{"product_id":"projecting-paranoia-ray-pratt-9780700611508","title":"Projecting Paranoia: Conspiratorial Visions in American Film","description":"A lit cigarette glows in the dark. A faceless voice describes sinister forces that are hard at work behind the scenes-a hidden conspiracy that controls our lives and perhaps even our thoughts. Then, like a ghost in the night, the voice is gone, leaving a residue of unease and a whisper of paranoia. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs emblematic as \"Deep Throat\" in \u003ci\u003eAll the President's Men\u003c\/i\u003e or the \"Cigarette Smoking Man\" in the wildly popular \u003ci\u003eX-Files\u003c\/i\u003e, that ghostly presence stands in for numerous other \"voices\" in a wide range of American films from the classic era of film noir through Oliver Stone's \u003ci\u003eJFK\u003c\/i\u003e and Curtis Hanson's \u003ci\u003eL.A. Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e. In this sweeping and idiosyncratic synthesis of film and politics, Ray Pratt shows us how such movies are deeply rooted in postwar American culture and continue to exert an enormous influence on the national imagination. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor decades American cinema has mirrored and promoted the postmodern anxieties and paranoid perceptions embedded in our society. Tapping into the moviegoing audience's own projected fears, many Hollywood films seem to confirm our belief that there are indeed secret sinister forces at work and that our lives are at risk because of them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePratt revisits blockbusters and cult favorites alike and shows how their images of conspiracy have been fostered by the public's increasing distrust of large organizations, producing in turn a cinematic \"narrative of resistance\" that challenges the status quo. He offers Seven Days in May and Dr. Strangelove as signposts of Cold War hysteria; Chinatown, The Conversation, and Missing as clear reflections of our distrust of political and corporate elites in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate; and Blue Velvet and The Stepfather as dark countermyths to the \"family values\" touted by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. He also considers gender paranoia in films like Klute, Fatal Attraction, and Silence of the Lambs and reminds us that sometimes, as in Serpico, our guardian police forces need a bit of guarding themselves. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDeftly interweaving cultural, political, and film theory with fresh insights into film noir detectives, nuclear angst, sexual predators, and government conspiracies, \u003ci\u003eProjecting Paranoia\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for anyone interested in the American psyche or great moviemaking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ray Pratt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0700611509\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780700611508\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Kansas\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/10\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 334\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.23lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.27h x 6.15w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2001 pg. 70\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eUniv PR Books for Public Libry\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2002 pg. 66 - Recommended\/Special Interest\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2002 pg. 1968","brand":"Ray Pratt","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46420221624575,"sku":"9780700611508","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_2c5a2ade-f537-42df-82be-7c4715e9d01e.jpg?v=1734633993","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/projecting-paranoia-ray-pratt-9780700611508","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}