Manly arts : masculinity and nation in early American cinema / David A. Gerstner.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Gerstner, David A., 1963-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Men in motion pictures.
• Masculinity in motion pictures.
• Homosexuality and motion pictures.
• Motion pictures--United States.
• Motion pictures.
• United States.

Physical Description:

xvi, 316 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Durham : Duke University Press, 2006.

Summary:

In this innovative analysis of the interconnections between nation and aesthetics in the United States during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth, David A. Gerstner reveals the crucial role of early cinema in consolidating a masculine ideal under American capitalism. Gerstner describes how cinema came to be considered the art form of the New World and how its experimental qualities infused other artistic traditions (many associated with Europe-painting, literature, and even photography) with new life: brash, virile, American life. He argues that early filmmakers were as concerned with establishing cinema's standing in relation to other art forms as they were with storytelling. Focusing on the formal dimensions of early-twentieth-century films, he describes how filmmakers drew on European and American theater, literature, and painting to forge a national aesthetic that equated democracy with masculinity. Gerstner provides in-depth readings of several early American films, illuminating their connections to a wide range of artistic traditions and cultural developments, including dance, poetry, cubism, realism, romanticism, and urbanization.

Contents:

• 1 Nineteenth-Century Formulations of Masculinity and Realism: The Body of Edwin Forrest 1
• 2 The Battle Cry of Peace and the Spectacle of Realism 51
• 3 African American Realism: Oscar Micheaux, Autobiography, and the Ambiguity of Black Male Desire 83
• 4 Manhatta: A National Self-Portrait 119
• 5 The Queer Frontier: Vincente Minnelli's Cabin in the Sky 165.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [215]-303) and index.

ISBN:

• 0822337754
• 0822337630

OCLC:

61748406