Synopses & Reviews
In Unlikely Couples, Thomas E. Wartenberg directly challenges the view that narrative cinema inherently supports the dominant social interests by examining the way popular films about unlikely couples” (a mismatched romantic union viewed as inappropriate due to its class, racial, or gender composition) explore, expose, and criticize societal attitudes, boundaries, and prejudices. The films under considerationincluding King Kong, Pygmalion, It Happened One Night, Pretty Woman, White Palace, Some Like it Hot, Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, Mississippi Masala, Jungle Fever, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Desert Hearts, and The Crying Gameare examined both individually and as a whole to illustrate how the genre uses the figure of a transgressive couple to explore tensions in genres use of the figure of a transgressive couple to condemn social hierarchy as well as to raise a range of significant philosophical topics.
Synopsis
Examines the way popular films about mismatched couples explore, expose, and often criticize societal attitudes, boundaries, and prejudices.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-248) and index.
About the Author
Thomas E. Wartenberg is professor of philosophy at Mount Holyoke College and was chair of the film program there from 1991-1999.
Table of Contents
The subversive potential of the unlikely couple film -- Pygmalion : the flower girl and the bachelor -- It happened one night : an education in humility -- Pretty woman : a fairy tale of oedipalized capitalism -- White palace : dustbuster epiphanies -- Guess who's coming to dinner : does father really know best? -- Jungle fever : souring on forbidden fruit -- Mississippi masala : love in a postcolonial world -- Ali : fear eats the soul : the privileges of "race" -- Desert hearts : betting on lesbian love -- The crying game : loving in ignorance -- Movie romance and the critique of hierarchy.