Contenu
Stephen Prince is the first scholar to trace the effect of 9/11 on the making of American film. From documentaries like Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) to zombie flicks, from The Kingdom (2007) to Mike Nichols's Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Prince evaluates the extent to which filmmakers have exploited, explained, understood, or interpreted the attacks and their companions, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Prince begins with pre-9/11 depictions of terrorism (such as Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage [1936]) and follows with studio and independent films that directly responded to 9/11. He considers documentary portraits and conspiracy films, as well as serial television shows (most notably 24) and made-for-TV movies that re-present the attacks in a broader, more intimate way. In conclusion, Prince finds in these triumphs and failures an exciting new era of American filmmaking.