Typical Men

Typical Men is the first history of masculinity in British film from World War II to the end of the 1990s. It explores in detail the changing nature of the dominant male cultural types: the debonair genetleman, the Byronic hero, the Angry Young Man, the delinquent, the maladjusted veteran, villains and comic fools. Typical Men contains fresh interpretations of key films including In Which We Serve, They Made Me a Fugitive, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and the Bond films. It also...
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Typical Men is the first history of masculinity in British film from World War II to the end of the 1990s. It explores in detail the changing nature of the dominant male cultural types: the debonair genetleman, the Byronic hero, the Angry Young Man, the delinquent, the maladjusted veteran, villains and comic fools. Typical Men contains fresh interpretations of key films including In Which We Serve, They Made Me a Fugitive, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and the Bond films. It also provides stimulating commentary on the performances of important male stars such as James Mason, Kenneth More, Sean Connery and Michael Caine. The book brings the story into the 21st century by describing the recent evolution of masculinity in British films._x000D_ _x000D_ One of the great strengths of Typical Men is its ability to dramatise the rise and fall, plenitude and exhaustion, of versions of masculinity in relation to the dynamics of social history The detail within the broad overview is rich and fascinating Bruce Babington, Journal of Popular British Cinema_x000D_ _x000D_ Typical Men breaks new ground an intriguing and interesting fast-track journey through British cinema by way of what Spicer considers the cornerstones of key male types and actors. It roots through an astonishing number and variety of films, and teases out a string of masculine constructions and their background context. Stephen Guy, Contemporary British History"