Home / Store / Books / Leatherface vs. Tricky Dick: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre As Political Satire

Leatherface vs. Tricky Dick: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre As Political Satire

Leatherface vs. Tricky Dick: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre As Political Satire

by Martin Harris

Published by Headpress

8"x5", 248p, 93 b+w images, paperback

$22.95

Out of Stock

WAS LEATHERFACE REALLY NIXON? HOW THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE SATIRIZED WATERGATE.

 

The Watergate scandal was a horror show. What better way to satirize it than with a horror movie? Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered in October 1974, mere weeks after the resignation and pardon of Richard Nixon brought an uncertain end to the most corrupt and criminal presidency in American history. The film had been conceived, written, shot, edited, and produced precisely as Watergate was playing out, and those responsible for Chain Saw unhesitatingly spoke of the horrors of contemporary politics as having directly inspired the ones they created for the film. Leatherface vs. Tricky Dick presents a fascinating minute-by-minute exploration of the many uncanny connections between The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Watergate, as well as other ways the film comments on contemporary politics via satire and (very) dark humor. Read and discover Chain Saw’s response to the White House horrors, the Saturday Night Massacre, and more, as well as how Leatherface’s masks relate to all those Nixon masks worn throughout “our long national nightmare.”

Contributor Bio(s)

 

Martin Harris is an author and teacher who writes about horror film, literature, and popular culture. An English Ph.D., he teaches American Studies at UNC Charlotte where his courses include "Tricky Dick: Richard Nixon, Poker & Politics." He lives in Troutman, NC.

 

*WE HAVE TO CHARGE TAX IF YOU'RE IN ILLINOIS. OUR WEBSITE ISN'T SET UP TO DO IT. APOLOGIES. IT IS 10.25%, WHICH ON THIS BOOK IS $2.46.