Can someone help me find good discussions about the genre of Action Movies,
or sub-genres under the big action-umbrella? (spy-movies, vigilante-films,
cop-films, martial arts films etc.) I am working on a research project at
the Police Academy of Norway, analyzing representation of violence in films
(primarily in Die Hard II, Natural Born Killers, and Kickboxer 4). I am
familiar with Brian Taves work on the historical Fantasy (The Romance of
Adventure), Noel Carrolls Philosophy of Horror, and other studies on genres
that frequently 'use' violent sounds and images in constructing their
stories (westerns, war-movies etc.). When it comes to action, though, I
have been able to find remarkably little literature. Some articles are
written in Danish and Swedish touching on specific marks of the genre, and
Dieter Prokop (1979) writes many interesting things about crime fictions,
that I am sure can be extended to much of the action genre in general. Some
reception-studies done on action-fans (Tove Arent Rasmussen or Keith Roe)
or homeless men (John Fiske) even have insightful descriptions of the
genre. But, is this all that has been written on such a popular genre?
There must be some American scholar who has done some comprehensive study
of this genre? I would be very grateful for any suggestions to literature,
or web-sites, that can help me achieve a better understanding of the
generic conventions of Action Movies.
 
Arnt Maaso
 
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