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Overview
Distinguishing his own neo-Marxist approach from that of other media scholars, Philip Green pursues two interrelated themes. In the first part of the book, he looks at the strategies Hollywood has employed to deflect or absorb the ideological challenges posed by the feminist critique of contemporary American society. He demonstrates the ways in which mainstream movies and television programs, no matter how unconventional or "subversive" they may appear, produce and reproduce familiar images of sexuality and gender identity. In the second part, Green highlights instances in which reproduction of the dominant ideology is less successful by examining several recent cinematic genres - the female action movie, the rape-revenge cycle, and the new film noir - that portray the real ambiguities of a social order in upheaval. As a male consumer of the cultural commodities being discussed, the author offers a perspective on American films and television different from that of most other feminist critics.Synopsis
Distinguishing his own neo-Marxist approach from that of other media scholars, Philip Green pursues two interrelated themes. In the first part of the book, he looks at the strategies Hollywood has employed to deflect or absorb the ideological challenges posed by the feminist critique of contemporary American society. He demonstrates the ways in which mainstream movies and television programs, no matter how unconventional or "subversive" they may appear, produce and reproduce familiar images of sexuality and gender identity. In the second part, Green highlights instances in which reproduction of the dominant ideology is less successful by examining several recent cinematic genres - the female action movie, the rape-revenge cycle, and the new film noir - that portray the real ambiguities of a social order in upheaval. As a male consumer of the cultural commodities being discussed, the author offers a perspective on American films and television different from that of most other feminist critics.
Booknews
Proposes that the contemporary production of visual culture takes place under conditions prominently structured by the feminist cultural revolution of the 1970s. Although Hollywood's response to this revolution has been rife with slippages and pregnant with evasions, a sense of sexual contestation is present, though obliquely expressed, in movies in such nonmainstream genres as martial arts, rape revenge, and neo-noir that feature powerful female protagonists. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.