The American cinema of excess : extremes of the national mind on film
"This book draws conclusions about the American mind through analysis of "cinema of excess": films about Americans that include culturally transgressive material, including violence, graphic sexuality, apocalyptic themes, and paranoia. The work begins with an introduction to far left and far right schools of film criticism, including Marxism, cultural conservatism, and religious conservatism, discussing the shortcomings of each"--Provided by publisher
ix, 261 pages ; 23 cm
9780786439881, 9780786452439, 0786439882, 0786452439
257557400
The Hebraic and Hellenic sources
The American madness on film
Paranoia and conspiracy theories
Dr. Strangelove
The x-files
Conspiracy theory and JFK
The citizen and paranoia
The conversation and Enemy of the state
Aggression and serial killers
Rambo: first blood
Silence of the lambs
Copycat, Seven, Natural born killers, and American psycho
Oedipal/Freudian
The devil's advocate
The hulk
Star wars and Affliction
Sexual obsession
American beauty
Happiness
American psycho, Blue velvet, and Basic instinct
The apocalypse and armageddon
The rapture
The passion of the Christ
The Left behind trilogy
Apocalypse now
The birds
The terminator and End of days
The apocalypse and critical distance
Native Americans and cultural genocide
Little big man
Dead man
Natural born killers and U-turn
Thunderheart
Broken arrow, the outlaw Josey Wales, and Dances with wolves
The new age and narcissism
I heart Huckabees
Waking life
What the bleep and Indigo
Zelig and the narcissism of the other-directed person
Nihilism, alienation, and self-destruction
Zabriskie point
Fight club
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas
Taxi driver and Crimes and misdemeanors
The conversation and American psycho
The intellect and cultural autism
A beautiful mind
Artificial intelligence: A.I
In the cut and Rain man
Virtual reality and saccharine fantasies
The matrix trilogy
The Truman show
Lawnmower man
Pleasantville
Neo and the "me generation"
The unique strengths of the American mind
Filmic journeys into sanity
One flew over the cuckoo's nest
The fisher king
Groundhog day, The apostle, and Vanilla sky
21 grams and Snow cake