The Depiction of Terrorists in Blockbuster Hollywood Films, 1980-2001

Helena Vanhala is an associate professor of media arts at Robert Morris University. She is a former freelance journalist, originally from Finland, and now living in Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents



Acknowledgments     

Introduction: Bringing the Terrorist into Frame     



PART I. MODERN INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM     

1. International Terrorism and the News Media     

2. International Terrorism and the United States     

3. International Terrorism and the Hollywood Film Industry     



PART II. THE HOLLYWOOD TERRORIST AND THE COLD WAR RED TERROR NETWORK     

4. International Terrorism in the Americas: “It’s Time to Die”     

Invasion USA (1985)     

Commando (1985)     

5. State Sponsored Middle Eastern Terrorism     

Iron Eagle (1986)     

The Delta Force (1986)     



PART III. THE HOLLYWOOD TERRORIST AFTER THE COLD WAR     

6. “Yippee Ki-yay, Motherfucker”: From German Euroterrorists to Heroes of the Past     

Die Hard (1988)     

Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)     

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)     

7. Euroinvasion: Madmen from Britain and Northern Ireland     

Passenger 57 (1992)     

Patriot Games (1992)     

Blown Away (1994)     

The Jackal (1997)     

Ronin (1998)     

8. Hollywood’s Version of Fundamentalist Islamic Terrorism: Return of the One-Dimensional Evil Arab Muslim     

True Lies (1994)     

Executive Decision (1996)     

9. Return of the Communist Threat: U.S. President Takes On Russian Communist Terrorists      .     

Air Force One (1997)     

10. Predicting 9/11: Power of Belief     

The Siege (1998)     

Conclusion: Patterns and Themes of the Hollywood Terrorist     

Chapter Notes     

Bibliography     

Index