Terrorism in American Cinema

<p> The American cinema of terrorism although coming to prominence primarily in the 1970s amidst high-profile Palestinian terrorist activity actually dates back to the beginnings of the Cold War. But this early terrorist cinema was centered largely around the Bomb--who had it who would use it when--and differs greatly from the terrorist cinema that would follow. Changing world events soon broadened the cinema of terrorism to address emerging international conflicts including Black September pre-9/11 Middle Eastern conflicts and the post-9/11 War on Terror. This analytical filmography of American terrorist films establishes terrorist cinema as a unique subgenre with distinct thematic narrative and stylistic trends. It covers all major American films dealing with terrorism from Otto Preminger's <I>Exodus</I> (1960) to Ridley Scott's <I>Body of Lies</I> (2008).</p>