I’ll be back? The Deconstruction of the 1980s and the 1990s Hard Body Movies

Authors

  • Moshe Machlev Florida Atlantic University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2021.369

Keywords:

hard bodies, action heroes, cultural influences, male masquerade, deconstruction

Abstract

The following essay discusses the cultural factors that inspired the “hard body” movies of the 1980’s and 1990’s, but it also describes the changes that occurred, later on, that contributed to the deconstruction of those movies. The hard body movies were characterized by having a reoccurring set of actors (Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Van Damme) and themes (facing adversaries in a forceful manner), and some of the factors that influenced this portrayal were the Reagan Revolution and a revaluation of the Vietnam war. However, a change in political ideology, and a reassessment of America’s place in the world, inspired the deconstruction of those movies, and newer movies brought with them a new message, of what could be considered a soft body.

References

, P. (2018, January 06). Al Gore, Dan Quayle and James Stockdale Vice Presidential Debate 1992. Retrieved November 9, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0smkcUMty1A

Avildsen, J. G. (Director). (1976). Rocky [Video file].

Ayers, D. (2008). Bodies, bullets, and bad guys: Elements of the hardbody film. Film Criticism, 32(3), 41-67.

Bates, T. G. (2011). The Reagan rhetoric: History and memory in 1980s America. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press.

Bowman, T. (2019, August 21). Reagan guided huge buildup in arms race. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.pentagon08jun08-story.html

Coogler, R. (Director). (2015). Creed [Video file].

Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender & society, 19(6), 829-859.

Holmlund, C. (1993). Masculinity as multiple masquerade: the mature Stallone and the Stallone Clone in Cohan, S., & Hark, I. R. (Eds.). Screening the male: Exploring masculinities in the Hollywood cinema. Routledge.

Gates, P. (2010). Acting his age? The resurrection of the 80s action heroes and their aging stars. Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 27(4), 276-289.

Jeffords, S. (1993). Can masculinity be terminated in Cohan, S., & Hark, I. R. (Eds.). Screening the male: Exploring masculinities in the Hollywood cinema. Routledge.

Jeffords, S. (1994). Hard bodies: Hollywood masculinity in the Reagan era. Rutgers University Press.

Jordan, C. (2003). Movies and the Reagan presidency: Success and ethics. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Kellner, D. (1991). Film, politics, and ideology: Reflections on Hollywood film in the age of Reagan. Velvet Light Trap, 27, 9-24.

LeSueur, S. C., & Rehberger, D. (1988). Rocky IV, Rambo II, and the Place of the Individual in Modern American Society. Journal of American Culture, 11(2), 25-33.

Lichtenfeld, E. (2007). Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie. Wesleyan University Press.

Malin, B. J. (2005). American masculinity under Clinton: popular media and the nineties crisis of masculinity (Vol. 7). Peter Lang.

Mechri, M. E. (Director). (2008). JCVD [Motion picture on DVD]. France: Gaumont.

Mulvey, L. (1989). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. In Visual and other pleasures (pp. 14-26). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Purse, L. (2011). Contemporary action cinema. Edinburgh University Press.

Ridder, K. (2018, December 07). Reagan credited for role in collapse of Soviet Union. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2004-06-06-0406060240-story.html

Schrock, D., & Schwalbe, M. (2009). Men, masculinity, and manhood acts. Annual review of sociology, 35, 277-295.

Sutton, D. L., & Winn, J. E. (2001). “Do We Get to Win This Time?”: POW/MIA Rescue Films and the American Monomyth. Journal of American & Comparative Cultures, 24(1‐2), 25-30.

Tasker, Y. (2012). Spectacular bodies: Gender, genre and the action cinema. Routledge.

Troy, G. (2009). The Reagan Revolution: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.

Williams, L. (1991). Film bodies: Gender, genre, and excess. Film Quarterly, 44(4), 2-13.

Downloads

Published

2021-07-14

How to Cite

Machlev, M. (2021). I’ll be back? The Deconstruction of the 1980s and the 1990s Hard Body Movies. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 9(1), 456–491. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2021.369

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2021): Spring 2021

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.