Donna Peberdy | Southampton Solent University (original) (raw)

Books by Donna Peberdy

"Masculinity and Film Performance is a lively and engaging study of the complex relationship betw... more "Masculinity and Film Performance is a lively and engaging study of the complex relationship between masculinity and performance on and off screen, focusing on the performance of 'male angst' in American film and popular culture during the 1990s and 2000s. Building on theories of film acting, masculinity, performance, and cultural studies, this book establishes a framework for studying screen masculinity and provides close analysis of a range of performers and performance styles. It also examines the specific social, cultural, historical and political contexts that have shaped and affected the performance of masculinity on screen, such as the aging of the baby boom and the launch of Viagra onto the marketplace, the 'Iron John' and 'Wild Man' phenomenon, and the racially marked fatherhood crisis. Drawing from an array of illuminating film and actor case studies, including Bill Murray, Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Will Smith, William H. Macy, Denzel Washington, Broken Flowers, Far From Heaven, Pleasantville, Magnolia, and Wonder Boys, Donna Peberdy offers a significant contribution to the emerging field of screen performance studies.

'This is a hugely enjoyable and scholarly consideration of an under-written area of film studies, which simultaneously draws intelligently from and moves beyond existing theorisations of film performance.'
- Lisa Purse, University of Reading, UK

'Peberdy's insightful and original examination of male 'angst' in the cinema makes a compelling case for the importance of historical context in understanding performances that take place both on and off the screen.'
- Jacob Smith, Northwestern University, USA

'This genuinely interdisciplinary work includes some of the most penetrating analysis of identity in contemporary American film that I have read in the last few years. Peberdy's focus on performances of 'male angst' breathes new life into debates over the intersection of Hollywood cinema and the politics of identity. Film is expertly put into the context of political debates over masculinity and fatherhood, while never losing sight of real audiences and our fascination with viewing male angst.'
- Jude Davies, University of Winchester, UK"

Chapters explore provocative performances of hysteria and sexual obsession, ‘everyday’ perversion in neoliberal culture, the radical potential of sadomasochism, teenage sexuality in the films of Larry Clark, intergenerational sex and incestuous relations in French cinema, sexual obsession in gay cinema, the straightness of necrophilia, the presentation of the paedophile, Swedish Erotica’s ‘good sex’ and imaging and re-imagining the Marquis de Sade from film to slash fiction. In order to move past binary distinctions of good and bad, normal and abnormal, moral and immoral, Tainted Love seeks to critically interrogate perverse sexualities and sexual perversities on screen.

Articles & Chapters by Donna Peberdy

Celebrity Studies, 2019

The star persona is a highly crafted and carefully managed identity. Stars often call attention t... more The star persona is a highly crafted and carefully managed identity. Stars often call attention to the impact of this construction on their own sense of being, acknowledging a difference between their public and private self. It is evident in Cary Grant’s oft-quoted quip ‘Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant’ or Marilyn Monroe’s admission ‘I never wanted to be Marilyn – it just happened’. Such comments indicate self-awareness about the nature of star and celebrity identity. But what can we make of those instances where these questions of identity, authenticity and the self are self-directed, played out in extended form and culminate in an apparent public ‘meltdown’? Considering the framing of the public behaviours of Hollywood actors Joaquin Phoenix in 2008–2009, Shia LaBeouf in 2013–2014 and Jim Carrey in 2017 as meltdown, this article explores explicit and public rejections of their established personas as they seek to navigate the contemporary star and celebrity landscape. These case studies invite us to reassess the meltdown in the contemporary period, to consider it not as an incident necessitating rehabilitation but as part of a process of reconfiguration – of the star and the self.

Tainted Love: Screening Sexual Perversion, 2017

‘The summer I was eight years old…’ Two boys are introduced near the start of Mysterious Skin (20... more ‘The summer I was eight years old…’
Two boys are introduced near the start of Mysterious Skin (2004) – Brian Lackey (George Webster) and Neil McCormack (Chase Ellison) – narrated by their teenage selves (Brady Corbet and Joseph Gordon-Levitt). ‘The summer I was eight years old’, Brian recalls, ‘five hours disappeared from my life’. Young Brian wakes up in a closet with a bloody nose. The last thing he remembers is sitting on the Little League bench as it starts to rain. From that moment, Brian experiences frequent nosebleeds, bed-wetting and passing out as he tries to make sense of his lost time. He later comes to believe that he was abducted by aliens who experimented on him. The juxtaposition of Brian’s story with Neil’s suggests a more disturbing explanation that is much closer to home... The film navigates the politics and poetics of representation to present a film that reveals and exposes our assumptions about normative and non-normative sexuality, a recurring theme across the essays in this collection.

