March 31, 2009

New book chronicles 1990s films and the 'decade of spin'

"Attitudes are formed through the mass media," says William J. Palmer, professor of English. "And, the 1990s were all about spin, which is basically the managing of information for specific and strategic reasons. There was a tremendous amount of insecurity with the reality of that time. We saw this with Y2K, the increased role of technology in our lives, political scandals, the AIDS epidemic and sexuality.

"The camera lens is one way we can look at how changes taking place in the 1990s caused reality to stop moving in clear, predictable lines and start spinning. For example, Y2K invoked a fear of people losing control of time."

Palmer is author of "The Films of the Nineties: The Decade of Spin," which was published this month by Palgrave MacMillan.

The films that came closest to capturing how spin worked were political movies such as "Primary Colors," "The American President" and "Wag the Dog," Palmer says. Other cinematic trends that emerged during the decade of spin were the use of product placement, reality TV and expensive, stunning special effects.

"The use of new special effects also fueled an appetite for disaster movies such as 'Titanic,' 'Twister,' 'Volcano,' 'Mars Attacks,' 'Independence Day,' 'Men in Black' and 'Armageddon,'" he says. "And, perhaps the best example of product placement was when James Bond stopped driving his trademark Aston Martin and turned to a more contemporary brand name because of a sponsorship deal."

The 1990s also rewrote history in a number of movies such as "Schindler's List," "Forrest Gump," "JFK," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Apollo 13."

Another example of spin is in "Philadelphia," a popular movie from 1993, Palmer says.

"In the 1980s, a tremendous prejudice toward homosexuals emerged because of the fear of AIDS. Homophobia became so prevalent that it had to be countered, and 'Philadelphia' was part of that strategy," he says. "It was a touching story starring Tom Hanks, the Jimmy Stewart of the '90s, who could put a face on this issue."

Palmer is author of "The Films of the Seventies: A Social History" and "The Films of the Eighties: A Social History," as well as "The Detective and Mr. Dickens," "The Highwayman and Mr. Dickens," "The Hoydens and Mr. Dickens" and "The Dons and Mr. Dickens."

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: William J. Palmer, 765-494-3729, wjpalmer@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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