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The interactions between popular culture and public policy in general, and foreign policy in particular, have always been an important area of scholarly enquiry and popular interest. However with the end of the bipolar world system and the emergence of a single world superpower in the form of the United States of America, which is waging a War Against Terror, this nexus has become critical. This is especially true because of the almost Manichean tendency of the United States to see other countries in terms of "good" or "evil". Indeed President Bush himself has coined the term "The Axis of Evil" for states, which in a kinder age were simply referred to by his predecessors as being "Rogue States".
This book draws together elements from several academic disciplines - politics, international relations, psychology, film and cultural studies and examines US foreign policy toward the so-called "rogue states" and the products of the Hollywood film industry in relation to these states, which promises to make a significant contribution to our understanding of the 'soft power' that is popular culture.
“The nexus between Hollywood, U.S. diplomacy, and the portrayal of Washington's foreign enemies is skilfully examined in Sally Totman's original inter-disciplinary study. Her theoretical and empirical analysis reveals the extent to which Hollywood has been complicit in selling Washington's world view. In particular, Dr. Totman examines the methodology of demonising Washington's adversary du jour, especially those ‘rogue states’ in the Middle East who have frustrated or thwarted the America's geopolitical ambitions. This is an impressive and important study which provides a vital, often ignored context to the making and selling of U.S. foreign policy. Without an understanding of the role of popular culture in building domestic support for U.S. interventions around the world in countries such as Iraq, our knowledge of the subject will remain impoverished. This gap has now been filled.”--Dr. Scott Burchill, School of International and Political Studies, Deakin University, and author of The National Interest in International Relations Theory
Sally Totman is Lecturer in Middle Eastern Studies in the School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, Australia
Foreword, Gary Scudder * Chapter 1: The End of the Cold War: Rogue States and Their Characteristics * Chapter 3: The Islamic Republic of Iran * Chapter 4: The Republic of Cuba * Chapter 5: The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya * Chapter 6: The Republic of Iraq * Chapter 7: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea * Chapter 8: The Republic of Sudan * Chapter 9: The Syrian Arab Republic * Appendix I: Transcripts of President Clinton’s Two Speeches Following the US Air Strikes against Sudan and Afghanistan * Appendix II: Examples of Hollywood Films that Have and Have Not Received Pentagon Assistance
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