Tainted Love: Screening Sexual Perversion, edited by Darren Kerr and Donna Peberdy (I.B. Tauris), 2017

To examine the implications of performing sexual perversion, this chapter focuses on two quite di... more To examine the implications of performing sexual perversion, this chapter focuses on two quite different case studies: Kevin Bacon's performance of a convicted child molester in Nicole Kassell's poignant and understated independent drama The Woodsman (2004) and Keira Knightley's performance of sexual hysteria and sadomasochism in David Cronenberg's cerebral historical fiction A Dangerous Method (2011). The two films feature actors performing sexual perversion in leading roles but it is *how* they perform their respective perversions that is especially significant. In this chapter, I explore how these performances not only engage with and challenge preconceived notions and stereotypes, but consider how they also challenge the boundaries and norms of sexual identity and the performing body.

Acting (Behind the Silver Screen) edited by Claudia Springer and Julie Levinson (Rutgers University Press), Aug 1, 2015

This chapter focuses on three key modes of performance – excess, transformation and the ensemble ... more This chapter focuses on three key modes of performance – excess, transformation and the ensemble – that characterised both the films and acting of the 1981-1999 period. Firstly, the concept of ‘excess’ allows an exploration of exaggerated, histrionic performances, the mechanical acting and ‘musculinity’ of hard body action heroes and heroines and the performances of addiction and obsession that littered the period. ‘Transformation’ brings together the ‘body swap’, dual performance, body mutation, gender alteration, the Cinderella makeover and physical and mental adaption. Finally, the ensemble offers a rich space to showcase a variety of actors and acting styles, bringing together excess and transformation in their engagement with social and cultural concerns of the period.

Editorial for guest edited issue on acting and performance. Acting and performance continue to... more Editorial for guest edited issue on acting and performance.

Acting and performance continue to grow as significant areas of film scholarship although studies have predominantly focused on Hollywood and the West, or largely exploring actors and performers in their national contexts. The topic of transnational
stardom has received an increasing amount of critical attention, with such studies foregrounding key issues surrounding the transnational processes of stardom, the crosscultural
construction and reception of stars and the relationship between transnational authorship and stardom. The part played by acting and performance in such global
processes has received relatively little consideration. What is the function of actors and performers in transnational cinema? As the boundaries between nations, cinemas and screens become increasingly blurred, how do we make sense of the actors who populate them?

FREE TO READ UNTIL THE END OF DEC 2016 via http://www.tandfonline.com Focusing on the multi-dire... more FREE TO READ UNTIL THE END OF DEC 2016 via http://www.tandfonline.com

Focusing on the multi-directed Cloud Atlas (Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, 2012), this article examines the film’s unconventional approach to the ensemble format in adapting David Mitchell’s apparently unfilmable novel. It considers how the film’s unique multi-role, cross-casting performance strategy both reveals the possibilities of transnational cinema but also exposes its limitations. Drawing from popular critical reception and cast and crew commentaries, the article considers how multi-role performance offers a challenge and alternative to conventional modes of performance, how vaudeville can help to make sense of the performance approach adopted in the film, and investigates the relationship between prosthetics and play in establishing the ensemble. The film raises questions about race, ethnicity and gender, the boundaries between identities and the challenges of performing multiple roles as played out on the body of the actor. With multiple actors taking on multiple roles across multiple narratives, the article argues that Cloud Atlas offers a radical example of the ensemble as a metaphor for global interconnectedness and problematizes its very mode of performance as a result.

Keywords:
Cloud Atlas, acting, performance, ensemble, prosthetics, boundaries

Acting (Behind the Silver Screen) edited by Claudia Springer (Rutgers University Press), Aug 1, 2015

A Companion to Film Noir, edited by Andrew Spicer and Helen Hanson (Oxford: Blackwell), Jul 2013

By considering performance according to three particular modes – screen, diegetic, and social – t... more By considering performance according to three particular modes – screen, diegetic, and social – this chapter establishes a framework through which to think about acting and performance in film noir and to determine what Richard de Cordova refers to as the “generic specificity of certain forms of performance.” It reveals how performance in noir interacts with these modes in revealing ways. I suggest that what is central to the generic specificity of noir performance is less a particular acting style than an emotion that is differently and variously enacted. ‘Angst’ and anxiety are repeatedly invoked in critical discussions of film noir as central to its sensibility and evident in its themes, storylines, and use of cinematic techniques. This chapter argues that the performance of angst is a key characteristic of film noir, found in the gestures, mannerisms and expressions of its leading men and women, evident in its characterizations and narratives, and demonstrated via its construction of gendered and social roles.

Celebrity Studies (Special Issue on Sex and Celebrity edited by John Mercer), Mar 2013

Celebrity sexual scandal has long attracted the attention of the popular media and is a motivatin... more Celebrity sexual scandal has long attracted the attention of the popular media and is a motivating force in the construction of celebrity identity. Its aftermath is often carefully stage-managed by agents, publicists and promoters but always mediated and beyond the control of the celebrity. It is the relationship between celebrity and a particular sexual transgression – autoerotic asphyxiation (AEA) – that is our focus here in terms of how celebrity and AEA have been similarly read and discussed. This is illustrated through a consideration of the diverse case studies of the peculiarly perverse and untimely deaths of INXS front man Michael Hutchence found naked in a hotel room in 1997, veteran B-movie actor David Carradine discovered hanging from a wardrobe in a Thai hotel in 2010 and the bizarre reports regarding British Conservative MP Stephen Milligan’s death in 1994. In considering the practices and discourses around it, we argue that AEA both reveals and makes sense of the tensions and contradictions inherent in celebrity identity. In particular, the article considers the complex negotiations between the private and public selves, contradictory discourses that seek to make sense of an AEA death and the impact it has on the celebrity persona. Ultimately we argue that the nature and contact of the sex act and death reconfigures and fixes the celebrity identity that existed prior to the celebrity’s association with AEA.

in Film Dialogue, edited by Jeff Jaeckle (Wallflower/Columbia University Press), Jun 2013

This chapter examines the role of speech affectations in presenting and performing maleness in or... more This chapter examines the role of speech affectations in presenting and performing maleness in order to explore the relationship between the male voice and male identity. Focusing on how utterances construct or challenge the image of male identity fostered on screen, the chapter draws examples from two actors in particular - Humphrey Bogart and James Earl Jones - to consider how their speech affectations, a lisp and stutter respectively, inform their construction of character and performance of masculinity. Considering the speech affectations of Bogart and Jones demonstrate not just the centrality of the voice to the construction of persona, character and gender, but also how a voice can undermine that construction, its very vocal tenets starkly opposing the characteristics of a gendered identity.

This paper examines the role of the actor in the Anderson frame and considers the function of per... more This paper examines the role of the actor in the Anderson frame and considers the function of performance as a theme and strategy as a way of reading Anderson's films. Considering the relationship between mise-en-scène, the camera and the actor, I establish the actor's agency in the construction of character and narrative. Anderson's films construct other ‘frames’ through which to read performance, including performance-within-performance framing devices and the ensemble. Such techniques call attention to performance as performance, self-consciously foregrounding film and performance as a constructed image that is then echoed by a number of Anderson's narratives. The paper goes on to examine the distinctiveness of acting in Anderson's films, particularly via a ‘deadpan’ style that is exhibited facially and vocally. Finally, these areas are brought together via a discussion of performance in relation to the enactment of male social roles in order to argue that what we witness in Anderson's films is less a ‘blankness’ than an autistic performance of emotion.

Millennial Masculinity: Men in Contemporary American Cinema, Dec 15, 2012

What does it mean to "play gay"? This chapter seeks to answer this question by examining not only... more What does it mean to "play gay"? This chapter seeks to answer this question by examining not only Sean Penn's performance of homosexuality in Milk (Gus Van Sant 2008), but also the politics of that performance which, I argue, is inseparable from the identity of the performer.

In Pretty People: Movie Stars of the 1990s, edited by Anna Everett (Rutgers University Press), Apr 2012

Michael Douglas quickly became synonymous with the popular figure of the man-in-crisis in the 199... more Michael Douglas quickly became synonymous with the popular figure of the man-in-crisis in the 1990s and parallels have been repeatedly drawn between Douglas and suspect notions of the era's zeitgeist. The critics aligning Douglas with zeitgeist notions of masculinity are significant for the credit they allow Douglas in constructing his contemporary characters; it is Douglas who has 'tapped into', 'takes on' and 'reads' the zeitgeist. This chapter complicates the idea of Douglas as an icon of contemporary masculinity by locating the role of the actor in the construction of his characters. In other words, what did Douglas -do- to become paradigmatic of the decade's male in crisis?

Men and Masculinities, Jan 1, 2010

This article examines the performative and paradoxical relationship between masculine opposites—h... more This article examines the performative and paradoxical relationship between masculine opposites—hard and soft, hypermasculinity and hypomasculinity—as presented through the figures of the Wild Man and Wimp. Rather than shifting from hard to soft at different historical moments, as has been argued by scholars such as Susan Jeffords, Fred Pfeil, as well as poet and activist Robert Bly, the article suggests that masculinity is bipolar, simultaneously exhibiting hard and soft modes. Tom Cruise offers a particularly indicative example, moving between hard and soft, Wild Man and Wimp, both on-screen and offscreen. In Magnolia, Cruise’s movement from Frank T.J. Mackey’s manic misogyny to Jack’s emotional hysteria at his father’s bedside presents masculinity as a performance, extending past the cinematic stage to his televisual performances to Oprah, Jay Leno, and Matt Lauer. Cruise offers a clear example where movement too far in either direction can undermine the male “norm,” yet underscores the bipolar nature of masculinity.

Screening the Past 21, special issue on Cinema/Theatre: Beyond Adaptation, 2007

This article considers the voice as a performance tool, exploring differences between the voice i... more This article considers the voice as a performance tool, exploring differences between the voice in the theatre and the voice in the cinema. Is there, as Sontag has asked in relation to the two art forms, something genuinely ‘theatrical’ about the voice in the theatre that differs from what is ‘cinematic’ about the voice in film? Considering the voice as distinct from the words that are spoken, I examine how meaning is created in Oleanna through how the words are spoken. That is, how the voice is used as a performance tool. The transition of the voice from stage to screen is examined by considering how the use and sound of the voice differs from the play to the film version and how this conversion affects our understanding of the play. Does the theatrical voice always become a cinematic voice once it is filmed?

Conference Papers by Donna Peberdy

Celebrity Studies, 2019

Tainted Love: Screening Sexual Perversion, 2017

Tainted Love: Screening Sexual Perversion, edited by Darren Kerr and Donna Peberdy (I.B. Tauris), 2017

Acting (Behind the Silver Screen) edited by Claudia Springer and Julie Levinson (Rutgers University Press), Aug 1, 2015

Editorial for guest edited issue on acting and performance. Acting and performance continue to... more Editorial for guest edited issue on acting and performance.

FREE TO READ UNTIL THE END OF DEC 2016 via http://www.tandfonline.com Focusing on the multi-dire... more FREE TO READ UNTIL THE END OF DEC 2016 via http://www.tandfonline.com

Keywords:
Cloud Atlas, acting, performance, ensemble, prosthetics, boundaries

Acting (Behind the Silver Screen) edited by Claudia Springer (Rutgers University Press), Aug 1, 2015

A Companion to Film Noir, edited by Andrew Spicer and Helen Hanson (Oxford: Blackwell), Jul 2013

Celebrity Studies (Special Issue on Sex and Celebrity edited by John Mercer), Mar 2013

in Film Dialogue, edited by Jeff Jaeckle (Wallflower/Columbia University Press), Jun 2013

Millennial Masculinity: Men in Contemporary American Cinema, Dec 15, 2012

In Pretty People: Movie Stars of the 1990s, edited by Anna Everett (Rutgers University Press), Apr 2012

