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2. The Idea of Genre in the American Cinema

© 2021 University of Texas Press

© 2021 University of Texas Press

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Acknowledgments v
  3. Contents xiii
  4. Preface to the Fourth Edition xv
  5. Introduction xvii
  6. Part One: Theory
  7. 1. Genre 3
  8. 2. The Idea of Genre in the American Cinema 12
  9. 3. A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre 27
  10. 4. Cycles and Clusters: The Shape of Film Genre History 42
  11. 5. Genre Films and the Status Quo 60
  12. 6. Social Implications in the Hollywood Genres 69
  13. 7. Ideology, Genre, Auteur 78
  14. 8. “Cinema/Ideology/Criticism” Revisited: The Progressive Genre 93
  15. 9. The Structural Influence: New Directions in Film Genre Study 110
  16. 10. Genre Film: A Classical Experience 121
  17. 11. Experience and Meaning in Genre Films 133
  18. 12. Genre and Performance: An Overview 148
  19. 13. Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess 159
  20. 14. Questions of Genre 178
  21. 15. Hybrid or Inbred: The Purity Hypothesis and Hollywood Genre History 203
  22. 16. Film Genres at the Crossroads: What Genres and Films Do to Each Other 218
  23. Part Two: Selected Genre Criticism
  24. 17. The Western (Genre and Movies) 239
  25. 18. Apes and Essences: Some Sources of Significance in the American Gangster Film 255
  26. 19. Notes on Film Noir 265
  27. 20. Chinatown and Generic Transformation in Recent American Films 279
  28. 21. Shoot-Out at the Genre Corral: Problems in the “Evolution” of the Western 298
  29. 22. The Bug in the Rug: Notes on the Disaster Genre 313
  30. 23. “Surge and Splendor”: A Phenomenology of the Hollywood Historical Epic 332
  31. 24. Children of the Light 360
  32. 25. Monsters from the Id 382
  33. 26. Immigrants, Aliens, and Extraterrestrials: Science Fiction’s Alien “Other” as (Among Other Things) New Latino Imagery 402
  34. 27. Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama 433
  35. 28. Screwball Comedies: Constructing Romance, Mystifying Marriage 463
  36. 29. Redressing the “Natural”: The Temporary Transvestite Film 484
  37. 30. Friendly Civilians: Images of Women and the Feminization of the Audience in Vietnam War Films 510
  38. 31. The Family in Action 524
  39. 32. The Self-Reflexive Musical and the Myth of Entertainment 543
  40. 33. The Black Gangster Film 558
  41. 34. Teen Films: The Cinematic Image of Youth 576
  42. 35. Re-presenting the National Past: Nostalgia and Pastiche in the Heritage Film 602
  43. 36. Global Noir: Genre Film in the Age of Transnationalism 628
  44. Bibliography 649
  45. Notes on Contributors 735
  46. Index 743
Film Genre Reader IV
This chapter is in the book Film Genre Reader IV
https://doi.org/10.7560/742055-005

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Acknowledgments v
  3. Contents xiii
  4. Preface to the Fourth Edition xv
  5. Introduction xvii
  6. Part One: Theory
  7. 1. Genre 3
  8. 2. The Idea of Genre in the American Cinema 12
  9. 3. A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre 27
  10. 4. Cycles and Clusters: The Shape of Film Genre History 42
  11. 5. Genre Films and the Status Quo 60
  12. 6. Social Implications in the Hollywood Genres 69
  13. 7. Ideology, Genre, Auteur 78
  14. 8. “Cinema/Ideology/Criticism” Revisited: The Progressive Genre 93
  15. 9. The Structural Influence: New Directions in Film Genre Study 110
  16. 10. Genre Film: A Classical Experience 121
  17. 11. Experience and Meaning in Genre Films 133
  18. 12. Genre and Performance: An Overview 148
  19. 13. Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess 159
  20. 14. Questions of Genre 178
  21. 15. Hybrid or Inbred: The Purity Hypothesis and Hollywood Genre History 203
  22. 16. Film Genres at the Crossroads: What Genres and Films Do to Each Other 218
  23. Part Two: Selected Genre Criticism
  24. 17. The Western (Genre and Movies) 239
  25. 18. Apes and Essences: Some Sources of Significance in the American Gangster Film 255
  26. 19. Notes on Film Noir 265
  27. 20. Chinatown and Generic Transformation in Recent American Films 279
  28. 21. Shoot-Out at the Genre Corral: Problems in the “Evolution” of the Western 298
  29. 22. The Bug in the Rug: Notes on the Disaster Genre 313
  30. 23. “Surge and Splendor”: A Phenomenology of the Hollywood Historical Epic 332
  31. 24. Children of the Light 360
  32. 25. Monsters from the Id 382
  33. 26. Immigrants, Aliens, and Extraterrestrials: Science Fiction’s Alien “Other” as (Among Other Things) New Latino Imagery 402
  34. 27. Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama 433
  35. 28. Screwball Comedies: Constructing Romance, Mystifying Marriage 463
  36. 29. Redressing the “Natural”: The Temporary Transvestite Film 484
  37. 30. Friendly Civilians: Images of Women and the Feminization of the Audience in Vietnam War Films 510
  38. 31. The Family in Action 524
  39. 32. The Self-Reflexive Musical and the Myth of Entertainment 543
  40. 33. The Black Gangster Film 558
  41. 34. Teen Films: The Cinematic Image of Youth 576
  42. 35. Re-presenting the National Past: Nostalgia and Pastiche in the Heritage Film 602
  43. 36. Global Noir: Genre Film in the Age of Transnationalism 628
  44. Bibliography 649
  45. Notes on Contributors 735
  46. Index 743
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