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Bound to Bond Gender, Genre, and the Hollywood Romantic Comedy
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Mark D. Rubinfeld
ISBN: 0-275-97271-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-97271-4
248 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 8/30/2001
List Price: $119.95 (UK Sterling Price: £82.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: Bound to Bond: Gender, Genre, and the Hollywood Romantic Comedy looks at gender roles in a unique way--by examining what the last thirty years of romantic comedy films have argued, reflected, and implied. Mark Rubinfeld contends that, essentially, we are what we see, and by identifying four basic plots of the genre, representing four basic love stories, he studies the implications of filmic depictions of male/female relationships. Cultural changes that have transformed our society since 1970 are seen here as we see them on the silver screen, and the author analyzes notable examples of the genre with a rigorous sociological perspective.

What he reveals may be surprising: during the seventies and, to an extent, the early eighties, the plot conventions of Hollywood romantic comedy seemed to challenge, rather than reinforce, existing gender stereotypes. Later, however--during what should have been a more enlightened time--the genre reversed course, reverting to more traditional types for men and women alike.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
    Part I: The Four Hollywood Love Stories
    The Pursuit Plot
    The Coldhearted Redemption Plot
    The Brokenhearted Redemption Plot
    The Prick Foil Plot
    The Dweeb Foil Plot
    The Bitch Foil Plot
    The Temptress Foil Plot
    The Permission Plot
    Part II: The Number Also Tell Stories
    A Sample and a Typology
    Constructing Inequality: By Point of View
    Constructing Inequality: By Plots
    Constructing Inequality: By Genre Types
    Constructing Inequality: By Themes
    Part III: The Four Other Hollywood Love Stories
    Once Upon a Time, They Did Not Always Live Happily Ever After
    Conclusion
    Bibliography
About the Author: MARK D. RUBINFELD is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola University New Orleans, where he specializes in popular culture.
LCC Class: 791
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