Why do Jaws, Field of Dreams, The Big Lebowski, and The Godfather remain strikingly popular in this age of fragmented audiences and ever-faster spin cycles? Hollywood Blockbusters argues that these films continue to captivate audiences because they play upon underlying tensions and problems in American culture, much like the myths that anthropologists study in non-Western contexts. In making this argument, the authors employ and extend anthropological theories about ritual, kinship, gift giving, power, egalitarianism, literacy, metalinguistics, stereotypes, and the mysteries of the Other. The results—original insights into modern film classics, American culture, and anthropological theory—will appeal to students of Film, Media, Anthropology, Sociology, and Cultural Studies.
Author(s): David Sutton, Peter Wogan
Publisher: Berg Publishers
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 191
1847884865......Page 1
CONTENTS......Page 8
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 10
1 INTRODUCTION......Page 14
2 THE GODFATHER: THE GUN, THE PEN, AND THE CANNOLI......Page 36
3 FIELD OF DREAMS: FOUL BALLS AND BLURRY LINES......Page 60
4 THE BIG LEBOWSKI: BOWLING, GENDER, TEMPORALITY, AND OTHER “WHAT-HAVE-YOU’S”......Page 84
5 THE VILLAGE: EGALITARIANISM AND THE POLITICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE POSSIBLE......Page 108
6 JAWS: KNOWING THE SHARK......Page 130
7 CONCLUSION......Page 154
REFERENCES CITED......Page 170
AUTHOR INDEX......Page 186
SUBJECT INDEX......Page 190
