'Breathin' the sniper's breath': Male presence and personae in late twentieth century and contemporary American literature, film and culture.

摘要

Male figures in American art and culture since the 1970s have tended to be extreme. These figures are often very violent, often highly sexualized, and often driven into a state of extreme anxiety. Part of the protocol of late 20th century and early 21st century American art has been the insistence that these violent, sexualized, anxious men are spiritually significant beings, or they are at least figures that can be used in works of art to communicate spiritually significant ideas.; This study is an unsystematic survey of the representation of men in late 20th and early 21st century American literature, film, and culture. It explores literature, film, and culture separately, but it also looks at the convergence of these forms and the ways in which these forms have influenced each other.; The study proposes that the controlling idea behind the violent, sexualized, anxious male figure is the cinematographic image, an image that has moved past the anguish of James Dean to the more apocalyptic anguish of actors like Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel. Representations of men in music and literature conceive of male figures cinematographically. In the development of these representations, consumers of art develop a "fan culture" attitude toward these images of masculinity, an attitude that helps audiences and consumers shape the ways that they see these men (as role models, as hyper-real beings, as archetypes, etc.).; Particular attention in this study is given to the way in which rap music uses commoditized folklore---particularly the "badman"- and "Stagolee"-type male figures---to create a cinematographic image of masculinity. The emphasis on rap music provides a means for the study to situate its understanding of the reasons behind the representations of violent, sexual and anxious male figures.; The results of this study provide some sense of what these male figures are doing. The study also explores some of the ethical aspects of an aesthetic of excessive male representation. Finally, the results provide some understanding of how these extreme male figures serve to assert the presences of various male types (Ethnic men, men with unusual sexual preferences, etc.). In addition to appeasing the lurid interests of an audience, these extreme performances of "masculinity" serve to expand the understanding of what an American male can be and how American male identity can be formed.