Description
Book SynopsisOne of the most celebrated figures in the world of cinema, Jack Nicholson has appeared in more than fifty films, stamping each with his larger-than-life presence. Because Nicholson brought a set of traits and attitudes with him to his roles that the actor and filmmakers variously inflected, audiences associated certain characteristics with his screen identity. At times his rebelliousness was celebrated as an act of self-expression against an oppressive system (Five Easy Pieces, The Passenger, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), and at others it was revealed as an absurd masculine fantasy (The Last Detail, Chinatown, and The Shining). In each, the actor embodies an inherent tension between a desire to make authentic choices and a pressure to conform to societal expectations of manly behavior. In Becoming Jack Nicholson: The Masculine Persona from Easy Rider to The Shining, Shaun Karli looks at the actor's on-screen presence in eight key films between 1969 and 1980. Karli explores how in e
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Easy Rider and Challenges to White Male Hegemony Chapter 2: Forever in Search: The Rejection of Traditional Male Roles in Five Easy Pieces and The Passenger Chapter 3: The Hyper-Masculine Challenge: Carnal Knowledge and The Last Detail Chapter 4: “Forget It Jack”: The Futility of Individual Action in Chinatown Chapter 5: “At Least I Tried”: Rocking the Boat in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Chapter 6: Carrying the Burden Over the Edge: The Shining Conclusion Bibliography About the Author
