Contemporary Hollywood Masculinities

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 1-10

3. Men in Trouble

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

      PDF

   2. Lawlessness and Disorder: Cops and Other Serial Killers

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 13-36

   3. Fathers, Crises, and Nations

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 37-60

   4. Cowboys, Myths, and Audiences

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 61-84

4. Real Men?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 85-85

      PDF

   2. Superheroes, Leadership, And the War on Terror

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 87-110

   3. Spies, Paranoia, and Torture

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 111-134

   4. Soldiers from World War II to Iraq

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 135-156

5. New Men?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157

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   2. Rogues, Race, and hegemony

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 159-177

   3. Lovers: Men, Women, and Gender Equality

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 179-196

   4. Losers, meritocracy, and Identification

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 197-219

   5. Conclusion

      • Susanne Kord, Elisabeth Krimmer

      Pages 221-228

6. Back Matter

   Pages 229-280

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Kord and Krimmer investigate the most common male types - cops, killers, fathers, cowboys, superheroes, spies, soldiers, rogues, lovers, and losers - by tracing changing concepts of masculinity in popular Hollywood blockbusters from 1992 to 2008 - the Clinton and Bush eras - against a backdrop of contemporary political events, social developments, and popular American myths. Their in-depth analysis of over sixty films, from The Matrix and Iron Man to Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings, shows that movies, far from being mere entertainment, respond directly to today's social and political realities, from consumerism to "family values" to the War on Terror.

• gender
• Hollywood
• women

A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2012!

"An interesting work on the intersection of genre and masculinity in modern American film. . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above." - CHOICE

"This terrific book will be sure to provoke welcome and lively debate. Skillfully and ambitiously argued, both comprehensive and astutely attentive to the smallest telling detail, and as fair-minded toward its subject as it is rigorously probing, Contemporary Hollywood Masculinities is a valuable contribution to an emergent field. I have no doubt that it will quickly prove to be required reading." - David Greven, associate professor, Department of Literatures in English, Connecticut College and author of Manhood in Hollywood from Bush to Bush and Representations of Femininity in American Genre Cinema

Author Susanne Kord: Susanne Kord is Professor of German, Comparative Literature, and Film Studies at University College London, UK. Author Elisabeth Krimmer: Elisabeth Krimmer is Professor of German, Performance Studies, and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Davis, USA.

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