Fascism Comes to America: A Century of Obsession in Politics and Culture

The book "Fascism Comes to America" examines how Americans have viewed fascism overseas and its implications for our own country, exploring the rhetoric of politicians, pundits, academics, and popular culture. It argues that fascism has little informational meaning in the US but is used to denigrate or insult, and entertainment, particularly film, has been crucial in conveying fascism to citizens.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 24 January 2023
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

A comprehensive exploration of fascism's significance to Americans, spanning from Mussolini's rise to power in Italy in 1922. Fascism Comes to America delves into how we have interpreted fascism abroad and its potential impact on our nation. Bruce Kuklick examines the rhetoric employed by politicians to smear their opponents, as well as the discussions among pundits, academic analyses, and representations of fascism in popular culture, including fiction, radio, television, theater, and film. Kuklick contends that fascism holds little informational value in the United States, instead serving as a derogatory or insulting term. For instance, every political stance has been labeled as fascist, rendering the term more of a condemnation than a description of a specific phenomenon. Furthermore, entertainment, particularly film, has played a pivotal role in conveying fascism's essence to the American public. Fascism Comes to America has been enriched with numerous illustrations that illustrate how fascism permeated American consciousness.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226821467