The Political Companion to American Film is an encyclopedic collection of critical essays offering provocative social and political commentary on the work of filmmakers (from Woody Allen to Darryl Zanuck) and other film personalities (from Charles Chaplin to John Wayne), film genres (from crime Movies to World War II Animated Propaganda Cartoons), racial and ethnic portrayals (from African Americans to Native Americans), social issues (from Big Businessmen to the Small Town), theoretical and critical issues (from the Auteur Theory to Postwar American Film Criticism), economic and industrial issues (from Conglomerates to the Studio System), and much more.

The Political Companion to American Film features the writing of some of America's leading film critics and authors, many of whom are specialists who have literally written the book on their subjects, and has been edited by Gary Crowdus, Editor-in-Chief of Cineaste, America's leading magazine on the art and politics of the cinema.

The expertise and critical insights of these contributors are conveyed in a colorful, comprehensible and jargon-free prose style, and many of the essays include recommended bibliographies. The Political Companion to American Film will enrich the cinematic experience for the average moviegoer as well as the film scholar.