Description
Book Synopsis It all begins with a howl, the unsettling sound which tells audiences that someone will soon become a werewolf. But the changes that occur during that transformation aren''t just physical; they are psychological as well. Unremarkable men become domineering leaders. Innocuous men become violent and overtly sexual. In films from The Wolf Man and An American Werewolf in London to Ginger Snaps, when the protagonists become werewolves, their perceptions of their gender and their masculinity or femininity change dramatically.
This volume explores how werewolves in cinema have provided an avenue for frank and often enlightening conversations about gender roles and masculinity. Werewolves are indeed a harbinger of change, but the genre of werewolf cinema itself has changed over time in how different styles of masculinity and different gender identities are portrayed.
Table of Contents
- Preface 1
- Introduction 11
- The Racial Dynamics of Werewolf Cinema 29
- The Saga of Larry Talbot 39
- The Pre–1960s Werewolf: A Stranger Within Me 50
- The 1960s and 1970s: Realizing the Power Within 61
- The 1980s Onward: The End of the Tragic Masculine and the Embrace of Power 73
- Under Siege: The Wolf Outside the Door 104
- Enemy, Mother, Lover, Object: Women in Werewolf Cinema 114
- Conclusion 153
- Filmography 159
- Chapter Notes 161
- Works Cited 167
- Index 169
