Willmetts, Simon (2011) Falling out with history : Hollywood and the Central Intelligence Agency, 1945 - 1975. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Research output not available from this repository.

Request-a-Copy directly from author or use local Library Get it For Me service.

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

This thesis examines the representation of the Central Intelligence Agency and its predecessor the Office of Strategic Services in Hollywood cinema from 1945-1975. It argues that the development of these cinematic representations over time has articulated a growing scepticism towards "official" narratives of the past that regard the state as the arbiter of historical authenticity. This scepticism towards state-sourced history is a consequence of increasing US government secrecy. In other words, secrecy fundamentally problematizes state-sourced approaches to historical representation, which rely on the state as an authoritative, trustworthy and relatively transparent producer of the documentary record. The epistemological problem of representing secret institutions is referred to here as the "paradox of secrecy" for historical representation. It is argued that Hollywood’s shift away from state-sourced representations of the CIA is a consequence of this paradox.
This thesis is influenced by Hayden White's notion that a given form of historical representation is inherently ideological and even specifically political in its ramifications. In this sense, it is argued that the political content of the films examined here are very much a product of their approach to historical representation itself. This thesis identifies four dominant forms of the American spy film during this period. The first, which was dominant from roughly 1945 up until 1959, was the "semi-documentary". This form of spy thriller celebrated the centrality of the state as the arbiter of historical authenticity and relied upon extensive liaison between filmmakers and government. In chapter 1-3, this thesis traces the rise and fall of the semi-documentary and its ultimately frustrated attempts to represent the CIA. Chapter 4 examines the second dominant form of the spy thriller: the romantic fable. This form, epitomized by James Bond, represents an ironic "camp" reaction to state-sourced approaches to historical representation.
Chapter 5 provides a detailed analysis of Alfred Hitchcock’s trilogy of Cold War spy films. It argues that Hitchcock moved away from the camp fable towards the third dominant form: realism. This form, epitomized by the novels of John Le Carré, began a move away from the playful irony of the camp spy fables and offered a far more skeptical and politicized critique of the state and Cold War espionage as Machiavellian in nature.
This scepticism towards the state paved the way for the fourth dominant form of the spy film: the conspiracy thriller, which is examined in chapter 6. The 1970s conspiracy thriller represents the precise opposite of the semi-documentary in that it regards the state and state secrecy as the primary obstacle to historical veracity and authenticity. By asserting the possibility of recovering "historical truth" from the miasma of state secrecy, however, the conspiracy narrative moves away from the irony of 1960s spy cinema and articulates the possibility of the redemption of the past. This diachronic transformation of the American spy thriller from the semi-documentary to the conspiracy thriller traces the broader cultural process of growing distrust in government narratives.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	United States. Central Intelligence Agency -- In motion pictures, Intelligence service -- United States -- In motion pictures, Spy films -- United States, History in motion pictures
Official Date:	November 2011
Dates:	Date Event November 2011 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Politics and International Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Aldrich, Richard J. (Richard James), 1961-
Sponsors:	Arts & Humanities Research Council (Great Britain) (AHRC)
Extent:	376 leaves
Language:	eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item