Communication Studies, Department of

 

First Advisor

Casey Ryan Kelly

Committee Members

Kristen Hoerl, Marco Abel, Shari Stenberg

Date of this Version

5-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Citation

A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Major: Communication Studies

Under the supervision of Professor Casey Ryan Kelly

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2024

Comments

Copyright 2024, Courtney J. Dreyer. Used by permission

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the rhetoric of nostalgia in politics and popular Hollywood cinema during the Trump era. I argue that MAGA Cinema, the contemporary trend of reboots, remakes, and sequels related to properties from the late 1970s to early 1990s, both respond to and strengthen attachments to an imagined version of the 1980s. However, this illusory golden age more closely reflects the world as depicted in the cinema of the 1980s rather than the reality of American in the years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Through a close analysis of David Gordon Green’s Halloween Reboot series, Top Gun: Maverick, and a sampling of contemporary Disney remakes, I argue that these nostalgic films resonate with rhetorics of conservative populism that were hyper-present in discourse surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency. However, because these newer films also engage with neoliberal and post-identity revisions, they can disavow their racist, sexist, and nationalist logics that permeate the texts. This project aims to add to investigations of conservative populism in the Trump-era through trying to understand the way these logics are coded into popular cinema. Additionally, I add to discussions involving the constraints and opportunities of nostalgic rhetoric in entertainment texts.

Advisor: Casey Ryan Kelly

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