In 2016, the Toronto-based author and my friend Kevin Courrier was working on a book proposal based on a lecture series he had started entitled Reflections in the Hall of Mirrors, an examination of the past six decades of American cinema organized by various presidential administrations. Kevin passed away in 2018 after a long illness without writing the book, by which point I had taken over the lecture series. It is out of respect to him and the many long conversations we had on the topic that I’ve introduced a monthly essay series at The Ringer that looks at the direct and subtextual representations of U.S. presidents and their social and political impact, beginning in 1960 with the campaign and election of John F. Kennedy and continuing through October to the Age of Trump—ending on a cliffhanger that may or may not have a sequel. By integrating some of Kevin’s film selections with more of my own, it is my hope to simultaneously reexamine a series of classic American movies and call attention to some neglected titles to further the idea of cinema as a fractured fun house mirror that distorts and reflects in all directions. —Adam Nayman
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October 29, 2020
When Audacity Overtook Hope: Movies in the Years of Obama and Trump
As George W. Bush vacated the Oval Office, Hollywood put down its flamethrowers and began casting superheroes in Barack Obama’s image—all while the con-man archetype of his successor flourished nearby
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September 30, 2020
America, F**k Yeah: How Movies Handled a Post-9/11 World
Filmmakers from Michael Moore to Brian De Palma took direct aim at George W. Bush’s policies, yet the most pointed commentaries came from the comedy world
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September 1, 2020
A Nation’s Divisions Come to the Fore in Clinton-Era Filmmaking
As the decade progressed, cinema in the ’90s became defined by a tug-of-war between hailing the chief of staff’s authority and downright questioning it
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July 23, 2020
States of the Union, Part 5: A Cloudy Morning in America
While Steven Spielberg’s success in the 1980s evinced a society desperate for positivity, the decade was also filled with films that questioned those lucky enough to be positive
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June 24, 2020
From ‘Rocky’ to ‘Apocalypse Now’: The Sour Hope of the Ford-Carter Era
The post-Nixon optimism that welcomed Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter eventually turned to skepticism and institutional distrust
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June 3, 2020
States of the Union, Part 3: The Fruits of Distress and Unrest
As Richard Nixon reemerged in American politics and ascended to the White House in the late ’60s, the country was immersed in violence, protest, and the rejection of progress. Movies like ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,’ ‘Hearts and Minds,’ and ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ could only reflect the overflow of emotion and the divided mind-set of Nixon’s United States.
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April 22, 2020
States of the Union, Part 2: A Failure to Communicate
As Lyndon B. Johnson took office—just after JFK’s assassination and just before the Vietnam War—the country’s adherence to authority began to waver, reflected in movies like ‘Cool Hand Luke’ and ‘Bonnie and Clyde’
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March 19, 2020
States of the Union, Part 1: The High Hopes (and Eventual Dread) of Kennedy-Era Filmmaking
After John F. Kennedy emerged in the late ’50s, cinematic heroes made in his mold—Atticus Finch of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and Ranse Stoddard of ‘Who Shot Liberty Valance’—followed, while the president’s assassination shook the nation and opened the door for Alfred Hitchcock’s birds