‘Have You Seen Any Good Films Lately?’ Geopolitics, International Relations and Film

Abstract

This article explores the intersection between geopolitics, international relations and film. The first section examines how popular geopolitics and related areas of International Relations have engaged with film and Hollywood. Thereafter, it considers the interrelationship between Hollywood, the Bush administration and the post-9/11 era in an attempt to better understand some of the contours of the military-industrial-media-entertainment complex. At times of crisis, Hollywood has often been more than willing and able to produce and market films designed to 'raise' national morale and spirit. Finally, the article considers the challenge of researching audience reactions and the potential of a variety of sources, including interviews and online commentary to facilitate such discussions further.

Documenting International Relations: Documentary Film and the Creative Arrangement of Perceptibility

“…The arrangements that structure what is perceptible are subtly political. Clearly, other factors are important, such as audience reception and the circulation of films in wider circuits of exchange (Dodds ; Singh ; Hansen ). But assessments of political efficacy cannot stand apart from an understanding of the arrangements of perceptibility that serve—as in‐built, conscious acts of interpretation—to uphold, disrupt, or simply bring to light international practices and representations while also involving underlying commitments used to ascribe meaning to these practices and representations.…”

“…But if documentary is more than fiction in sheep's clothing, one should also avoid the equally wrong assertion that documentary merely is fiction's opposite. In his article on cinematic geopolitics, Dodds (:483) comes close to this position, when he suggests that documentaries, in contrast to fiction, “seek to present a portrayal of the world as it really is.” In her strong juxtaposition of documentary to fiction, Swimelar (:20) similarly holds that documentaries are a window on the world and claims that these reconstructions of reality mainly fulfill an educational or informational function. Although she acknowledges that some documentaries may employ dramatic narratives and techniques—which Swimelar tellingly refers to as “semi‐documentary”—she nonetheless maintains that their educational objective differs profoundly from the imperative to entertain in fiction features.…”

Waiting for International Political Sociology: A Field Guide to Living In-Between

“…Other scholars, including myself, have offered more detailed analyses of how global power relations emerge in specific modes of visual representation, for example, film, television, photography and art (Danchev, 2009;Kiersey & Neumann, 2013;Lisle, 2007Lisle, , 2010Möller, 2010;Shapiro, 2008;Weldes, 2003). All this has produced an exciting and widespread interest in how visual culture -especially film -can be used in the classroom to engage students in the pressing issues of global politics (Dodds, 2008;Swimelar, 2013;Van Munster & Sylvester, 2013;Weber, 2005).…”

Popular Geopolitics 2.0: Towards New Methodologies of the Everyday

“…'Affect refers to the force of intensive relationality -intensities that are felt but not personal; visceral but not confined to an individuated body' (Whatmore 2006, 604). The focus of popular geopolitics on affect reflects the influence of Gilles Deleuze's (2001Deleuze's ( , 2005 interest in film and affect as well as the traditional attention in popular geopolitics paid to cinema (Dalby 2008;Dodds 2003Dodds , 2005Dodds , 2008Dodds , 2009Power and Crampton 2005;Sharp 1998). Certainly any account of popular geopolitics that is focused on the everyday ought to incorporate notions of affect, both within the popular media and without.…”