most of these during the the George W. Bush administration, which make some of his preoccupations seem dated. At other times, his focus on faux-patriotism and government lying are all too relevant.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you really like movies, believe that they can be as profound as literature, and that art holds a mirror up to nature, then this book is for you.

Jim Shepherd looks at some of the best movies of recent years, and connects them to American ideals, and real-politik, and the tension between the two. Goodfellas as a primer on capitalism, The Third Man and the 2004 Republican Ticket, Saving Pvt Ryan and the Politics of Deception are just three of the essays here.

Never pedantic, always insightful.

[Steve Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shepard's book includes several excellent essays. It's book-ended by pieces about BADLANDS & THE VANISHING which look at how both films show violence as an extension of "normal" life. But the "essays on movies and politics" focus leads to a limitation - while the intro mentions Trump, most of these read like they were written during the George W. Bush administration and the conclusions about power that Shephard draws from films like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA & AGUIRRE are applied very specifically to Bush. He also has a tendency to read films made in Europe as comments on American culture.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays about how movies reflect either rightly or wrongly, the current political sentiment.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and informative. Anyone who loves film & literature will find these fascinating reading.