Men and Masculinities, Jan 1, 2010

Screening the Past 21, special issue on Cinema/Theatre: Beyond Adaptation, 2007

The study of film performance is beginning to develop its own vocabulary and mode of analysis bas... more The study of film performance is beginning to develop its own vocabulary and mode of analysis based on feature-length filmmaking. The short film offers a different set of issues and functions distinct from the feature that suggest a specific framework is needed for thinking about the shorter form. Factors such as economies of scale and style and the crucial role of the internet as an exhibition space impose their own restrictions on both the actors and how they are read yet, at the same time, the short form is enabling in a number of ways that are less evident with the feature and is thus a valuable tool for studying screen performance.

In order to assess the function of acting and performance in the short film, this paper focuses on: “Fourteen Actors Acting” (2010) a series of films directed by Solve Sundsbo ranging from 30 to 90 seconds featuring Tilda Swinton, Michael Douglas, James Franco, Javier Bardem alongside ten other actors; “Speechless” (2007) a series of shorts made for the internet in response to the Writers Guild of America strike; and a number of the Andy Warhol “Screen Tests” filmed between 1964 and 1966.

Screening Sex is an academic blog curated by Darren Kerr and Donna Peberdy. Each month we will b... more Screening Sex is an academic blog curated by Darren Kerr and Donna Peberdy.

Each month we will be publishing research articles, opinion pieces, interviews and reviews on a range of topics related to sex on screen and sexual cultures. The idea behind ‘screening sex’ follows Linda Williams‘ dual notion of the physical screen (representation across film, television, web) and screening to conceal, evaluate or investigate.

Through our Network and Publications pages, we are also looking to establish a space that connects writers, researchers and creative practitioners working in the area.

Interested in contributing to the blog, joining our network or have a publication, cfp or event to promote? Contact us via the website or email screeningsex@gmail.com.

Screening Sex, 2017

Based on a 2005 ‘sound play’, Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson 2015) is a stop motion ... more Based on a 2005 ‘sound play’, Anomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson 2015) is a stop motion puppet animation about a British self-help author who specialises in customer services yet struggles to make meaningful connections with other people. In this blog post, I examine what has been described by numerous reviewers as the most realistic sex scene of 2015. I would suggest that the effectiveness of the scene is the result of the interaction between multiple layers of performance in the film: the performance of sex as played out by the characters of Michael and Lisa; the sex act crafted by the animators; the capturing of the performance of sex by the cinematography and lighting; and the vocal performance of sex by Leigh and Thewlis as the voice artists. All are informed by the presence, pursuit and performance of awkwardness, which becomes a crucial, defining quality of the sex act.

Improv: Reflections on Screen Acting and Performance, Nov 2015

I have often wondered whether actors watch their own films and, if they do, what do they think of... more I have often wondered whether actors watch their own films and, if they do, what do they think of their performances? What do they look for when they watch themselves on screen? What, for them, constitutes a job well done? Do they compare their performances to earlier roles? To other actors?

Improv: Reflections on Screen Acting and Performance, Sep 2015

In Legend, Tom Hardy takes on a dual-role performance as both the Kray twins. It is the first tim... more In Legend, Tom Hardy takes on a dual-role performance as both the Kray twins. It is the first time the notorious crime duo has been depicted in a film by the same actor. In 1990, brothers Martin and Gary Kemp played the identical twins in The Krays, while earlier this year Simon Cotton and Kevin Leslie portrayed the pair in The Rise of the Krays. Although Hardy has taken on numerous complex transformations for the screen, including losing 2 stone for Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007) and then gaining 3 stone for Bronson (2008), the actor has described the dual role in Legend as “the hardest thing that I’ve ever done, technically.”

Improv: Reflections on Screen Acting and Performance, Jul 2015

Is extreme weight gain or loss worth it if the finished film fails to make money or result in an ... more Is extreme weight gain or loss worth it if the finished film fails to make money or result in an Oscar nomination?

ICA Blog, Aug 2016

Rivalry, comedy and the deconstruction of conventional masculinity in Chevalier (Athina Rachel Ts... more Rivalry, comedy and the deconstruction of conventional masculinity in Chevalier (Athina Rachel Tsangari 2015).

