Presentations of Masculinity in Film

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the essay "Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History" by Jane Tompkins, which provides an important perspective from which to analyze masculinity in films such as "Star Wars", "Malcolm X", and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". The paper shows that each of these classic twentieth century films provides a somewhat different generational view of masculinity, for they were produced about a generation apart in time.

From the Paper:

"Using the essay "`Indians': Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History" by Jane Tompkins as a cinematic and historical lens provides an important perspective from which to analyze masculinity in films such as Star Wars, Malcolm X, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Each of these classic twentieth century films provides a somewhat different generational view of masculinity, for they were produced about a generation apart in time. In her essay, Tompkins notes that, "the mind of man is the basic factor in human history," (Tompkins 721) and the classic Hollywood Western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance reflects this assessment, for it presented prevailing societal attitudes about the fundamental importance of masculinity as a historical force."

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