Torturous Etiquettes : Film Performance and Social Form (Suny series, Horizons of Cinema)

Varndell, Daniel

State University of New York Press（2023/07発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 262 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781438493510
• DDC分類 791.43655

Full Description

Explores the "torture" of mannered behavior and the prevalence of etiquette as a theme in classical and contemporary Hollywood and European cinema.

"Etiquette," as noted toastmaster Herbert V. Prochnow once pointed out, "is knowing how to yawn with your mouth closed"-that is, to spare the feelings of the other person, one must stifle one's own. To be polite, therefore, is to perform. Onscreen, closeups often reveal the effort that goes into maintaining that performance: with a fleeting frown or a slight scowl, an actor reveals the "torture" of mannered behavior. In Torturous Etiquettes, Daniel Varndell examines such gestures to reveal the difficulties of the social encounter. Drawing on the history of etiquette, the book deconstructs an array of examples from classical and contemporary Hollywood and European cinema, taking a close look at onscreen representations of rudeness, ridiculing, racist and sexist etiquettes, hospitality, table manners, and more. In doing so, it reveals etiquette to be a persistent theme in cinema and questions the role it plays in either upholding or denying the basic humanity of others.

Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Minding Manners

Part I: Initiation

1 Close Encounters: Greetings

2 Home Invasions: Hospitality

3 Crossing the Line: Embarrassment

Part II: Exchange

4 No Joke: Humor

5 The Butler Did It: Service

6 Racist Etiquette: Disservice

Part III: Dissolution

7 Garments of the Mind: Clothes

8 Tabular Outrages: Dinner

9 Tresses and Distresses: Intimacy

Conclusion: As Time Goes By
Notes
Bibliography
Index