National Pastimes

“Bonzel’s book joins Bruce Babington’s The Sports Film: Games People Play (2014) as an important book-length critical treatment of this film genre.”—S. C. Dillon, Choice
“Katharina Bonzel eloquently explores the complex intersections that exist between national identity and class, ethnicity, and gender in sports films. Her historically nuanced readings trace the complex ways in which sports films have sought to generate a sense of emotional authenticity that promotes audience engagement with their visions of the nation. . . . [This is] a valuable intervention both in film theory and in ongoing debates about national identity.”—Nicholas Chare, author of Sportswomen in Cinema
“Analyzing more than a dozen well-known films from the U.S., UK, and—importantly and unusually—Germany, Bonzel demonstrates how and why our sense of belonging to (or marginalization within) a nation morphs over time. This book is for anyone interested in national myths, dreams, anxieties, and nightmares, as conveyed through sports films. A welcome study of a burgeoning and influential film genre!”—Chris Holmlund, professor emerita of cinema studies, women/gender/sexuality studies, and French at the University of Tennessee

“Sports and cinema are two of the most popular and significant cultural institutions in the contemporary world. Despite arguments to the contrary, the nation remains perhaps the world’s most potent sociopolitical construct. This book is without doubt a contribution not only to one field but to several.”—Alan Bairner, professor of sport and social theory at Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences
"Sports fans, movie fans and readers who are interested in social and political issues will all find something of interest in this book."—Lance Smith, Guy Who Reviews Sports Books