Kathryn Cramer Brownell and Showbiz Politics

When and how did Hollywood become a political powerhouse in the United States? How did John F. Kennedy sell himself as a star to the American people? Why was Richard Nixon so preoccupied with his television image? And how does Donald Trump fit into the history of showbiz politics?

For episode 15 of Campaign Context, Professor Kathryn Cramer Brownell (Purdue University) discusses celebrity, Hollywood, and showbiz politics. Brownell’s work focuses on the connections between media, entertainment, and politics in the modern United States. She is the author of Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life, and has contributed to Recapturing the Oval Office: New Historical Approaches to the American Presidency and Hollywood’s America: Understanding History through Film.

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