[ecrea] New publication - Home Movies: The American Family in Contemporary Hollywood

Apologies for crossposting, but I wanted to draw your attention to a
recent publication that may be of interest:

*//*

*/Home Movies: The American Family in Contemporary Hollywood/, Claire
Jenkins (IB Tauris)*

The American family has long been at the centre of the typical Hollywood
narrative. But the depiction of the nuclear family within mainstream
cinema since 1990 has not yet been closely studied. Home Movies
addresses this oversight by assessing recent cinematic representations
of the family in terms of cultural politics and representations of
gender, sexuality, race and class, and demonstrating that there is a
tension at play in Hollywood narratives between attempts to hold on to
the traditional, dominant image of the family – which is nuclear, white,
middle-class and suburban – and a desire to embrace more diverse types –
such as single-parent, gay or black families.

Focusing on a broad range of contemporary popular films – from /Meet the
Parents/ to /The Incredibles/ – Claire Jenkins analyses the
father–daughter relationship within sequels and series; Meryl Streep’s
embodiment of the mother; the superhero family and extraordinary
manifestations of the ordinary family; disaster films which depict the
president as father; ‘mom-coms’ and Hollywood’s representations of the
non-traditional family. Jenkins combines film studies, gender studies
and family history to explain the complexities of Hollywood’s family
values. The typical Hollywood family – and the threat changing realities
pose for it – has not been assessed in any real depth by recent
scholarship. Home Movies provides an essential insight into continued
misconceptions about America’s family dynamics and gender structures,
and the impact of popular culture on dominant social and cultural
discourses.

‘Home Movies makes a superb contribution to academic debates about the
depiction of families and family values in Hollywood films since the
1990s. Jenkins identifies and explains both traditional family
narratives and the emergence of alternative representations of
motherhood, fatherhood and childhood in films: from single-parent to gay
and lesbian families. This is a well-focused and stimulating book. It
constitutes a timely addition to studies of contemporary Hollywood films
and family value discourses.’

Deborah Chambers, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, Newcastle
University

‘Home Movies is a welcome addition to the growing body of work that
deals with cinematic representations of the American family. Focusing in
particular on the politics of family values, Jenkins makes an important
intervention that broadens the scope of study into this crucially
important social formation, and sheds light on an impressive range of
films from across the spectrum of recent popular US film.’

Hannah Hamad, Lecturer in Film Studies, King’s College London

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Dr Matthew Jones
Lecturer in Cinema and Television History
De Montfort University

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