Banal Nationalism in Popular Culture: The Adjustment Bureau

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  In Poster Session: Banal Nationalism in Popular Culture: The Adjustment Bureau

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the impact of innocuous messages that are prevalent in popular culture, particularly Hollywood films, and more specifically the film "The Adjustment Bureau" (2011). These messages make claims about universal truths about history that influence our perception of national identity. In his seminal work Banal Nationalism (1995), Michael Billig describes the process as “flagging.” There are the obvious flag waving moments such as parades, holidays, etc.—but more important for Billig are the routine and familiar forms of “flagging” that go by unnoticed. These routine exhibitions of nationalism are central in forging national identity. I argue that the perceptions of nationalism held by all of us, are products of the unwaved flag—of banal nationalism.

Author

• Vincent Youngbauer, Mercer University