Hollywood Blockbusters: The Anthropology of Popular Movies

Description

Why do 'Jaws', 'Field of Dreams', 'The Big Lebowski', and 'TheGodfather' remain strikingly popular in this age of fragmentedaudiences and ever-faster spin cycles? "Hollywood Blockbusters: TheAnthropology of Popular Movies" argues that these films continue tocaptivate audiences because they play upon underlying tensions andproblems in American culture, much like the myths that anthropologistsstudy in non-Western contexts. In making this argument, the authorsemploy and extend anthropological theories about ritual, kinship, giftgiving, power, egalitarianism, literacy, metalinguistics, stereotypes,and the mysteries of the Other. The results - original insights intomodern film classics, American culture, and anthropological theory - willappeal to students of Film, Media, Anthropology, Sociology, andCultural Studies.

David Sutton is Associate Professor of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University.Peter Wogan is Associate Professor of Anthropology, Willamette University.

Hollywood Blockbusters is anthropological theorizing at its filmic best. Sutton and Wogan have translated complex anthropological concepts and debates into a rich analysis of popular motion pictures, giving us both a window into the value of anthropological sensibilities and a new interpretation of well-known Hollywood offerings. This wonderful book helps to counter claims about anthropology's marginal status in contemporary discussions about mainstream American culture, and will be an essential read for both students and scholars. John L. Jackson, Jr., Richard Perry University, Professor of Communication and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania