Reluctant imperialism: depicting empire in 1960s Anglo-American film

This thesis explores the myriad ways films can contribute to our understanding of historical events and culture. More specifically, it examines how the political climate of the 1960s is reflected in filmic depictions of historical events in the Middle East. I argue that it is not coincidental that the three films that I chose for this project—Lawrence of Arabia, Khartoum and Exodus—all depict a reluctance toward imperialism. Rather than romanticize British control over this region, these films clearly portray the British imperial machine negatively, with the protagonists continually subverting colonial authority. I argue that this phenomenon of “reluctant imperialism” is a clear reflection of the changing political climate of the 1960s, when the direct colonialism of the British Empire was being replaced by the indirect imperialism of the United States. That these popular films all play to this sentiment indicates that the Western viewing public approved this change.