Description
Book SynopsisWho decides how, when, and where Americans fall in love and get married? This book shows that Hollywood has often had the most powerful voice in demonstrating socially sanctioned ways of becoming a couple.
Trade Review"The pages are bursting with discussions of classics such as The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Sunset Boulevard, On the Waterfront and Nashville. The book explores not only the relationships between men and women in these movies but also the specific acting techniques of the stars and their lives off screen."--The Washington Times
Table of ContentsPrefacePt. IIntroduction: The Movies as Social Ritual1Romantic Love, Changing Marriage Norms, and Stars as Behavioral Models3Pt. IIPatriarchal Marriage and Traditional Gender Identities2Star and Auteur: The Griffith-Gish Collaboration and the Struggle over Patriarchal Marriage393Star and Genre: John Wayne, the Western, and the American Dream of the Family on the Land67Pt. IIICompanionate Marriage and Changing Constructions of Gender and Sexuality4The Love Goddess: Contradictions in the Myth of Glamour1335Masculinity in Crisis: Method Acting in Hollywood160Pt. IVEpilogue: Beyond the Couple6The Destabilization of Gender Norms and Acting as Performance183Notes221Bibliography249Index277
