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About ten years ago I concluded that the teaching and reading I did on twentieth-century America involved two important topics that were seldom joined. Political history and cultural history—especially the impact of mass culture—were key ways of discussing modern America, but they did not appear to take substantial note of each other. One thought that kept recurring in my mind was that serious political historians almost never took mass culture seriously. Consequently, I set out to look more closely not only at how these two fields of inquiry could be more effectively linked, but also at how such a conjuncture could illuminate aspects of political life that were less apparent in standard treatments that focused on political movements, class tensions, and racial and gender discord. The result of my inquiry was this book in which I focus on the way Hollywood films have represented the individuals and concerns of working-class America since the introduction of sound pictures. The process of completing the study involved not only the normal trials and tribulations of scholarly research and publication but also the joy of unexpected discoveries in the vast trove of social dramas of ordinary people that appeared in the American cinema over the course of more than a half-century. It was a discovery that not only stimulated my scholarship but changed my teaching as well, resulting in the introduction of several new courses. Thus, when I express my thanks to individuals and institutions that helped me, I want them to know that they not only contributed to the completion of a book but to the education of hundreds of students as well. My best scholarly advisers and critics turned out to be James Naremore, a colleague at Indiana University; Steve Ross, who had much to offer on the treatment of the working class by Hollywood; Judith Smith; Eric Smoodin; and Daniel Walkowtiz. Graduate students from xiii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Indiana University’s history department also served me well at many junctures. I especially want to thank Lisa Orr, who is now a professor herself ; Jane Armstrong; Beth Marsh; Justin Nordstrom; and Steve Sheehan. Jo Ellen Fitzgerald of the department’s staff filled endless orders for books and films with good cheer and patience. Becky Bryant and Barb Truesdell helped me to keep track of a good number of administrative responsibilities while I attempted to pursue scholarship as well. I received expert assistance from the dedicated professionals at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and at the American Film Institute, both in Los Angeles; the Warner Brothers Archives at the University of Southern California; and the film archives at the University of Wisconsin. I want to pay particular attention to the valuable help I received from Leith Johnson at the Cinema Archives of Wesleyan University and from the staff of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Sound Division of the Library of Congress. The library’s collections on American film are superb. I also want to thank Indiana University for granting me a sabbatical during the course of writing this book. The final revisions on the manuscript were completed while I was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. I am grateful for the support rendered by staff at the center and the financial support provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant #29800639, and the editorial assistance of Elizabeth Yoder was invaluable. xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...

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