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In The Company of Modern Men: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Hollywood Comedies

Bambach, Nicholas D.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1461920895

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, Film Studies (Fine Arts).
This thesis discusses the increasing visibility of masculine identity in contemporary Hollywood comedies. I examine how shifting developments in economic, societal, cultural, and gender relations impacted the perception of cinematic masculinity. The men, more specifically white and heterosexual, in these films position themselves as victims and, as a result, turn to alternative outlets to ease their frustrations and anxieties. In order to broadly survey the genre of the past two decades, I focus on three consistently popular character tropes in Hollywood comedies: slackers, office workers, and bromantic friendships. All the male characters discussed throughout the thesis are plagued by their innermost anxieties and desires that compromise their gendered identities. However, these films resort to a regressive understanding of masculinity and functions within the dominant heteronormative structures. This thesis demonstrates how Hollywood comedies present a contradictory and multifaceted image of modern masculinity.
Ofer Eliaz (Committee Chair)
93 p.
Film Studies
Masculinity and Cinema; Contemporary Hollywood Cinema; Film Comedy; Slackers; White-Collar Office Workers; Bromances

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bambach, N. D. (2016). In The Company of Modern Men: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Hollywood Comedies [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1461920895

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bambach, Nicholas. In The Company of Modern Men: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Hollywood Comedies. 2016. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1461920895.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bambach, Nicholas. "In The Company of Modern Men: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary Hollywood Comedies." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1461920895

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.