CALL FOR PAPERS

Hollywood, the Golden Age, and American Culture

An area of multiple panels for the 2018 Film & History Conference:

Citizenship and Sociopathy in Film, Television, and New Media

November 7-11, 2018

Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club, Madison, WI (USA)

Full details at:

DEADLINE for abstracts: June 1, 2018

During its Golden Age, the Hollywood studio system was a well-oiled machine that produced some of the most important films in history. From innovative production practices to courageous content, the studios created big business out of popular culture. Decades after its collapse, film historians and movie buffs are still fascinated with this period of Hollywood history. The system was incredibly dynamic, regularly sparked creativity and ingenuity, was often times oppressive, and always widely influential. From the 1920s until around 1960, the Hollywood studios were a major force in terms of entertainment, art, and mass communication.

This area welcomes unique perspectives that continue the discussion of the history and culture of studio system era to further its academic study. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • What “citizenship and sociopathy” meant to any Studio Era Hollywood production company (MGM, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Columbia, poverty row, etc.)
  • What “citizenship and sociopathy” meant to any international Studio Era production company. Past presentations have incorporated studios ranging from Hollywood to Europe to India
  • How “citizenship and sociopathy” is depicted through a specific genre, film or filmmaker of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Each era has different representations of what it means to be home. For example, the Roaring 1920s, Great Depression, World War II and postwar years, Cold War, etc.
  • “Citizenship and sociopathy” and the Blacklist - major social and political issues such as the impact of HUAC in Hollywood
  • Hollywood’s founding moguls – model citizens all?
  • Popular genres of the studio era and their social values (Warner gangsters, Universal monsters, MGM musicals, etc.)
  • The battle between censors (PCA, MPPDA), filmmakers, and the studios
  • Politics of the studio era unions (HUAC, IATSE, SGA, etc.)

Proposals for complete panels (three related presentations) are also welcome, but they must include abstract and contact information, including an e-mail address, for each presenter. For updates and registration information about the upcoming meeting, see the Film & History website (

Please e-mail your 200-word proposal by 1 June 2018 to the area chair:

Chris Yogerst

University of Wisconsin Colleges