Hollywood Bloodshed: Violence in 1980s American Cinema

by James Kendrick

In Hollywood Bloodshed , James Kendrick presents a fascinating look into the political and ideological instabilities of the 1980s as studied through the lens of cinema violence. Kendrick uses in-depth case studies to reveal how dramatic changes in the film industry and its treatment of cinematic bloodshed during the Reagan era reflected shifting social tides as Hollywood struggled to find a balance between the lucrative necessity of screen violence and the rising surge of conservatism. As public opinion shifted toward the right and increasing emphasis was placed on issues such as higher military spending, family values, and “money culture,” film executives were faced with an epic the violent aspects of cinema that had been the studios’ bread and butter were now almost universally rejected by mainstream audiences. Far from eliminating screen bloodshed altogether, studios found new ways of packaging violence that would allow them to continue to attract audiences without risking public outcry, ushering in a period of major transition in the film industry. Studios began to shy away from the revolutionary directors of the 1970s—many of whom had risen to fame through ideologically challenging films characterized by a more disturbing brand of violence—while simultaneously clearing the way for a new era in film. The 1980s would see the ascent of entertainment conglomerates and powerful producers and the meteoric rise of the blockbuster—a film with no less violence than its earlier counterparts, but with action-oriented thrills rather than more troubling images of brutality. Kendrick analyzes these and other radical cinematic changes born of the conservative social climate of the 1980s, including the disavowal of horror films in the effort to present a more acceptable public image; the creation of the PG-13 rating to designate the gray area of movie violence between PG and R ratings; and the complexity of marketing the violence of war movies for audience pleasure. The result is a riveting study of an often overlooked, yet nevertheless fascinating time in cinema history. While many volumes have focused on the violent films of the New American Cinema directors of the 1970s or the rise of icons such as Woo, Tarantino, and Rodriguez in the 1990s, Kendrick’s Hollywood Bloodshed bridges a major gap in film studies. This comprehensive volume offers much-needed perspective on a decade that altered the history of Hollywood—and American culture—forever.

Genres: Film

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2009

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good survey of changing cultural norms and social mores when it comes to cinematic carnage during the Reagan Years. I think we all kind of know the hypothesis before the author even gets around to stating it about 100 pages in or so, but yeah, Moral Majority conservatives and their extremely hypocritical ideologies on sex and violence played a really big role in Hollywood's sudden turnabout on thematics and content. The book covers a LOT of ground and pretty much all of the arguments herein are rock solid, whether he's talking about the Lucas/Spielberg commercial effect killing true experimentation and auteurism in the film industry or describing what happened socially after the Carter Administration to make slasher movies such a ubiquitous sight at cineplexes throughout the eighties (long story short: PROFITS.) My two favorite chapters deal with how Vietnam revisionism paved the way for "Rambo" and pretty much half of the Chuck Norris filmography and the capstone about how and why the PG-13 rating became a thing. This book is so good, it ALMOST makes me want to rewatch and re-evaluate "Cruising" ... almost.