Clint Eastwood: A Cultural Production (American Culture) [Paperback]

Paul Smith (Author)

Book Description

Series: American Culture | Publication Date: May 1993

For more than 20 years, Clint Eastwood has been a prominent and often controversial figure in both film and American culture. In "Clint Eastwood", Paul Smith considers how Eastwood has come to signify as both an actor and as an "auteur" and has been profoundly influential in American life.; "Clint Eastwood" is a study of Eastwood or any contemporary figure in film that not only interprets and critiques his films but demonstrates their complex and problematic relationship to American culture. Smith follows Eastwood's career from his emergence as the star of the spaghetti westerns in the 1960s, through to his establishment as an "auteur" of the American cinema. Drawing upon and making contributions to current debates in film studies and cultural studies, Smith examines Eastwood's westerns, the politics of his "Dirty Harry" movies, the construction of masculinity in his films, his war movies, questions of race in his work, his recent efforts as director, his stint as Mayor of Carmel, his recent film "Unforgiven", and many Other Aspects Of His Career. Smith Also Examines The Erotic Dynamics Of Eastwood's work and analyses the complicated figure of "auteur" as "father" of various myths and ideologies.; Ultimately, Smith offers both a critical interpretation of the movies that Eastwood has directed or acted in, and an analysis of their impact on contemporary culture during the past 30 years. Historical, and articulate, "Clint Eastwood" promises to spark theoretical and critical debates in film studies, and also to change our understanding of the cinematic experience itself.; Paul Smith is the author of "Pound Revised" and "Discerning the Subject" Minnesota, 1988, and co-editor with Alice Jardine of "Men in Feminism".; This book is intended for undergraduates and graduate students in media studies and cultural studies; general readers interested in film and American culture.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While treating Eastwood's films seriously, Smith offers a respectful and intelligent disclaimer to the canonization that culminated in his recent double-Oscar triumph with Unforgiven . This volume traces Eastwood's career from his first major success in Sergio Leone's iconoclastic Italian westerns. Smith ( Discerning the Subject ) uses Eastwood's work, its themes and structures, to tease out some interesting notions about gender and sexuality. The result is film criticism that, while conventional, is of a very high level, with Eastwood's career serving as a catalyst for some provocative musings on film theory. These turn particularly fruitful in a lengthy digression that focuses on Eastwood's oft-maligned performances to explore the nature of film acting, which Smith breaks down into three areas--the facial, the corporeal and the vocal. In addition, Smith incisively examines the visual styles of Leone and Don Siegel and their influence on Eastwood's work. On the down side, Smith often falls into the jargon of Lacanian psychoanalysis and overuses technical words like "diegesis" and "narrativity." The book may be too difficult for the casual reader, but the serious film buff will glean some new ideas about Eastwood.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816619603
• ISBN-13: 978-0816619603
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,472,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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