The release of both Young Winston (R. Attenborough, 1972) and Darkest Hour (J. Wright, 2017) coincide with two critical moments in the history of Europe and United Kingdom. The former, in the wake of the 1968 protest movements; the latter, in the midst of the political and socio-economic decline of the Western world. Both films offer a positive portrayal of Winston Churchill as a political leader. In this article, we link the concrete qualities highlighted in Churchill's character with the crisis that was escalating at the time of each release. Besides, we connect the two biopics to the relevant stages of the "European Dream": namely, its peak and its decline. The analysis concludes that in both films Churchill's image is cut out according to the most desired leadership pattern of the related historical time period.

In an atmosphere of global crisis, the number of political biopics has grown very significantly, with specific characteristics that are in line with the times. This article analyses a group of films released between 2008 and 2013 (the most critical years of the economic recession) which had an international impact. This study notes the formal features of this ¿new political biopic¿ genre and highlights two of its main qualities. First, the use of narrative patterns defines the public and private spheres of the leaders in a very contemporary way; and, second, there is a commitment to a set of leadership traits with which the monarchs and politicians of these films are characterised.

The movies The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010) and Steve Jobs (Danny Boyle, 2015) are biographies of two outstanding figures in the digital revolution: the young multimillionaire Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder and CEO, and the famous co-founder and executive chairman of Apple, Steve Jobs. Written by the renowned screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, what these two movies have in common is that they present different orders or layers of meaning, allowing us to see beyond the life of the protagonists in the interpretation. Sorkin, in both stories, delves deeply into the psychological characteristics of the geniuses. In addition, in both cases, he creates a dramatic character, which can be identified with archetypes and familiar figures from western narrative, the tragic hero and the narcissist. But additionally, he shows these characters as icons of our times and through them presents a reflection on nowadays and the impact the digital revolution has had in the last few decades.

This study examines the relationship between Hollywood and American Politics by analysing two significant films about the September 11 attacks: United 93 and World Trade Center. The Bush Administration was undoubtedly aware that cinematic versions of history endure in the memory of people far better than other modes of historical explanation. In November of 2001, they sent Karl Rove, President Bush¿s well-known political advisor, to Los Angeles to meet with Hollywood filmmakers. Rove clearly articulated the official, Washington DC, version of these attacks to his elite audience: the war should be fought on both a ¿military¿ and an ¿idea¿ front; the global problem of terrorism requires an international collaborative response; the principles of freedom and democracy must be heard over the totalitarian ideas of Islamic fundamentalists; and we are fighting against militant factions, not against Islam itself. The authors compare the official ¿narrative¿ expressed by Rove with the narratives of United 93 and World Trade Center in order to evaluate whether Hollywood echoed the voice of the Bush Administration or exhibited independence in their interpretations of September 11.