Postfeminism and Contemporary Hollywood Cinema

Benjamin A. Brabon, Edge Hill University, UKClara Bradbury-Rance, postgraduate researcher, UKAlexia L. Bowler, Swansea University, UKAmy Burns, postgraduate researcher, UKKatherine Farrimond, Newcastle University, UKMartin Fradley, University of Aberdeen and Manchester University, UKVincent M. Gaine is an independent researcher, UKJoel Gwynne, National Institute of Education, SingaporeHannah Hamad, King's College, London, UKKatharina Lindner, University of Stirling, UKAna Moya, University of Barcelona, SpainNadine Muller, Liverpool John Moores University, UKLauren Jade Thompson, postgraduate researcher, UKHelen Warner, University of East Anglia, UKImelda Whelehan, University of Tasmania, Australia

"This is an exciting collection that helps to disentangle the threads of feminism, neo-feminism and postfeminism in contemporary Hollywood cinema. Focusing on emergent masculinities as well as new (and old) femininities and the rise and rise of 'the girl', it helps to illuminate the way gender is figured in popular film. A welcome addition to the field highly recommended for anyone with an interest in gender at the movies." - Rosalind Gill, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, King's College London, UK "Postfeminism and Contemporary Hollywood Cinema offers a refreshing intervention into scholarship on postfeminism by turning a keen eye to previously neglected, but nevertheless key, areas in which postfeminism operates including independent film, depictions of masculinities, sports films, and aging while also offering an up-to-date look at a broad range of popular films. As a result, the collection moves our understanding of postfeminism forward in important and nuanced ways." - Sarah Projansky, Professor of Film, University of Utah, USA "This book provides a thorough account of how different forms of postfeminist subjectivity manifest themselves in contemporary Hollywood cinema. It offers at the same time a critical understanding of postfeminism as a key 'cultural condition." - Franka Heise, Review Journal for the Study of Culture

• Introduction: Postfeminism and Contemporary Hollywood Cinema; Joel Gwynne and Nadine Muller PART I: POSTFEMINIST FEMININITIES 1. Neo-Feminism In-Between: Female Cosmopolitan Subjects in Contemporary American Film; Ana Moya 2. Querying Postfeminism in Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right ; Clara Bradbury-Rance 3. The Slut that Wasn't: Virginity, (Post)Feminism and Representation in Easy A ; Katherine Farrimond 4. The Girls of Zeta: Sororities, Ideal Femininity and the Makeover Paradigm in The House Bunny ; Joel Gwynne 5. Ageing Appropriately: Postfeminist Discourses of Ageing in Contemporary Hollywood; Imelda Whelehan PART II: POSTFEMINIST MASCULINITIES 6. 'Chuck Flick': A Genealogy of the Postfeminist Male Singleton; Benjamin A. Brabon 7. The Chick's 'New Hero': (Re)Constructing Masculinity in the Postfeminist 'Chick Flick'; Amy Burns 8. Hollywood Fatherhood: Paternal Postfeminism in Contemporary Popular Cinema; Hannah Hamad 9. Mancaves and Cushions: Marking Masculine and Feminine Domestic Space in Postfeminist Romantic Comedy; Lauren Jade Thompson 10. 'We're not making forward progress': Postfeminist Hypermasculinity in Heat ; Vincent M. Gaine PART III: POSTFEMINISM AND GENRE 11. Towards a New Sexual Conservatism in Postfeminist Romantic Comedy; Alexia Bowler 12. Hell is a Teenage Girl? Postfeminism and Contemporary Teen Horror; Martin Fradley 13. 'A New Feminist Revolution in Hollywood Comedy'?: Postfeminist Discourses and the Critical Reception of Bridesmaids ; Helen Warner 14. Blood, Sweat and Tears: Women, Sport and Hollywood; Katharina Lindner