Mysterious Skin : Male Bodies in Contemporary Cinema

Borrowing its title from Gregg Araki’s 2005 film, in which the camera’s contemplation of the male body encourages us to feel that body, and covering a broad span of subjects and films, “Mysterious Skin” offers a wider, more representative picture of the depiction of the male body in contemporary world cinemas than has hitherto been attempted. An international array of major experts explore the treatment of masculinity and the male body in the cinemas of Africa, Australia, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, North America, Spain, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as Hollywood. Their common concern is to reveal how the representation of the male body is used in films to convey a country’s anxieties about its national identity and history, as well as how it engages with questions of racial, sexual or gender politics. They discuss key actors, directors and films of these countries, from Ewan MacGregor in Peter Greenaway’s “The Pillow Book”, through the films of Wong Kar Wai, to Paul Hogan as Mick Dundee in “Crocodile Dundee”. In so doing, “Mysterious Skin” also provides a strong overview of important cinema produced around the world in the last twenty years. Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 List of Contributors 12 Acknowledgements 16 Introduction: Mysterious Skin -- Santiago Fouz-Hernández 18 PART 1: THE BODY AND ETHNIC/NATIONAL IDENTITIES 28 1. From Jesus to Jeremy: The Jewish Male Body on Film, 1990 to Present -- Nathan Abrams 30 2. Fragmented Bodies: Masculinity and Nation in Contemporary German Cinema -- Heidi Schlipphacke 44 3. Hong Kong Cinema and Chineseness: The Palimpsestic Male Bodies of Wong Kar-Wai -- Konrad Gar-Yeu Ng 60 4. Male Bodies at the Edge of the World: Re-thinking Hegemonic and 'Other' Masculinities in Australian Cinema -- Chris Beasley 76 5. The Post-Colonial Cowboy: Masculinity, the Western Genre and Francophone African Film -- Rachael Langford 94 6. The Square Circle: Problematising the National Masculine Body in Indian Cinema -- Aparna Sharma 110 PART 2: FEELING THE BODY: DISSECTIONS, TEXTURES AND CLOSE-UPS 126 7. Tran Anh Hung's Body Poetry -- Robert Davis and Tim Maloney 128 8. Closer than Ever: Contemporary French Cinema and the Male Body in Close-up -- Gary Needham 144 9. Caresses: The Male Body in the Films of Ventura Pons -- Santiago Fouz-Hernández 160 10. Destroying the Male Body in British Horror Cinema -- Alison Peirse 176 PART 3: THE BODY, SEX AND SEXUALITY 192 11. When 'Macho' Bodies Fail: Spectacles of Corporeality and the Limits of the Homosocial/sexual in Mexican Cinema -- Vek Lewis 194 12. Cinematic Cruising: Tsai Ming-liang's Bu san and the Strangely Moving Bodies of Taiwanese Cinema -- D. Cuong O'Neill 210 13. Exposing the Body Guy: The Return of the Repressed in Twentynine Palms -- Peter Lehman and Susan Hunt 224 Bibliography 238 Filmography 254 Index 262 From Jesus To Jeremy: The Jewish Male Body On Film, 1990 To Present / Nathan Abrams -- Fragmented Bodies: Masculinity And Nation In Contemporary German Cinema / Heidi Schlipphacke -- Hong Kong Cinema And Chineseness: The Palimpsestic Male Bodies Of Wong Kar-wai / Konrad Gar-yeu Ng -- Male Bodies At The Edge Of The World: Re-thinking Hegemonic And 'other' Masculinities In Australian Cinema / Chris Beasley -- The Post-colonial Cowboy: Masculinity, The Western Genre And Francophone African Film / Rachail Langford -- The Square Circle: Problematising The National Masculine Body In Indian Cinema / Aparna Sharma -- Tran Anh Hung's Body Poetry / Robert Davis And Tim Maloney -- Closer Than Ever: Contemporary French Cinema And The Male Body In Close-up / Gary Needham -- Caresses: The Male Body In The Films Of Ventura Pons / Santiago Fouz-hernández -- Destroying The Male Body In British Horror Cinema / Alison Peirse -- When 'macho' Bodies Fail: Spectacles Of Corporeality And The Limits Of The Homosocial/sexual In Mexican Cinema / Vek Lewis -- Cinematic Cruising: Tsai Ming-liang's Bu San And The Strangely Moving Bodies Of Taiwanese Cinema / D. Cuong O'neill -- Exposing The Body Guy: The Return Of The Repressed In Twentynine Palms / Peter Lehman And Susan Hunt. Edited By Santiago Fouz-hernández. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 221-236) And Index. Includes Filmography.