American Cinema in the Shadow of 9/11

Book excerpt: 'Gripping and smart, American Cinema in the Shadow of 9/11 is a must-read for cinema students and researchers. It offers especially timely and important analyses of post-9/11 US film through a series of lucid essays that incisively explore how the traumas and anxieties of the terrorist attacks continue to haunt American identity and its imaginary. I can't recommended this book enough for anyone interested in the cultural function of film, narrative and allegory.' Anna Froula, East Carolina University American Cinema in the Shadow of 9/11 is a ground-breaking collection of essays by some of the foremost scholars writing in the field of contemporary American film. Through a dynamic critical analysis of the defining films of the turbulent post-9/11 decade, the volume explores and interrogates the impact of 9/11 and the 'War on Terror' on American cinema and culture. In a vibrant discussion of films like American Sniper (2014), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Spectre (2015), The Hateful Eight (2015), Lincoln (2012), The Mist (2007), Children of Men (2006), Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), noted authors Geoff King, Guy Westwell, John Shelton Lawrence, Ian Scott, Andrew Schopp, James Kendrick, Sean Redmond, Steffen Hantke and many others consider the power of popular film to function as a potent cultural artefact, able both to reflect the defining fears and anxieties of the tumultuous era, but also to shape them in compelling and resonant ways. Terence McSweeney is Lecturer in the School of Media Arts and Technology, Southampton Solent University. Cover image: American Sniper, Clint Eastwood, 2014 (c) Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Malpaso Productions/The Kobal Collection Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-1381-7 Barcode