Heroes in hard times : cop action movies in the U.S. / Neal King.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

King, Neal, 1963-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Police films--History and criticism.

Police films.

Physical Description:

xi, 282 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 1999.

Summary:

In a careful look at the cop action movie genre, sociologist Neal King examines the moral logic and the crisis in American masculinity that propels the stories. Heroes in Hard Times studies over 190 cop action movies released between 1980 and 1997 and shows how fictional, working-class police officers weigh in on such topics as racial justice, homosexuality, misogyny, unemployment, and worker resistance. The heroes in this massive and hugely popular fictional culture also tackle such issues as affirmative action, drug use, poverty, divorce, and the use of violence to deal with social problems.

These heroes battle criminals but feel undervalued by women, unappreciated by their bosses, and out of place in their world. Usually white men, they face their enemies with wisecracks and firepower, and "blow away" their society's menacing threats, while they simultaneously long for, disdain, and stake their frustrated claim to white male privilege. Discussing such issues as sexual violence, capitalist greed, and the rage of the oppressed and examining a broad array of films including Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, and The Silence of the Lambs, King's book notes the socially charged roles given to American culture's fictional police heroes and shows how modern mythology makes sense of rampant corruption.

Contents:

1 Losing Ground at the Movies 1

2 Out in the Cold 12

3 Back Home Again 41

4 White Male Guilt 65

5 Rage of the Oppressed 103

6 The Criminal Class 123

7 Sodomy and Guts 150

Conclusion: Good Guys? 202

Appendix Using Movies 213.

Notes:

Includes filmography: pages 235-249.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-273) and index.

ISBN:

1566397014

1566397022

OCLC:

40588168