The American Film in the Crisis of Confidence

American Film in the Crisis of Confidence: Hollywood Malaise, 1976-1983 examines how Hollywood films depict and respond to what U.S. President Jimmy Carter deemed a national crisis of confidence in the late 1970s, and what Carters political opponents referred to as the Malaise. Over the course of five thematic chaptersas well as an introduction and conclusionJohn McCombe explores how a wide range of films from various genres reflect cultural anxieties central to Carters crisis of confidence, including those surrounding depleted energy resources, calls for fiscal austerity, the broken American family, and the decreasing visibility of people of color in popular culture. Scholars of film studies, cultural studies, American studies, and history will find this book of particular interest.