"Learn to fly": Identity and ideology in 21st century U.S. films on airplanes.

This study analyzes ideology and identity in four post-September 11, 2001, U.S. films on flights. In particular, Flightplan and Red Eye celebrate the ordinary/extraordinary heroine in the context of the Bush administration's Global War on Terror (GWOT), as female heroines detect deviance while prote...

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Published in:Atlantic Journal of Communication Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 611 - 627
Main Author: Goss, Brian Michael
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Sep/Oct2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        10.1080/15456870.2025.2466552
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        atl: "Learn to fly": Identity and ideology in 21st century U.S. films on airplanes.
      aug:
        au: Goss, Brian Michael
        affil: Department of Communication, Saint Louis University—Madrid, Spain Campus, Madrid, Spain
      su:
        Identity (Psychology)
        Ideology
        War on Terrorism, 2001-2009
        American films
        Women heroes
        Airplanes
        American national character
        September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
        United States
      sug:
        subj:
          United States
          Identity (Psychology)
          Ideology
          War on Terrorism, 2001-2009
          American films
          Women heroes
          Airplanes
          American national character
          September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001
      ab: This study analyzes ideology and identity in four post-September 11, 2001, U.S. films on flights. In particular, Flightplan and Red Eye celebrate the ordinary/extraordinary heroine in the context of the Bush administration's Global War on Terror (GWOT), as female heroines detect deviance while protecting the family and male authority. While playing on a misleadingly selective commitment to realism, United 93 orients to U.S. national identity in relation to other nations. Greengrass' film constructs identity in rightwing us/them terms compatible with GWOT and is nourished by a strong version of "Clash of Civilization" ideology. In the decade that followed, the redemption narrative of Non-stop shores up the male hero's authority. Once the villains' deviance is detected, the film rallies to the state security regime through Bill Marks' redemption while the film at once raises and understates the peril of violent domestic extremism in the United States. In each case, the films' devotion to mainstream ideology stages solutions to problems around identity that fail to grasp the extent of illiberal challenges and organic crisis within the United States.
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    language: English
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      custom: Copyright of Atlantic Journal of Communication is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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