Reelpolitik II moves past typical left-right political distinctions to examine political ideologies cycling through U.S. history during the '50s and '60s. These eight Cold War movies especially equipped the moviegoer with a unique vantage point to scrutinize the arms race, the Red Scare, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War. They also helped audiences to observe the way film functions as a purveyor of American mythology, a megaphone to shout political messages, a metaphorical route to the emotions, a flattering mirror, an unflattering microscope, and a magic carpet ride back to the future.

"Ms. Kelly provides film scholars and their students with an articulate engaging writing style coupled with an expertly crafted, thoroughly researched analysis, examining films chosen for their presumed political ideologies." - Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal

"Political ideologies in the 1950s and 1960s film are the topic of Beverly Merrill Kelley's Reelpolitik II, a discussion of political figures in film and how they fostered mythology and changes. From discussions of facism and antifacism sentiments in movies of the times to Cold War, isolationism, and interventionism in specific selected films, Reelpolitik II is simply outstanding." - Midwest Book Review