Representations of Femininity in American Genre Cinema

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • David Greven

      Pages 1-8

3. Freud and Classical Hollywood

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 9-9

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   2. Freud and the Death-Mother

      • David Greven

      Pages 11-28

   3. Transformations of the Woman’s Film

      • David Greven

      Pages 29-80

4. Modern Horror

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 81-89

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   2. Medusa in the Mirror

      • David Greven

      Pages 91-115

   3. Demeter and Persephone in Space

      • David Greven

      Pages 117-139

   4. The Finalizing Woman

      • David Greven

      Pages 141-178

   5. CODA

      • David Greven

      Pages 179-182

5. Back Matter

   Pages 183-214

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The theme of female transformation informs the Hollywood representation of femininity from the studio era to the present. Whether it occurs physically, emotionally, or on some other level, transformation allows female protagonists to negotiate their own complex desires and to resist the compulsory marriage plot. A sweeping study of Hollywood from Now, Voyager, The Heiress, and Flamingo Road to Carrie, the Alien films, The Brave One, and the slasher horror genre, this book boldly unsettles commonplace understandings of genre film, female sexuality, and Freudian theory as it makes a strong new case for the queer relevance of female representation.

• cinema
• female sex
• film
• Hollywood

“In this sharp, reasonably priced book, Greven (English, Univ. of Southern Carolina) examines--as the title clearly indicates--the ways in which women are represented in American genre films. … This would be an excellent resource for a course in these genres. Carefully considered and accessibly written, this is a challenging and daring work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.” (G. A. Foster, Choice, Vol. 51 (9), May, 2014)

Greven's imaginative new approach to the representation of female sexuality in Hollywood films is well worth reading. Whether you agree with him or not, his film criticism is an important new voice in American film theory. - Ann Kibbey, Executive Editor, Genders 

"In a work whose final word is literally 'disturbing,' Greven's Representations of Femininity in American Genre Cinema offers a richly provocative challenge to received ways of thinking about the woman's film and its place in the history of American popular film. Using a dynamic mix of deep textual analysis, psychoanalysis, and queer theory, Greven not only develops a revisionist reading of the woman's film, its thematic concerns, and audience appeal, but advances a compelling argument for this frequently marginalized genre as one of the core templates of American filmmaking. The result is a powerfully original work that is sure to prove an enlivening contribution to debates in film, gender, and cultural studies." -Brett Farmer, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and author of Spectacular Passions: Cinema, Fantasy, Gay Male Spectatorships 

"Greven delivers a compelling analysis of representations of femininity in U.S. genre cinema. Provocative and accessible, this book deconstructs familiar films with fresh eyes and innovative thinking." - Janet McCabe, author of Feminist Film Studies: Writing the Woman into Cinema 

"A delight to read, with a precise and lively prose style that kept me reading straight through from start to finish. Greven skillfully interweaves a number of themes and uses a number of critical strategies in a compelling way. He treats both the development of genre and of feminist/gay film criticism with an historical sensibility, so that he deftly locates each film or each critic within a context." - Julia Lesage, Professor Emerita of English, University of Oregon

David Greven is Associate Professor of English at the University of South Carolina, USA. His books include Psycho-Sexual: Male Desire in Hitchcock, De Palma, Scorsese and Friedkin; The Fragility of Manhood: Hawthorne, Freud, and the Politics of Gender; and Men Beyond Desire: Manhood, Sex, and Violation in American Literature. Greven's essays on film have been published in journals such as the Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Cinema Journal, Genders, Jump Cut, CineAction, and Cineaste and he is on the editorial boards of Cinema Journal, Genders, and Poe Studies.