Ronald Reagan The Movie: And Other Episodes In Political Demonology

"Fresh, provocative, and full of vitality, this is a first-rate contribution to the study of political culture. It should be read not only by political scientists, political theorists, and sociologists, but also by students of American studies and literature."--Sheldon Wolin, Princeton University

The fear of the subversive has governed American politics, from the racial conflicts of the early republic to the Hollywood anti-Communism of Ronald Reagan. Political monsters--the Indian cannibal, the black rapist, the demon rum, the bomb-throwing anarchist, the many-tentacled Communist conspiracy, the agents of international terrorism--are familiar figures in the dream life that so often dominates American political consciousness. What are the meanings and sources of these demons? Why does the American political imagination conjure them up? Michael Rogin answers these questions by examining the American countersubversive tradition.