
Written by Tony Shaw
Cinematic Terror takes a uniquely long view of filmmakers' depiction of terrorism, examining how cinema has been a site of intense conflict between paramilitaries, state authorities and censors for well over a century. In the process, it takes us on a journey from the first Age of Terror that helped trigger World War One to the Global War on Terror that divides countries and families today.
Tony Shaw looks beyond Hollywood to pinpoint important trends in the ways that film industries across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East have defined terrorism down the decades. Drawing on a studio archives, government documentation, personal interviews and box office records, Shaw examines the mechanics of cinematic terrorism and challenges assumptions about the links between political violence and propaganda. –
“Terrorism is central to the international politics of our age. The mass media are central to terrorism. Given these two facts it is surprising that scholars have failed to delve deep into the treatment of terrorism by the most potent mass media of the past century: the cinema. Until now, that is. In this path-breaking book Tony Shaw opens the history of the representation of terrorism in global feature film. Shaw moves deftly across time, geographical space and genre with a series of well-chosen and flawlessly executed case studies. The films considered range from masterpieces by some of the greatest directors of all time, including Alfred Hitchcock himself, to crude exploitation flicks by way of blockbusters, epics, art house and even Bollywood. With meticulous research, unfailing insight and scrupulous balance and objectivity Shaw is an eloquent and insightful guide to this important subject. Seasoned scholars, students of film and security issues and general readers alike will find much to compel attention and provoke further thought in this important book.”
- Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, USA.
Find out more about Cinematic Terror: A Global History of Terrorism on Film.