I recommend Beth Bailey's book _From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twetieth Century America_ (1988) and Peter Filene's _Him/Her/Self: Sex Roles in Modern America, 2nd ed._. Also the book _Intimate Matters_ by John D'Emilio et al. All of these are oldies but goodies. --Christina >===== Original Message From Film and TV Studies Discussion List ===== >on 2/12/00 12:49 pm, Thomas Morsch at [log in to unmask] wrote: > >> films that present 'non-hegemonic' relationships (e.g. homosexual >> relationships, relationships between adults and children, >> pseudo-relationships from afar between fan/star, etc.) as an alternative >> to hegemonic ideas of love, > >Four Weddings and a Funeral is worth considering because it is such a >popular mainstream romantic comedy yet in the subplot it contrasts a happy >loving stable homosexual couple with the fluid heterosexual affair in the >main plot. The commitment phobic male, the female in search of a good man >and taking the initiative, and the fashionable seal of approval on the >homosexual pair are all icons of our age - My Best Friend's Wedding and the >latest film of Madonna and Rupert Everett (title escapes me) also show >similar notions with an affirmative nod for the homosexual. > >Perhaps one of the most important representations of homosexual >relationships 'as an alternative to hegemonic ideas of love' would have to >be Maurice because of the success of the film. It's striking for giving the >polished Merchant-Ivory gloss to an alternative relationship, and was the >first time on mainstream screens in the States for men to be shown making >love. The romanticised images and pleasure of the spectacle made it >attractive to audiences for whom the content would normally have been >offbounds. > >Finally My Beautiful Launderette and Crying Game use the idea of a >homosexual relationship between a white and black man to open up questions >about identity, race and class through the central love story. In both >cases the love story subverts convention and incurs violence - love as >radical in contrast to the usual drive for stability and order that >underlies the love story. > >Regards >JD >Kyoto > >---- >To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L >in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask] Christina Lane Assistant Professor and James B. Pendleton fellow Dept. of Cinema and Photography 244 Roy H. Park School of Communications Ithaca College Ithaca, NY 14850 PH (607) 274-7003 FX (607) 274-1664 ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu