World in Chaos

Carl Boggs is professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at National University. His previous books include The End of Politics: Corporate Power and the Decline of the Public Sphere, The Socialist Tradition: From Crisis to Decline, and Intellectuals and the Crisis of Modernity. Thomas Pollard is also professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at National University, where he specializes in pop culture and literature.

This is a work of major importance. A brilliant analysis of the contradictory currents within the contemporary film industry; exemplary in its use of critical social theory to account for the evolving character of American film, especially the emergence of the antipolitical film. What makes this volume both unique and urgent not only is the accomplished way the authors are able to situate film production and reception within wider cultural, economic, political, and intellectual transformations but also the authors' sophisticated grasp of media culture.

• Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 The New Cinematic SocietyChapter 3 The Rise and Decline of ModernismChapter 4 The Postmodern Revolt: A New Era?Chapter 5 The Many Faces of PostmodernismChapter 6 The Postmodern Visual StyleChapter 7 Postmodern Cinema in a Corporate WorldChapter 8 Conclusion: Hollywood and the Decline of Political CultureChapter 9 Filmography: Selected Postmodern Films