Fulfills COAS S & H distribution requirement
Fulfills COAS Culture Studies List A distribution requirement

Since the late 1980s, media studies has become increasingly
interested in how masculinity is represented on screen. Before this
recent interest, critics assumed that depictions of masculinity in
film were fairly uniform; that what we saw repeatedly was the so-
called American masculine ideal--the square-jawed, macho, rugged
individualist who could right all wrongs with his fists or a gun.
But upon closer inspection, critics have recognized that while this
type certainly exists, there are significant contradictions and
crises in its representations, as well as far greater diversity and
complexity in male images in the cinema than previously suspected.
Further, more complex notions of how men appear on screen ultimately
helps us better understand female images–the nature of male roles
helps determine the constraints on and possibilities of female
roles, as well as how the interrelationship between the sexes is
depicted.

In this course we will begin by examining the social and historical
basis of the masculine ideal of the rugged, individualist American
as it is incarnated in the Western cowboy-hero, sketching the
evolution of this important figure in U.S. cinema. We will then
study masculine types that depart from this model, considering how
ethnicity, race, homosexuality, and other kinds of “difference” have
figured in male portrayals. As we explore these depictions, we will
also discuss how star images affect the audience’s perception of
masculinity. The films we watch over the course of the semester will
feature stars from the earliest days of cinema such as Rudolph
Valentino to more contemporary figures such as Bruce Willis and
Jackie Chan. Throughout the class, we will consider how
representations of masculinity have worked in relation to or against
conceptions of national identity at various historical moments. How
do images of men in this key mass medium figure into the creation
and transformation of what it means to be an “American” at different
times in the nation’s history?

Undergraduate requirements will include 2 or 3 essay exams and a
series of short writing assignments. Required readings will include
textbooks and a course reader.