11 Ageing Statham
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Natasha Parcei
Abstract
This chapter investigates how The Expendables film series constructs and frames the age identity of Lee Christmas, played by Jason Statham, by reading his position in the narrative in order to understand how ageing is represented in action cinema. Much of the critical attention for this series has been focused on the hyper-masculine ageing body of the franchise’s lead actor, Sylvester Stallone. This chapter will look at the construction of Christmas’s age identity as a middle-aged man during the unstable cultural position of middle-agedness. It will also focus on how the middle-aged action hero is constructed in the three Expendables films to date. It begins with an overview of the film series’ premise, followed by a brief outline of relevant critical ageing theory, then a consideration of how Christmas’s age construction aligns with the ageing theories of decline, prowess and the culture of the Third Age.
Abstract
This chapter investigates how The Expendables film series constructs and frames the age identity of Lee Christmas, played by Jason Statham, by reading his position in the narrative in order to understand how ageing is represented in action cinema. Much of the critical attention for this series has been focused on the hyper-masculine ageing body of the franchise’s lead actor, Sylvester Stallone. This chapter will look at the construction of Christmas’s age identity as a middle-aged man during the unstable cultural position of middle-agedness. It will also focus on how the middle-aged action hero is constructed in the three Expendables films to date. It begins with an overview of the film series’ premise, followed by a brief outline of relevant critical ageing theory, then a consideration of how Christmas’s age construction aligns with the ageing theories of decline, prowess and the culture of the Third Age.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Figures vii
- Contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Epigraph xiv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Statham and (reframing) masculinity
- 1 Reframing the British tough guy 16
- 2 ‘I’m certainly not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt’ 29
- 3 The power of Statham 45
- 4 ‘It’s that peasant mentality’ 56
- 5 A balancing act(or) 71
-
Part II Statham and genre case studies
- 6 Blagging it both ways 99
- 7 Jason Statham in Spy 113
- 8 Arthouse Statham 127
-
Part III Rebranding Statham
- 9 Transporting Jason Statham 151
- 10 The avatar hero 169
- 11 Ageing Statham 185
- 12 Crank it up! 198
- 13 Clothes make the man 211
- Conclusion 227
- Select Bibliography 231
- Jason Statham filmography 236
- Index 249
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- Figures vii
- Contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Epigraph xiv
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Statham and (reframing) masculinity
- 1 Reframing the British tough guy 16
- 2 ‘I’m certainly not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt’ 29
- 3 The power of Statham 45
- 4 ‘It’s that peasant mentality’ 56
- 5 A balancing act(or) 71
-
Part II Statham and genre case studies
- 6 Blagging it both ways 99
- 7 Jason Statham in Spy 113
- 8 Arthouse Statham 127
-
Part III Rebranding Statham
- 9 Transporting Jason Statham 151
- 10 The avatar hero 169
- 11 Ageing Statham 185
- 12 Crank it up! 198
- 13 Clothes make the man 211
- Conclusion 227
- Select Bibliography 231
- Jason Statham filmography 236
- Index 249
