The American President in Film and Television

CONTENTS: Introduction: The American President in History and Criticism - The Symbolic Presidency: Washington and Hollywood, 1932-1989 - The Post-Cold War Presidency in Hollywood Cinema - The West Wing: Continuity and Change from Clinton to Bush - Predicting Obama? Hollywood's Black Presidency and the Creation of a Stereotype - «Having it Allen»: Motherhood, Family and the Female Presidency in Commander in Chief - Conclusion: Old Constructs in a New Era: The White House Invasion Narrative and the Return of Abraham Lincoln.

Gregory Frame is Lecturer in Film Studies at Bangor University. His research interests revolve around the politics and ideologies of mainstream cinema and television.

«An assuredly deft and engaging exploration of how presidential figures function in American film and television, Gregory's book is anchored in textual readings and it hits the right note - whether he is discussing the Capraesque tendencies in the comedy 'Dave', offering a focused appreciation of the looming presence of Martin Sheen, or unpacking issues of race and gender (in particularly persuasive chapters on black and women presidents). In Gregory's own words the book 'looks to engage fully with the politics of representation in the Representation of Politics', and it is completely successful in that mission.» (British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies, 2016 Best Book Award Committee) «In the age of Trump, cinema's relationship to politics has become more important than ever. In Frame's brilliant book, the way presidents - real and fictional - have been portrayed on film becomes almost a playbook for the rise and conduct of the forty-fifth chief executive.» (Ian Scott, author of «American Politics in Hollywood Film») «Published at a time in which a 'fictional' president occupies the real White House (as argued by the new preface written in the light of Donald Trump's election), the revised edition of this book further underlines the urgent value of attending to the representation of the Commander in Chief in American film and television drama. Strongly grounded in the analysis of film and television style as well as the politics of representation, Frame's account is an essential read for anyone interested in the portrayal of political power in twentieth- and twenty-first-century America.» (Tom Brown, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, King's College London)