The Kirkland Project for the Study of Gender, Society and Culture at Hamilton College in Clinton announces its "Masculinities" film series for January – March 2003. Screenings are free and open to the public. All films will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in Kirner-Johnson 109 (Red Pit). For more information, contact the Kirkland Project at 315-859-4288.
Thursday, January 23:
Face/Off, with discussion facilitated by Dana Luciano, English
1997, Director: John Woo
John Woo's Face/Off revolves around the tense relationship between hero and villain, but with a twist: this time, the two switch bodies and enter one another's lives. Face/Off, by entwining two traditionally opposed models of manhood (cop and crook), allows Woo to explore the psychological dynamics of masculinity and to illuminate the erotics of male rivalry.
Wednesday, February 5:
Baby Boy, with discussion facilitated by Todd Franklin, Philosophy
2001, Director: John Singleton
In his latest film, director John Singleton highlights the social and psychological complexities of urban African-American masculinities. Focusing squarely on how many of these masculinities are tinged with a certain infantilism, the work serves as a powerful starting point for examining masculinity in relation to maturity.
Thursday, February 20:
Ma Vie en Rose, with discussion facilitated by Minnie Bruce Pratt, Irwin Chair in Women's Studies
1997, Director: Alain Berliner
This is the story of seven-year-old Ludovic, seen by family as a little boy—while Ludovic has no doubt that she is a little girl, and dresses, plays and loves accordingly. This Belgian movie may be the first film exploration of gender identity in young children. We see Ludovic at ease with her own fey gender—and we see also how there are tremendous social pressures against transgender expression even in so young a child. The film is particularly noteworthy for showing Ludovic's struggle for respect for her identity in the context of a culture where others are struggling against racism. The winner of the Golden Globe as best foreign language film of 1997, this hopeful movie shows the possibility for an infinite range of sex/gender identities being open to all. Co-sponsored by the French Club.
Thursday, February 27:
Western, with discussion facilitated by Martine Guyot-Bender, French
1997, Director: Manuel Poirier
Western is a road movie, a road movie however that features no horse, no open space, no decisive characters. The two men, the two "foreigners," who meet in Brittany walking the roads of the French countryside have lost everything that defined them. Paco, the eye-catching Spanish immigrant, has lost his wife, his work, his car, and his status. Nino, a jovial naïve Russian immigrant, has lost everything too, although he had very little of what defines social status in the first place. Western is the story of a friendship between two losers who allow ordinary circumstances to build an unlikely friendship around them, a story that questions many boundaries and stereotypes and needs no closure. Co-sponsored by the French Club.
Friday, March 7, 2003:
Three Kings, with discussion facilitated by Lisa Trivedi, History
1999, Director: David O. Russell
The 1991 Gulf War has just ended, and American soldiers are celebrating their victory. Some are frustrated that they never "saw action," others wonder why they were fighting Iraq at all. When an Iraqi prisoner of war is found concealing a map to Saddam Hussein's stash of gold and goods looted from Kuwait, a few of the soldiers decide to get something for themselves from the war. They end up getting more than they were asking for. Aside from exploring what it means to be a man and a soldier, this film also considers what it means to be an American in an overseas war. Timely given the current international political crisis, this film provides a glimpse into the first Bush war on Iraq.
