Professor Pitney To Discuss Role of Film In Shaping Political Awareness, Jan. 31

Professor John J. Pitney, co-author of Reelpolitik: Political Ideologies in '30s and '40s Films (Praeger Publishers, 1998), will draw on his work in Reelpolitik when he visits the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to discuss "Politics Goes to the Movies." The public portion of the event begins at 6:45 p.m.; seating is free, on a first-come basis. Immediately following his lecture, Pitney will be installed as the Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics.
Using film clips, Pitney will use his discussion to answer the question: Why should students of politics go to the movies? Film, he says, not only offers insight into the attitudes and assumptions of other times, but also affects the political agenda by dramatizing social issues, and shaping popular understanding of politics. Reelpolitik, written with Beverly Merrill Kelley, a professor of communication at California Lutheran University, explores the connection between American ideologies and the making of classic films such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Casablanca. Pitney's contributions examine dictatorship in Gabriel over the White House, and Antifascism in Citizen Kane.
Since joining CMC in 1986, Pitney has established himself as a commentator on state and national politics. He is the author and coauthor of many articles and books including The Art of Political Warfare, examining the relation between political actions such as campaigning and the strategy and tactics of warfare.
Pitney, a graduate of Union College, earned his doctorate from Yale University. He has served as deputy and acting director of research for the Republican National Committee, and was on the staff of then-Rep. Dick Cheney. His areas of expertise include American politics, California politics, Congress, electoral politics, government and the environment, and the Presidency.
For more information about this event, visit: http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/mmca/temp_fn.asp?volumeFN=21&issueFN=05&typeFN=f#article8.