For or against Hollywood - a theory of cinema should free itself from this alternative. The Frankfurt philosopher Martin Seel demonstrates in his book "Ignoring Hollywood: On Cinema" how this can be achieved. Whether it concerns the relationship between movement and stillness, narrative and counter-narrative, law and violence, or the transformation of cinematic genres: each time, a spectrum of heterogeneous representation possibilities comes into focus. Through captivating analyses of individual films and the cinema's reactions to the second Iraq war, the scope of cinematic world references is showcased. This includes films by John Ford: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"; Jean-Luc Godard: "First Name: Carmen"; Michael Mann: "Heat"; Michael Haneke: "Caché"; Francis Ford Coppola: "Apocalypse Now"; and Clint Eastwood: "American Sniper.".