Improv: Reflections on Screen Acting and Performance, May 2015

Robert Downey Jr., Krishnan Guru-Murthy, press junket, Avengers: Age of Ultron, performance, acti... more Robert Downey Jr., Krishnan Guru-Murthy, press junket, Avengers: Age of Ultron, performance, acting, celebrity, stardom, interview.

The emotionally inept (mostly) male protagonists that exist in American 'smart' cinema are freque... more The emotionally inept (mostly) male protagonists that exist in American 'smart' cinema are frequently in search of love and driven by their desire for another. While sex might feature in discussions between characters, or we are witness to the uncomfortable aftermath of a sexual encounter, the actual sex act rarely features. When it does, it generally confirms the character's solitude, strangeness and desperation via solo sexual pursuits and masturbatory ventures or their romantic and sexual incompetence as part of a dysfunctional couple. Sex, it seems, is subject to the same 'dispassion, disengagement and disinterest' as any other narrative device (Sconce 2002). The overwhelming message appears to be that physically and emotionally satisfying sex is unachievable for these idiosyncratic individuals; they are destined to have bad sex.

There are some interesting exceptions. The aim of this paper is to explore how three films manage to successfully elude the threat of sexual failure while retaining the awkward qualities of the quirk. Being John Malkovich, Her and Anomalisa present narratives that navigate the unsteady terrain of identity and, to a large extent, conform to claims that smart cinema is characterised by repression and miscommunication. Yet, in their respective sex scenes, the sex act becomes the space for authentic and honest connections that appear impossible across their wider narratives, revealing their character's passion, engagement and interest. In doing so, this paper also considers the potential of smart cinema to raise meaningful questions about sexual identity in spite, and because of, its unconventionality whether through puppet sex, phone sex with a virtual assistant or sex via a portal into an actor's body.

Rutgers University Press, 2020

Tainted Love, 2017

Tainted Love is the first critical anthology to offer extended analysis of the representation of ... more Tainted Love is the first critical anthology to offer extended analysis of the representation of sexual perversities on screen. Interrogating the recent shift towards the mainstream in the cinematic representation of previously marginalised sexual practices, it challenges the discourses and debates around sexual taboo, moral panics, degeneracy, deviance and disease, which present those who enact such sexualities as modern folk devils. This timely collection brings together leading scholars who draw on a variety of critical approaches including adaptation, performance, cultural studies, queer theory, feminism and philosophy to examine screen representations of controversial sexualities from the weird and wonderful to the debased and debauched. Chapters explore provocative performances of hysteria and sexual obsession, ‘everyday’ perversion in neoliberal culture, the radical potential of sadomasochism, teenage sexuality in the films of Larry Clark, intergenerational sex and incestuous relations in French cinema, sexual obsession in gay cinema, the straightness of necrophilia, the presentation of the paedophile, Swedish Erotica’s ‘good sex’ and imaging and re-imagining the Marquis de Sade from film to slash fiction. In order to move past binary distinctions of good and bad, normal and abnormal, moral and immoral, Tainted Love seeks to critically interrogate perverse sexualities and sexual perversities on screen.

Tainted Love, 2017

‘The summer I was eight years old…’ Two boys are introduced near the start of Mysterious Skin (20... more ‘The summer I was eight years old…’ Two boys are introduced near the start of Mysterious Skin (2004) – Brian Lackey (George Webster) and Neil McCormack (Chase Ellison) – narrated by their teenage selves (Brady Corbet and Joseph Gordon-Levitt). ‘The summer I was eight years old’, Brian recalls, ‘five hours disappeared from my life’. Young Brian wakes up in a closet with a bloody nose. The last thing he remembers is sitting on the Little League bench as it starts to rain. From that moment, Brian experiences frequent nosebleeds, bed-wetting and passing out as he tries to make sense of his lost time. He later comes to believe that he was abducted by aliens who experimented on him. The juxtaposition of Brian’s story with Neil’s suggests a more disturbing explanation that is much closer to home... The film navigates the politics and poetics of representation to present a film that reveals and exposes our assumptions about normative and non-normative sexuality, a recurring theme across the essays in this collection.

