The Hollywood Sign: The Culture of American Film Summary and Analysis

Fantasy flicks have been big box office draws and moneymakers since the turn of the century. The fantasy and futuristic movies represent an escape for the viewers and this represents a way of maintaining the status quo by detracting from it. "More recent analysts have been far less pessimistic. Indeed, for many cultural studies 'populists, the movies, along with the rest of popular culture, can represent a kind of mass resistance to the political dominance - or what is often called the 'hegemony' - of the social and economic powers-that-be. For such critics, the movies can provide utopian visions of a better world, stimulating their viewers to imagine how their society might be improved and so, perhaps, inspiring them to go out and do something about it...