War, Patriotism, and Postwar Hollywood

The end of the Second World War marked a profound rupture in American life, and Hollywood-already the nation's most powerful storyteller-found itself at the center of a cultural reckoning. The war had demanded unprecedented mobilization, sacrifice, and ideological clarity. In its aftermath, the United States emerged not only victorious but transformed: economically ascendant, politically emboldened, and socially unsettled. The film industry, which had spent four years producing narratives of unity, heroism, and democratic purpose, now confronted a nation grappling with the ambiguities of peace. This book explores how postwar Hollywood negotiated the intertwined themes of war, patriotism, and national identity, shaping and reshaping the American imagination during a period of intense ideological flux.