Stella Bruzzi's new book makes a welcome intervention in the fields of film and gender studies. Skillfully building upon classic works on the construction of male identity on screen, she nevertheless provides a completely new focus on the topic, offering a valuable addition to existing scholarship on this most crucial issue. Elisabetta Girelli, Scottish Journal of Performance ... Read more This book is unique in its portrayal of masculinity in film by not only focusing on the construction of masculinity in film, but also by addressing the mise-en-scene in films that depict male characters. The text's strengths are in its strong theoretical analysis, the concrete examples of scenes from a variety of different films and time periods, and the discussions of the stylistic approaches different filmmakers have used to portray the male aesthetic. The interdisciplinary nature of Bruzzi's book makes it suitable for many social science disciplines, including gender and sexuality, media studies, sociology, cultural studies, and masculinity.
Heather R. Rodriguez, The Journal of Popular Culture Bruzzi deftly interweaves sociological and psychoanalytic theories of gender, desire and identification with vivid close readings of the aesthetic tropes and stylistic effects that define male-centred genre films to evaluate how images of masculinity are conveyed in classic and contemporary cinema...This is a lucid, highly enjoyable book that will undoubtedly stimulate further interesting research on the relationship between gender, aesthetics and spectatorship.
Ian Murphy, Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media Stella Bruzzi's new book makes a welcome intervention in the fields of film and gender studies. Skillfully building upon classic works on the construction of male identity on screen, she nevertheless provides a completely new focus on the topic, offering a valuable addition to existing scholarship on this most crucial issue.
Elisabetta Girelli, Scottish Journal of Performance This book is unique in its portrayal of masculinity in film by not only focusing on the construction of masculinity in film, but also by addressing the mise-en-scene in films that depict male characters. The text's strengths are in its strong theoretical analysis, the concrete examples of scenes from a variety of different films and time periods, and the discussions of the stylistic approaches different filmmakers have used to portray the male aesthetic. The interdisciplinary nature of Bruzzi's book makes it suitable for many social science disciplines, including gender and sexuality, media studies, sociology, cultural studies, and masculinity.
Heather R. Rodriguez, The Journal of Popular Culture Bruzzi deftly interweaves sociological and psychoanalytic theories of gender, desire and identification with vivid close readings of the aesthetic tropes and stylistic effects that define male-centred genre films to evaluate how images of masculinity are conveyed in classic and contemporary cinema...This is a lucid, highly enjoyable book that will undoubtedly stimulate further interesting research on the relationship between gender, aesthetics and spectatorship.
Ian Murphy, Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media 'Stella Bruzzi's new book makes a welcome intervention in the fields of film and gender studies. Skillfully building upon classic works on the construction of male identity on screen, she nevertheless provides a completely new focus on the topic, offering a valuable addition to existing scholarship on this most crucial issue.' - Elisabetta Girelli, Scottish Journal of Performance Show Less