negros
ESSAY PROMPT
1. As Jeffords suggests, “In 1991, the hard bodies of the 1980s seemed to have been successfully rejected in mainstream Hollywood films, but not, as the films of the late 1980s might have suggested, for the values of justice…Hollywood’s interest in justice had waned and been replaced by a less socially troublesome topic—commitment to the family” (140-141).
How are Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (1987) or John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood (1991) and another Hollywood film of your choosing examples of either a 1980s “hard body” action film or an early 1990s “new man” action film? Specifically, focus on the representation of masculinity and the shape of the hero in each respective film.
In order to properly contextualize these two films, then, please be sure to use Jeffords’ essay to define the characteristics of each type of action film and to ground your analysis.
Find what a “new man” is
Focus on the representation of masculinity and shape of the hero
Use Robocop (1987) and use it comparing it to Death wish 4: the crackdown (1987)
Use Jeffords comparing to both Robocop (1987) and (film of choice) supporting the 80s “hard body” film
The historical and political events noted by Jeffords, in her essay, “Terminal Masculinity: Men in the Early 1990s,” that played a significant backdrop to the 80s and 90s American action film said by her were that “the national debt doubled, the threat of communism grew less, many, as many on the right became increasingly outspoken and independent, as reports of drug use increased, as AIDS moved clearly out of the “closet” and into white heterosexual homes, as the Iran-contra scandal refused to disappear, as George Bush came under attack for his relationship to Manuel Noriega, as the Reagans were accused of abuse and neglect by their daughter, Patty Davis, U.S. mainstream citizens began to worry that the social order that had seemed to be so smoothly instituted under Ronald Reagan had begun to deteriorate.”
1. As Jeffords suggests, “In 1991, the hard bodies of the 1980s seemed to have been successfully rejected in mainstream Hollywood films, but not, as the films of the late 1980s might have suggested, for the values of justice…Hollywood’s interest in justice had waned and been replaced by a less socially troublesome topic—commitment to the family” (140-141).
How are Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (1987) or John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood (1991) and another Hollywood film of your choosing examples of either a 1980s “hard body” action film or an early 1990s “new man” action film? Specifically, focus on the representation of masculinity and the shape of the hero in each respective film.
In order to properly contextualize these two films, then, please be sure to use Jeffords’ essay to define the characteristics of each type of action film and to ground your analysis.
Find what a “new man” is
Focus on the representation of masculinity and shape of the hero
Use Robocop (1987) and use it comparing it to Death wish 4: the crackdown (1987)
Use Jeffords comparing to both Robocop (1987) and (film of choice) supporting the 80s “hard body” film
The historical and political events noted by Jeffords, in her essay, “Terminal Masculinity: Men in the Early 1990s,” that played a significant backdrop to the 80s and 90s American action film said by her were that “the national debt doubled, the threat of communism grew less, many, as many on the right became increasingly outspoken and independent, as reports of drug use increased, as AIDS moved clearly out of the “closet” and into white heterosexual homes, as the Iran-contra scandal refused to disappear, as George Bush came under attack for his relationship to Manuel Noriega, as the Reagans were accused of abuse and neglect by their daughter, Patty Davis, U.S. mainstream citizens began to worry that the social order that had seemed to be so smoothly instituted under Ronald Reagan had begun to deteriorate.”