Date/Time: Thursday 4 May 2017

This lecture traced Donald Trump’s populism, power, and pugnaciousness in Captain America, which proclaims both liberal values and American exceptionalism. As such, it provides resources from which Trump draws, with potential for resistance. Professor Dittmer argued that the fragmentation of the mediascape has manifested as a proliferation of Captain Americas, each articulating a different strand of Americanism. Together, these show Trump to be the apotheosis of long-running processes at the heart of what it means to be an American.