Synopses & Reviews
Film and terrorism go back a long way. The very birth of cinema in the 1890s coincided with an early golden age of terrorism, as bomb-throwing anarchists and nationalists captured headlines in countries as far apart as France and India.
Cinematic Terror provides the first history of cinema's depiction of terrorism from the early 1900s to the present day. It looks at how cinema has been the site of conflict between filmmakers and terrorists for over a century and identifies important trends in the ways that film industries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East have framed terrorism. From the birth of moving pictures to the internet age, the author explains how filmmakers from around the world have depicted terrorists, have made money and propaganda out of terrorism, and have died at the hands of terrorists. Professor Shaw shows that for over a century, cinema has had a profound impact on peoples' understanding of terrorism.
Synopsis
Cinematic Terror takes a uniquely long view of filmmakers' depiction of terrorism, examining how cinema has been a site of intense conflict between paramilitaries, state authorities and censors for well over a century. In the process, it takes us on a journey from the first Age of Terror that helped trigger World War One to the Global War on Terror that divides countries and families today.
Tony Shaw looks beyond Hollywood to pinpoint important trends in the ways that film industries across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East have defined terrorism down the decades. Drawing on a vast array of studio archives, government documentation, personal interviews and box office records, Shaw examines the mechanics of cinematic terrorism and challenges assumptions about the links between political violence and propaganda.
About the Author
Tony Shaw is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. He is an internationally-recognized expert in the fields of history, film and propaganda.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1. Silent revolutionaries
Chapter 2. Agents of suspense
Chapter 3. Symbols of resistance
Chapter 4. Epic freedom fighters
Chapter 5. Newsreel guerrillas
Chapter 6. Docu-death squads
Chapter 7. Schlock and awe
Chapter 8. Avant-garde narcissists
Chapter 9. Serial killers
Chapter 10. Bollywood's communalists
Chapter 11. Biopics for peace
Chapter 12. Networked jihadists
Chapter 13. Suicide victims in close-up
Chapter 14. YouTube monsters
Conclusion
Bibliography
Filmography