America in Literature and Film

Utilizing Lacan's psychoanalytic theory and Zizek's philosophical adaption of it, this book brings into dialogue a series of literary works, films and critical theory that are concerned with defining America. Elbeshlawy demonstrates that texts which particularly focus on explaining how other texts about America communicate an unreliable message, themselves communicate an untrustworthy message. Writers and films discussed include Adorno, Kafka, Sontag, Said, Hassan, Dogville and Birth of a Nation.