Images of Masculinity in Contemporary Cinema:�
Guy Flicks: The Buddy, The Fight, and the Gun

Tyler Durden: �We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.� Fight Club

Dirty Harry: �You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?� Dirty Harry�

Like femininity, masculinity operates politically at different levels. At one level, it is a form of identity, a means of self-understanding that structures personal attitudes and behaviors. At another, distinct but related level, masculinity can be seen as a form of ideology, in that it presents a set of cultural ideals that define appropriate roles, values and expectations for and of men.

What does it mean to be a man in today�s culture?� Susan Faludi, feminist theorist and Al Gore consultant, argues in Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man that modern men are suffering from an identity crisis of epic proportion.� If feminism has redefined what it means to be a woman in contemporary society, so it has also redefined what it means to be a man.� But how? For better, or worse?

This course is a media studies analysis of images of modern masculinity, beginning and ending with the consummate modern male:�� James Bond.� We will analyze what it means to be a man in contemporary film, and contemporary society.� It is a FILM studies class, which means we will watch movies.� However, we will NOT watch those movies in class.� You will be expected to watch the film out of class.� We will watch selected clips during class, but if you do not keep up with the films, you will not pass the class.�� We will have a scheduled �film screening� day, but the films will also be available on reserve in the library, on one-night check out. �

Each student will also be required to present one (total per student) report of one piece of critical theory, beginning on day two.� You should have a visual aid (PowerPoint or Handout) for your presentation to share with the class.

This is NOT a �film appreciation� slacker course.� It will be significantly grounded in film theory, media studies and cultural philosophy.� Rigorous intellectual development is a requirement for success in the course.� Merely �showing up� will not get you a good grade.� We will watch the movies in chronological order.� ��

Grades:
Essays:� 2, out of class, 20% each
Reading Journals 20%
Final Exam:� multiple choice, short answer, textual IDs 20%
Class participation:� 10%
Critical Theory Article Review Presentation:� 10%

Required Texts: (all are available on reserve in library, or come to the weekly screening. Now with buttered popcorn.)
Course Packet:� Selected Essays of Critical Theory
James Bond Dr. No (1962)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Enter the Dragon� (1973)
Mad Max (1979)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Die Hard (1988)
T2:� Judgment Day (1991)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Blade (1998)
Fight Club� (1999)
Snatch (2000)
Training Day (2001)
James Bond Casino Royale (2006)

Scheduled Viewings/Readings:

Week 1� James Bond Dr. No (1962)
Week 2 Dirty Harry (1971)
Week 3 Enter the Dragon� (1973)
Week 4 Mad Max (1979)
Week 5 Conan the Barbarian (1982) Essay 1 Due
Week 6 Lethal Weapon (1987)
Week 7 Die Hard (1988)
Week 8 T2:� Judgment Day (1991)
Week 9 Pulp Fiction (1994)
Week 10 Blade (1998)
Week 11 Fight Club� (1999) Essay 2 Due
Week 12 Snatch (2000); Training Day (2001)
Week 13 James Bond Casino Royale (2006)

Final :� TBA

Your weekly critical reading reports will be chosen from the following bibliography.� If you want to report on an article not listed, contact me in advance for approval of your text.

Bibliography:� Further Critical Readings
Adams, Rachel, and David Savran. (eds). (2002). The Masculinity Studies Reader. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers. �Introduction:� Rachel Adams and David Savran.
Bingham, Dennis. Acting Male: Masculinities in the Films of James Stewart, Jack Nicholson, and Clint �Eastwood. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Boon, Kevin Alexander (2003) Men and the Nostalgia for Violence: Culture and Culpability in Chuck Palahniuk�s Fight Club. Journal of Men�s Studies, 11(3), Spring.
Bromley, Roger. (2001). Living in the Borderlands: Masculinity in Crisis. pp. 33-46; IN: From Alice to Buena Vista: The Films of Wim Wenders; Westport, Conn.: Praeger.
Brookey, Robert Alan, and Robert Westerfelhaus, (2002). Hiding homoeroticism in plain view: The Fight Club DVD as digital closet. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19(1), March, pp. 21-43.
Brown, Jeffrey A. (2002). �The Tortures of Mel Gibson: Masochism and the sexy male body.� Men and Masculinities, 5(2), October.
Bruzzi, Stella. (1998). Undressing Cinema: Clothing and Identity in the Movies. Routledge.
Chan, Jachinson W. (2000). �Bruce Lee�s Fictional Models of Masculinity.� Men and Masculinities, 2(4) April.
Cohan, Steven and Hark, I.R. (1993). Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in the Hollywood Cinema. London: Routledge.
Craine J., and S.C. Aitken. (2004) �Street fighting: Placing the crisis of masculinity in David Fincher�s Fight Club.� GeoJournal, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 289-296.
Devas, Angela (2005) �How to be a Hero: Space, Place and Masculinity in The 39 Steps� (Hitchcock, UK, 1935). Journal of Gender Studies, Volume 14 Number 1, March.
Faludi, Susan. (1999). �Man in a Can.� Chapter Nine in Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, William Morrow & Company.
Fanning, Patrick, and Matthew McKay. Being a Man: A Guide to the New Masculinity. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. 1993.
Gray, Herman. (1996). �Black Masculinity and Visual Culture.� Muse, http://muse.jhu.edu/quick tour/18.2gray.html.
Harvey, Anne-Marie. (1995). �Terminating the Father: Technology, Paternity, and Patriarchy in Terminator 2.� �Masculinities, 3(2), Summer, pp. 25-42.
Kirby, Marj (1996) Cyborgasm: Machines and male hysteria in the cinema of the eighties. Journal of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, v.1 no.2 Sept: 139-145.
Leach, Mike. (1994). �The Politics of Masculinity: An Overview of Contemporary Theory.� Social Alternatives, 12(4), January, pp. 36-37.
Neale, Steve. (1983). Masculinity as Spectacle. Screen, 24(6), December.
Neibaur, James L. (1989). Tough Guy: The American Movie Macho. Jefferson, Nth Carolina: McFarland & Co.
�The Spectacle of the Male: Masculinity at the cinema� from Edwards, Tim. Cultures of Masculinity. Routledge. (2006)
Bibliography above: Excerpted from The Men's Bibliography: A comprehensive bibliography of writing on men, masculinities, gender, and sexualities, compiled by Michael Flood. http://mensbiblio.xyonline.net/