America Reflected offers eclectic film criticism and considerations
of distinctive American voices from the ante-bellum era to the
present.The much-loved Will Rogers reassured Americans that
19th-century pioneer values would survive in an age of machines,
media, and political bunk. Deprecating changes of the post-WWI era,
he proved-by his own example-that ordinary people could still
practice neighborliness in an increasingly impersonal world.
Benjamin Lee Whorf believed fervently that conflicts between
science and religion could be resolved. All war films, even
documentaries, are presented as interpretations that require
additional interpretation by scholars-as well as media literacy on
the part of audiences. Especially in the Vietnam chapters, Rollins
taps his experiences as scholar, combat officer, and filmmaker-as
well as his fervent commitment to America's fighting men and women.
Other essays address questions of national vision: how do Harriet
Beecher Stowe, Amy Lowell, John James Audubon, and Frederick Henry
Hedge contribute to our understanding of the American spirit?
Environmental issues are engaged in discussions of John James
Audubon and the oil field films. America Reflected closes with a
discussion of New Deal documentaries about the
environment.Praise"From cowboy philosopher Will Rogers to popular
perceptions of two world wars and Vietnam, from the history of
language to the language of film and television, Peter Rollins has
devoted his career to exploring the intriguing ways in which the
creative impulse both shapes and reflectsAmerican culture. His
observations are fresh, illuminating and of enduring value." John
E. O'Connor, co-founder and long-term editor of Film & History:
An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies "Even
those who have known and admired Peter Rollin's acclaimed works
will here find enlightening surprises. Epistemology, language
theory, war's polemics, filmed history, and an array of significant
creators of American culture are all elegantly displayed. This book
will make you a wiser person and charm you while it does it." John
Shelton Lawrence, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Morningside
College."Two decades ago I was privileged to work on a book,
America Observed, with Alistair Cooke. Now we have America
Reflected by Peter Rollins, one of the most respected cultural
historians working today. Not only does Rollins make good
observations about our lives and times, his reflections on a
diverse set of subjects helps us to see the meanings of our
observations." Ronald A. Wells is Professor of History Emeritus at
Calvin College, Michigan."In America Reflected, Rollins gathers
together glimpses of our shared worlds, so that we may observe
their interconnections across media, genres, and time. From
down-home values and front-porch philosophy, to tales of wars and
chronicles of lives, the subjects considered here are all part of
the stories we tell about ourselves and our social worlds." Cynthia
J. Miller, President, Literature/Film Association."Rollins examines
the roles of language, satire, and film in reflecting the American
consciousness through such diverse sources as Orestes Brownson,
Benjamin Lee Whorf, Will Rogers, and Hollywood. Readers of America
Reflected are in for a delightful voyage as they travel through
American history and culture with Peter Rollins as their guide
providing personal and scholarly insights into the shaping of the
American mind." Ron Briley is the Assistant Schoolmaster, Sandia
Preparatory School, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and editor, The
Politics of Baseball: Essays on the Pastime and Power at Home and
Abroad (2010).
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