Description
Book SynopsisWhether embodied in literature, theater, or film, an enduring theme of many artistic works has been the protagonist's search for identity. Such quests are typically psychological or spiritual journeys and depicted on the screen in a variety of manifestationsendeavors embarked upon to address an emotional trauma or to overcome an obstacle in the hero's life. Using Jean Cocteau's La Belle et La Bête as a leitmotif, these pursuits are discussed by author Maria Garcia as encounters with the Beast. At the end of their quests, heroes are reborn into their new identities, while the Beast disappears, transforms, or dies. In Cinematic Quests for Identity: The Hero's Encounter with the Beast, Garcia examines the cinematic conventions of the male and female search for individuation across several genres. After discussing La Belle et La Bête, the author looks at a number of films including three iconic male journeysThe Picture of Dorian Gray, The Searchers, and The Deer Hunter. Additional chapte
Trade ReviewNo stranger to the world of film, Maria Garcia opens Cinematic Quests for Identity: The Hero's Encounter with the Beast with the hefty promise of broadening the definition and the reader’s understanding of 'the quest' movie genre. Through her analysis of more than 15 films. . . .Garcia delivers on her promise. . . .[The author] approaches the tried-and-true theme of the hero in an innovative way. . . .This focused analysis is highly recommended for anyone looking to delve deeper into the world of film and the psychology behind the internal struggles of our movies’ heroes. * Ambassador Magazine *
Maria Garcia . . . offers a provocative contribution to the male-dominated field of film theory. . . .Garcia's astute analysis and reformulation of feminist film theory . . . is thought-provoking and illuminating. . . .[This] book . . . should be recognized as an important contribution to feminist film theory. . . .Garcia succeeds in her reframing of the cinematic quest for identity as the lifelong expansion of consciousness and the ability of the personality to reflect the total self. * Cineaste *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Framing the Beast of Individuation 2. A Woman’s Beast: The Silence of the Lambs 3. The Male Quest: When the Hero Doesn’t Get “The Girl” 4. Love Affairs with the Beast: Two Women of Screwball Comedy 5. The Beast of the Diamond 6. The Child’s Quest: A First Glimpse of Mortality 7. Catherine Breillat and the Fairy Tale Quest as “Passage” 8. Robert Bresson and the Feminine Face of God Filmography Bibliography Index About the Author
