Showbiz politics : Hollywood in American political life / Kathryn Cramer Brownell, the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
Brownell, Kathryn Cramer.
2014
PN1993.5.U6 B758 2014 (Mapit)
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Title Showbiz politics : Hollywood in American political life / Kathryn Cramer Brownell, the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
Author Brownell, Kathryn Cramer.
ISBN 9781469617916 (hardcover)
1469617919 (hardcover)
9781469617923 (electronic book)
Published Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2014]
Language English
Description xiv, 311 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Call Number PN1993.5.U6 B758 2014
Dewey Decimal Classification 302.23/43097309045
Summary "Conventional wisdom holds that John F. Kennedy was the first celebrity president, in no small part because of his innate television savvy. But, as Kathryn Brownell shows, Kennedy capitalized on a tradition and style rooted in California politics and the Hollywood studio system. Since the 1920s, politicians and professional showmen have developed relationships and built organizations, institutionalizing Hollywood styles, structures, and personalities in the American political process. Brownell explores how similarities developed between the operation of a studio, planning a successful electoral campaign, and ultimately running an administration. Using their business and public relations know-how, figures such as Louis B. Mayer, Bette Davis, Jack Warner, Harry Belafonte, Ronald Reagan, and members of the Rat Pack made Hollywood connections an asset in a political world being quickly transformed by the media. Brownell takes readers behind the camera to explore the negotiations and relationships that developed between key Hollywood insiders and presidential candidates from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton, analyzing how entertainment replaced party spectacle as a strategy to raise money, win votes, and secure success for all those involved. She demonstrates how Hollywood contributed to the rise of mass-mediated politics, making the twentieth century not just the age of the political consultant, but also the age of showbiz politics."--Jacket.
Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-292) and index.
Record Appears in On-Campus Resources > Books
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Introduction : Put on a show!
California-made spectacles
The Hollywood dream machine goes to war
The glittering robes of entertainment
Defending the American way of life
Building a star system in politics
Asserting the sixth estate
The razzle dazzle strategy
Conclusion : The Washington dream machine.

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