The Once and Future King: Negotiating the Survival of Boys in 1990s Cinema
Authors
Barnett, KatieAffiliation
University of ChesterPublication Date
2015-09-01
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On the cinema screen, boyhood has often been depicted as a period of freedom, rebellion, and energy, a pre-cursor to manhood in which young boys are able to negotiate their identity and place within the world. In 1990s Hollywood, however, a wave of films turn to depicting the death of young boys on screen. As a result, boyhood becomes a site of vulnerability and weakness. This article seeks to examine the implications of these deaths, framing them within the context of a wider negotiation of masculinity and fatherhood politics. In addition, it questions the extent to which the deaths of these young boys can be read queerly, subverting the drive towards the future inherent in the figure of the child.Citation
Barnett, K. (2015). The Once and Future King: Negotiating the Survival of Boys in 1990s Cinema. Boyhood Studies, 8(2), 25-42. https://doi.org/10.3167/bhs.2015.080203Publisher
Berghahn JournalsJournal
Boyhood StudiesType
ArticleLanguage
enDescription
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedited version of an article published in Boyhood Studies. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Barnett, K. (2015). The Once and Future King: Negotiating the Survival of Boys in 1990s Cinema. Boyhood Studies, 8(2), 25-42. https://doi.org/10.3167/bhs.2015.080203 is available online at https://www.berghahnjournals.com/abstract/journals/boyhood-studies/8/2/bhs080203.xmlISSN
2375-9240ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3167/bhs.2015.080203