Dear Leona,

I was rather surprised by your query since I have just published a book
with Westview Press entitled, _Unlikely Couples:  Movie Romance as Social
Criticism_.  The basic premise of my book is that these films do form a
genre and that the essence of that genre is a critique of social
hierarchy, although individual films do not always develop an adequate
critique of such hierarchy. The three basic
forms of unlikely couple film I write about in
the book are cross-class, interracial, and homosexual, although I note
that there are others (since as cross-religion).  I actually do discuss
both King Kong and Pretty Woman.

In my view, this genre shows the inadequacies of both Mulvey's approach
and that of the Frankfurt School.  We do not identify with the central
characters in an unproblematic way, since they are subject to criticism by
the films.  And we are not made to endorse social domination since the
films generally support a critique of such domination.  The unlikely
couple film is indeed an interesting area for seeing the political impact
of film in a different way than that normally presented by film scholars.

I'd be glad to discuss more details of my project and yours with you
and/or other members of the list, but I am not a list member myself.

Best,
Thomas E. Wartenberg
Department of Philosophy
Film Studies Program
Mount Holyoke College
South Hadley, MA 01075
Phone: (413) 538-2273
FAX:  (413) 538-2579
e-mail:  <[log in to unmask]>

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