American Postfeminist Cinema - (Traditions in American Cinema) by Michele Schreiber (Paperback)

About the Book

American Postfeminist Cinema is the first book to examine the symbiotic relationship between heterosexual romance and postfeminist culture.

Book Synopsis

In light of their tremendous gains in the political and professional sphere, and their ever expanding options, why is it that most contemporary American films aimed at women still focus almost exclusively on their pursuit of a heterosexual romantic relationship? American Postfeminist Cinema explores this question and is the first book to examine the symbiotic relationship between heterosexual romance and postfeminist culture. The book argues that since 1980, postfeminism's most salient tensions and anxieties have been reflected and negotiated in the American romance film. Case studies of a broad range of Hollywood and independent films reveal how the postfeminist romance cycle is intertwined with contemporary women's ambivalence and broader cultural anxieties about women's changing social and political status.

From the Back Cover

Traditions in American Cinema Series Editors: Linda Badley and R. Barton Palmer This series explores a wide range of traditions in American cinema which are in need of introduction, investigation or critical reassessment. It emphasizes the multiplicity rather than the supposed homogeneity of studio-era and independent filmmaking, making a case that the American cinema is more diverse than some accounts might suggest. 'Michele Schreiber's nuanced, hugely rewarding book is a brilliant analysis of the ways in which the mythology of heterosexual romance continues to regulate as well as to complicate the conventions of postfeminist cinema. Dissolving boundaries between comedy and drama, film and other media, she offers original and lively readings of an array of films that demand mixed responses, concentrating on key topics such as nostalgia, "girlhood," the tensions between female dependency and autonomy, all in a clear and accessible style.' Peter William Evans, Queen Mary, University of London In light of their tremendous gains in the political and professional sphere, why is it that most contemporary American films aimed at women still focus almost exclusively on their pursuit of a heterosexual romantic relationship? American Postfeminist Cinema explores this question and is the first book to examine the symbiotic relationship between heterosexual romance and postfeminist culture. The book argues that since 1980, postfeminism's most salient tensions and anxieties have been reflected and negotiated in the American romance film. Case studies from a broad range of Hollywood and independent films and other media texts reveal how the postfeminist romance cycle is intertwined with contemporary women's ambivalence and broader cultural anxieties about their changing social and political status. This accessible and engaging book offers a new perspective on both popular American romance films and postfeminist cultural criticism. It continues the tradition of feminist analysis of romance as a significant media genre for women and is essential reading for students and scholars in Film Studies, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies. Michele Schreiber is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at Emory University. Cover image: He's Just Not That Into You, 2008 (c) New Line Cinema/The Kobal Collection. Cover design: [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com

Review Quotes

In her well-researched and cogently argues book, Michele Schreiber explores the disconnect between the reality of women's personal, economic, and social gains and cinematic representations of women in the twenty-first century.'--Sarita Cannon "Journal of Popular Film and Television"

Michele Schreiber's nuanced, hugely rewarding book is a brilliant analysis of the ways in which the mythology of heterosexual romance continues to regulate as well as to complicate the conventions of postfeminist cinema. Dissolving boundaries between comedy and drama, film and other media, she offers original and lively readings of an array of films that demand mixed responses, concentrating on key topics such as nostalgia, 'girlhood', the tensions between female dependency and autonomy, all in a clear and accessible style.-- "Peter William Evans, Queen Mary, University of London"

Schreiber's text provides a valuable insight into the continued influence of postfeminist anxieties surrounding heterosexual romance on contemporary American cinema. Her framework of the conventions of the 'postfeminist romance cycle' offers a useful method for analysis that could be expanded upon in further research projects. The text will be of interest to scholars in the fields of gender and sexuality, film and romance, in addition to cultural historians and researchers of American Studies in general.--Krystina Osborne, Liverpool John Moores University "CERCLES"

About the Author

Michele Schreiber is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at Emory University.