tailieunhanh - Images of Power in Hollywood Films: The Example of Star Wars

A second way to define power is in terms of a relationship in which one actor is observed to attempt to influence another directly and succeeds. This is sometimes called “actualized” power. The attempt to influence results from differing preferences over outcomes, and the attempt is successful if the attempt of actor A to influence actor B results in an outcome preferred by A. A may convince B that A’s preferred outcome is also B’s preferred outcome without the threat of force by engaging in persuasive discourse, but if A threatens B with force to get B to act against B’s preferences then we are talking about. | Images of Power in Hollywood Films The Example of Star Wars Jeffrey A. Hart Department of Political Science Indiana University Woodburn Hall 210 Bloomington IN 47405 Tel 812 855-9002 Email hartj@ Web http hartj Paper prepared for delivery at a conference on The Image of Power in Literature Media and Society sponsored by the Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery and Colorado State University Pueblo to be held at Colorado Springs Colorado March 9-11 2006. Please do not cite or quote without the written permission of the author. Abstract Feature-length motion pictures distributed by Hollywood studios frequently deal with issues of power although sometimes indirectly and often only as a sideline to the main story. Science fiction and fantasy films in particular are frequently vehicles for telling stories about power and the abuse of power. In this paper I focus on images of power in the Star Wars series and examine them in comparison with other ways of portraying power in Hollywood films. Tyranny evil vs. democracy good is the unifying theme in Star Wars whereas in other Hollywood films we find different images of power. For example images of power based on class are more likely to be found in movies of the 1930s than now. In the 1950s we began to see films that portrayed large private corporations as holders of great power in some cases greater than that held by governments. Is there a general trend or tendency in Hollywood s power imagery Power Power has been defined in a variety of different ways by sociologists and political scientists so it behooves us to review those definitions before launching into an exploration of the imagery of power. The simplest definition of power is an ability to get others to do something that they would not otherwise have done. This is sometimes referred to as power as capabilities or potential power and is measured in terms of the attributes of the social actor that allegedly possesses it.