Hollywood Utopia

12 Hollywood Utopia
Introduction
The primary justification for this study is the dearth of analysis of the utopian
ecological themes which pervade mainstream Hollywood cinema. There continues
to be a preoccupation with narratology in Film studies, which often avoids the
formal exploration of space. Coupled with this is the predominately negative
ideological critique of Hollywood film, with many cultural histories predicating
their analysis on Fredric Jameson’s view that ‘mass culture’ harmonises social
conflicts, contemporary fears and utopian hopes and (more contentiously)
attempts to effect ideological containment and reassurance. Relatively little
academic effort is given over to understanding and appreciating rather than
dismissing the utopian spatial aesthetic that permeates Hollywood film. This
phenomenon will be examined most particularly through a close reading of closure
in a range of Hollywood films from the 1950s to the present day, which can privilege
a ‘progressive’ conception of nature and ecology generally.
In his dictionary of ‘green’ terms, John Button defines ecology and the growth of
eco-politics as
a set of beliefs and a concomitant lifestyle that stress the importance of respect for
the earth and all its inhabitants, using only what resources are necessary and appropriate,
acknowledging the rights of all forms of life and recognising that all that
exists is part of one interconnected whole
(Button 1988: 190).
The very idea of being ‘green’ only came into popular consciousness in the late
1970s, though since the 1950s ‘green’ has been used as a qualifier for
environmental projects like the ‘green front’, a tree planting campaign popularised
in America. The minimum criteria includes a reverence for the earth and all its
creatures but also, some radical greens would argue, a concomitant strategy
encompassing a willingness to share the world's wealth among all its peoples.
Prosperity can be achieved through ‘sustainable alternatives’ together with an
emphasis on self-reliance and decentralised communities, as opposed to the ratrace
of economic growth (see Porritt 1984).
While the ‘ideological’ analytical strategy, focusing on power inequalities across
class, gender and race boundaries, continues to preoccupy critical analysis of
Hollywood cinema, there is little if any critical engagement with the more allencompassing
phenomenon of ecology. Yet, if so-called ecological readings are to
remain critical and avoid degenerating into endorsing ‘naive’ polemics, they must
explicitly foreground a variety of interpretations and perspectives, which question
any universal utopian project.