SWGS S-1453 Harvard Summer School
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THA 155 Brandeis University Arthur Holmberg [email protected]
Preliminary Syllabus—Subject to Modification
Icons of Masculinity
Using icons of masculinity drawn from various media including movies, pop music, and television, this course explores how American men define and perform manhood. Various archetypes—cowboys, cops, crooks, soldiers, athletes, playboys, buddies, rock stars, Woody Allen, Bugs Bunny and Homer Simpson—are examined. The course examines how media both reflect and shape gender norms, and the role of gender in constituting a self.
I.
Heavenly Bodies: Hollywood Sex Symbols
Power Point: 100 years of Celluloid Heroes.
Men Who Rock: Performing Masculinity Through Music.
Read the introduction to Men’s Lives, ninth edition, ed. Kimmel and article 41 (hereafter referred to as Kimmel). Unless stated otherwise, Kimmel refers to the current edition of Men’s Lives, the ninth edition. (R) means on reserve in Goldfarb. Films are available on Latte (L). (H) means handout. Be sure you have a copy of the ninth edition of Kimmel. Articles vary greatly from edition to edition. Some articles on the syllabus will be found in earlier editions on reserve in Goldfarb. The earlier edition will be indicated on the syllabus.
II.
American Macho: What Is an American Man? Frontier Masculinity The Cowboy
Shane and The Searchers (films).
Read Schlesinger, “The Crisis of American Masculinity” (L) and Wylie “The Womanization of America,” which originally appeared in Playboy (L). Read articles 1 and 2 in Kimmel and “The Fantasy of Authenticity in Western Costume” by Gaines and Herzog in Back in the Saddle Again, ed. by Buscombe (R).
The Hunter and the Hunted
Deliverance and Breaking Bad (TV series); Man’s Favorite Sport?
Read Thurber, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (handout), article 40 in Kimmel, eighth edition, on reseve in Goldfarb: “Retrofitting Frontier Masculinity”; and “Enter the Cowboy,” chapter one in Holmberg, David Mamet and American Macho (R).
III.
Reading Images
Slide lecture: The Visual Rhetoric of Film.
Read Berger, Ways of Seeing. This text is available in the bookstore. Pay particular attention to the sections on gender displays. If you have never taken a film course, you may want to read chapter 3, “The Language of Film,” in Monaco, How to Read a Film (R). If you intend to write about film in your research paper, you might also look at the chapter on writing about film in Roberts, Writing Themes about Literature.
IV.
The Boy Culture
The Bad Ass The Last Detail (film) and Howard Stern.
Read chapter one in Pollack, Real Boys (R) and chapter three in Raising Cain by Kindlon and Thompson.
The Smart Ass
Bugs Bunny
Jerks
Dumb and Dumber (film), The Three Stooges, Homer Simpson
Read articles 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 in Kimmel and the Introduction to Gary Cross’s From Men to Boys: The Makng of Modern Immaturity (R).
V.
Men for Sale Streetwalking on Madison Avenue
Images of Men in Television Advertisements and Video Games. Men on Madmen (TV series)
Read articles 42 and 44 in Kimmel. Suggested further reading: Ering Goffman, Gender Advertisements (R).
VI.
The Warrior
The Sands of Iwo Jima and Platoon (films).
Read Arkin, “Military Socialization and Masculinity” and Eisenhart, “You Can’t Hack It Little Girl: A Discussion of the Covert Psychological Agenda of Modern Combat Training.” Both articles are available on latte. VII.
The Athlete: Sports and Masculinity
Rocky and Raging Bull (films).
VIII.
Dance, Baby, Dance: Hoofers in Hollywood
IX.
The Player: Men and Sex
Goldfinger (film); Mamet, Sexual Perversity in Chicago (play), bring the text to class; Pillow Talk (film); and Carnal Knowledge (film, based on Feiffer’s play).
X.
Superheroes: The Male Body As Icon
Slide lecture: Body Language. Robocop and Superman (films). Read article 47 in K. XI.
Performing Gender
Play it Again, Sam (film by Woody Allen, based on his play; if you have never seen the film Casablanca, 1942, do so before seeing the Woody Allen film).
Read Holmberg, David Mamet and American Macho, 81-89.
XII.
Who’s Gay? From Gay to Queer
Midnight Cowboy and Brokeback Mountain (films); and “Homer’s Phobia” from The Simpsons.
Suggested further reading, Holmberg, David Mamet and Male Friendship, 171-177.