We Are the Mutants

Book excerpt: An offbeat odyssey through the most daring and disruptive phase of American cinema since the advent of sound — during the most transformative and tumultuous period of American history since the Civil War. We Are the Mutants is a critical reassessment of what is arguably the most discussed and beloved stretch of movies in Hollywood history. Documenting the period between the arrival of US combat troops in Vietnam and the end of President Ronald Reagan’s second term, it forgoes the usual and restrictive exemplars of “auteur cinema,” and instead focuses on an eclectic selection of films and genres — horror, documentary, disaster, vigilante action, neo-noir, post-apocalyptic sci-fi — to track this period's tumultuous transformation in American life, culture, and politics. Covering everything from Rosemary’s Baby and Enter the Dragon to Escape from New York and Fatal Attraction, and from manufactured blockbusters and studio sleepers to forgotten Bs and cult classics, We Are the Mutants re-writes the history of modern American cinema, and in doing so, the history of America itself.