One way or another, many colleagues start their teaching careers in higher education by getting '... more One way or another, many colleagues start their teaching careers in higher education by getting 'thrown in at the deep end'. For many, within weeks or days of taking up their posts, there are lectures to be given, or tutorials to run, or seminars to lead, or marking of students' work to be done. Sometimes they face one or more of these prospects without having had any opportunity to learn how to tackle such challenges. Relevant staff development opportunities may indeed exist, but not always in time for those critical first experiences of teaching or assessing. My aim in this booklet is to help you to cope well with those first few critical elements of your work in teaching in higher education. I hope, however, that this booklet will then continue to be helpful as you venture further into your teaching.

Celebrity Studies, 2019

The star persona is a highly crafted and carefully managed identity. Stars often call attention t... more The star persona is a highly crafted and carefully managed identity. Stars often call attention to the impact of this construction on their own sense of being, acknowledging a difference between their public and private self. It is evident in Cary Grant's oft-quoted quip 'Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant' or Marilyn Monroe's admission 'I never wanted to be Marilynit just happened'. Such comments indicate self-awareness about the nature of star and celebrity identity. But what can we make of those instances where these questions of identity, authenticity and the self are self-directed, played out in extended form and culminate in an apparent public 'meltdown'? Considering the framing of the public behaviours of Hollywood actors Joaquin Phoenix in 2008-2009, Shia LaBeouf in 2013-2014 and Jim Carrey in 2017 as meltdown, this article explores explicit and public rejections of their established personas as they seek to navigate the contemporary star and celebrity landscape. These case studies invite us to reassess the meltdown in the contemporary period, to consider it not as an incident necessitating rehabilitation but as part of a process of reconfigurationof the star and the self.

Choice Reviews Online, 2012

Masculinity and Film Performance is a lively and engaging study of the complex relationship betwe... more Masculinity and Film Performance is a lively and engaging study of the complex relationship between masculinity and performance on and off screen, focusing on the performance of 'male angst' in American film and popular culture during the 1990s and 2000s. Building on theories of film acting, masculinity, performance, and cultural studies, this book establishes a framework for studying screen masculinity and provides close analysis of a range of performers and performance styles. It also examines the specific social, cultural, historical and political contexts that have shaped and affected the performance of masculinity on screen, such as the aging of the baby boom and the launch of Viagra onto the marketplace, the 'Iron John' and 'Wild Man' phenomenon, and the racially marked fatherhood crisis. Drawing from an array of illuminating film and actor case studies, including Bill Murray, Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Will Smith, William H. Macy, Denzel Washington, Broken Flowers, Far From Heaven, Pleasantville, Magnolia, and Wonder Boys, Masculinity and Film Performance offers a significant contribution to the emerging field of screen performance studies.

What does it mean to "play gay"? This chapter seeks to answer this question by examinin... more What does it mean to "play gay"? This chapter seeks to answer this question by examining not only Sean Penn's performance of homosexuality in Milk (Gus Van Sant 2008), but also the politics of that performance which, I argue, is inseparable from the identity of the performer.

Transnational Cinemas, 2014

Focusing on the multi-directed Cloud Atlas (Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, 2012), th... more Focusing on the multi-directed Cloud Atlas (Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, 2012), this article examines the film’s unconventional approach to the ensemble format in adapting David Mitchell’s apparently unfilmable novel. It considers how the film’s unique multi-role, cross-casting performance strategy both reveals the possibilities of transnational cinema but also exposes its limitations. Drawing from popular critical reception and cast and crew commentaries, the article considers how multi-role performance offers a challenge and alternative to conventional modes of performance, how vaudeville can help to make sense of the performance approach adopted in the film, and investigates the relationship between prosthetics and play in establishing the ensemble. The film raises questions about race, ethnicity and gender, the boundaries between identities and the challenges of performing multiple roles as played out on the body of the actor. With multiple actors taking on multiple roles across multiple narratives, the article argues that Cloud Atlas offers a radical example of the ensemble as a metaphor for global interconnectedness and problematizes its very mode of performance as a result.

Transnational Cinemas, 2014

Spicer/A Companion to Film Noir, 2013