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Blood, Guns, and Testosterone
Action Films, Audiences, and a Thirst for Violence
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Publisher:
2009
Summary
Since the early days of film, the representation of masculinity has changed considerably. In the beginning, men instinctively knew right from wrong. They rode to the rescue and saved the day in the nick of time to the admiration and gratitude of society. But over the decades, heroes have evolved from being larger than life and infallible to being cynical, washed up, unwanted outsiders. Violent content in these films also 'evolved'_from fistfights and gunplay to brutal attacks and nuclear explosions_repeatedly ramping up in frequency, intensity, and graphic depictions. But there is more to a violent film genre than violence, and Blood, Guns, and Testosterone: Action Films, Audiences, and a Thirst for Violence brings an entirely new understanding to the nature of such entertainment. In this book, Barna William Donovan examines masculinity and violence in action and adventure films and discusses how the most ardent fans of the genre incorporate this controversial form of entertainment into their lives. Donovan argues that far from becoming violent, the fans of the action film look at the genre as an artistic rumination on the nature of violence, good and evil, and the ever-changing definitions of manhood. At their very best, or most interesting at least, these films may even reflect on the nature of violence, on human nature, on aggression, and how a self-reflexive, moral society can deal with violence. And since so much of the violence of the world has always been perpetrated by men, action films_more often than not_are contemplations of the complicated meaning of manhood. In addition to fans of the genre, Blood, Guns, and Testosterone will appeal to scholars of film, history, popular culture, gender studies, and audience research.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2009
ISBN-Print
978-0-8108-7262-2
ISBN-Online
978-0-8108-7263-9
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
260
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction: Violence and Much More No access
Chapter 01. The History of a Modern Crisis No access
Chapter 02. The Audience Matters No access
Chapter 03. The Modern American Action Film No access
Chapter 04. The Need for Speed: The Appeal of Fast-Paced Storytelling No access
Chapter 05. Mirror Image: Finding a Personal, Social, and Moral Identity in the Action Film No access
Chapter 06. Man Talk: Managing the Modern Male Identity (Crisis) in the Genre No access
Chapter 07. The Opposition: Men with a Challenge—Managing a Well-Deserved “Crisis” No access
Chapter 08. What Women Want: Women Talk about Modern Masculinity in the Action Film No access
Chapter 09. Bloody Fun: The Appeal of Watching Violence No access
Chapter 10. Conclusion: I’ll Be Back? The Future of Action and Masculinity in Popular Culture No access
Bibliography No access Pages 241 - 248
Index No access Pages 249 - 258
About the Author No access Pages 259 - 260
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