Multicultural Aspects/Gay & Lesbian Communities, Popular Culture - United States, Masculinity

He's All Man

Name: He's All Man
Author: John M. Clum
ISBN: 9780312240356

by John M. Clum

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Overview

"He's All Man" is John M. Clum's insightful, biting and characteristically humorous analysis of the central myths of American manhood that have been propagated by Hollywood films and dramatized by our major playwrights. In the politically incorrect way he dared to ask "What happened to gay irony?" in Something for the Boys, Clum now dares to ask the explosive question "What is the vision of the American Male that Hollywood has sold us?" “He's All Man” examines the ways in which homoeroticism has been part of the myth of American manhood, wrapping itself around cowboy, soldier, and gangster legends as they fuse to create a picture of the quintessential American male. From Audie Murphy to The Sands of Iwo Jima and The Maltese Falcon, Clum takes us on a tour of the roughs, the toughs, and the fluffs that swagger, strut, and pirouette their way through the Hollywood Masculinity Machine and the ways in which gay filmmakers have bought into the Hollywood vision of manhood and romance. Just as Something for the Boys raised hackles and caused controversy over Lorenz Hart's lyrics and Ethel Merman's lungs, “He's All Man” will surely do the same for Edward G. Robinson's cigar and Marlon Brando's t-shirt.

About the Author, John M. Clum

John Clum is Professor of the Practice of Drama and of English at Duke University. He is the author of Something for the Boys, Still Acting Gay, and numerous plays produced around the country and in New York City. He lives in Durham, NC, Baltimore, MD, and London.

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Editorials

Time Out New York

This knockout...tale of musical theater and its intersection with gay culture is as good a definition of cabaret...delicious dish-filled analysis.

Library Journal

Clum's (drama & English, Duke) latest does for movies what his earlier Something for the Boys did for theater: it gives readers a definitive treatment of how a popular form represents gay men and, more generally, manhood. Although Clum continues to include some references to plays in this work, his main focus remains American film. And unlike other academics, he does not attempt to "queer" the subject, that is, to interpret it from a gay/queer perspective, but rather wants to examine broader social issues that it implicates and to answer the highly provocative question, "What is the vision of the American male that Hollywood has sold us?" In other words, Clum does not just seek to identify gay references in film but also attempts to explore and come to terms with topics such as violence and masculinity, gender equity in portrayals, fathers on-screen, and images of gay men both before and after the advent of liberation movements of the 1960s. Fortunately for general readers, his style is accessible, so most people will be able to enjoy reading this book even if only as a survey. Libraries collecting popular culture or film studies will want to own this title. Some comparable works include Richard Dyer's Now You See It: Studies on Gay and Lesbian Film (1994) and his Culture of Queers (2002). David Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

Clum (theater studies and English, Duke U.) offers an insightful, playful, and humorous analysis of the central myths of American manhood that have been propagated by Hollywood films and dramatized by the major playwrights. Includes ten b&w film stills. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)