Harmless Entertainment: Hollywood and the Ideology of Consensus

by Richard Maltby

Genres: Film

1 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1983

Reviews

[Catnaitab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that makes you rethink some parts not only of the American cinema, in particular Hollywood, but also of American politics. It engages these 2 aspects and compares them with each other, ranging from issues of populism, liberalism and the "ultimate enemy of democracy": communism. It feels like a really complete history of Hollywood cinema because it always explains its cultural and political context while giving explicit examples of "trends" in Hollywood cinema from the 30s until the 70s. A lot of interesting concepts although some theories could be explained better, since they do not appear as convincing as others. It isn't exactly an objective book but nevertheless it has so many revolutionary points-of-view, it is such a detailed analysis of Hollywood cinema and can even be funny through irony that it is definitely worth the read.
One of the best ideas of the book:

The effect of a close and individualised narrative structure in films of as varied overt political persuasion as The Green Berets and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? is similar. The affirmation of the myth of men of goodwill, and the embodiment of the possibility of a solution in the individualist terms of that myth by the specific resolution of the film's narrative, permit the films to avoid an engagement with the issues which their plot situations raise. The film's theme is stated rhetorically in generalised terms, by characters who can resolve its individual formulation in the story. By a concealed but false logic, it moves from the statement of a general issue to a particular manifestation of it, and from the resolution of that manifestation to the proposal of a general solution -- a proposal that is never more than: if only we were all as much men of goodwill as Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier or John Wayne, the problem would disappear.

[kac attac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hidden gem of straight talk and penetrating insight. Maltby's vignettes on history, politics, ideology and narrative are worth studying even aside from any particular interest in film.