FOREWORD

The year 1985. It is the mid-80s and US audiences flock to cinemas to see the latest blockbusters by Spielberg or Lucas – films by now so emblematic of the decade. Geopolitical ironies abound in these years, caught between the post-traumatic stress of Vietnam’s aftermath and the unexpectedly abrupt end of the Cold War. For a moment, President Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ defence agenda even blurs the line between Hollywood effects and a ‘real’ spectacle about to take place at Cape Canaveral. Meanwhile, in France, the years of President Mitterrand and his proactive Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, are upon us.