I’ll be back? The Deconstruction of the 1980s and the 1990s Hard Body Movies

The following essay discusses the cultural factors that inspired the “hard body” movies of the 1980’s and 1990’s, but it also describes the changes that occurred, later on, that contributed to the deconstruction of those movies. The hard body movies were characterized by having a reoccurring set of actors (Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Van Damme) and themes (facing adversaries in a forceful manner), and some of the factors that influenced this portrayal were the Reagan Revolution and a revaluation of the Vietnam war. However, a change in political ideology, and a reassessment of America’s place in the world, inspired the deconstruction of those movies, and newer movies brought with them a new message, of what could be considered a soft body.

Reagan’s Southern Comfort: The “Boll Weevil” Democrats in the “Reagan Revolution” of 1981

In 1981, around fifty conservative southern Democrats in the House of Representatives, the so-called Boll Weevils, played a crucial role in the enactment of President Ronald Reagan’s economic agenda. The significance of this episode has thus far been underappreciated. This article illustrates the importance of the Boll Weevils’ support to the early success of Reagan’s presidency, as well its implications for both the South’s political landscape and for the national Republican Party.Though short-lived, this coalition would prove to be a significant rupture in the Democratic Party’s superiority in the South at the congressional level and highlighted the partisan fragmentation the region was undergoing. As this article will demonstrate, the events of 1981 returned southern conservatism to the center of power in Washington for the first time in over a decade and acted as a catalyst for a number of southern Democratic congressmen to move toward the GOP.