Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom: James Dean, Mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves

Michael DeAngelis

Published by Duke University Press 2001

Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom

James Dean, Mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves

Michael DeAngelis

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822380207

Overview
Contents

About this book

A case study of James Dean, mel Gibson, and Keanu Reeves and how they maintain their appeal to both gay and straight audiences.

Author / Editor information

Michael DeAngelis is Assistant Professor at the School for New Learning at DePaul University.

Reviews

“An important contribution to star studies, one distinguished by the way that it convincingly brings together queer theory, cultural studies, and close textual analysis.”—Steven Cohan, author of Masked Men: Masculinity and the Movies in the Fifties

“What is James Dean’s appeal for generations of queer men? How did Mel Gibson win, and then alienate, a gay audience? What is behind Keanu Reeves’s sexual ambiguity? You will discover the answers to these, and many other, provocative questions about male stars and their male fans in Michael DeAngelis’s sharply argued and wonderfully written Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom.”—Alex Doty, author of Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon

“[DeAngelis] never loses sight of fandom’s immoderate pleasures.”

-- Sight & Sound

"DeAngelis has been diligent in researching star biographies, film reviews, studio publicity and promotional campaigns, as well as straight and gay fan literature."

-- Anthony Elliott The Australian

"DeAngelis probes the connections between identification and desire. He shows how studio publicity, fan web sites, and ‘dish’ columns reflect changing attitudes toward gay icons, from Dean’s ‘in and out’ sexuality to Gibson’s heterosexuality to Reeves’s ‘panaccessibility.’ Although DeAngelis focuses on these three stars, the wider implications of his arguments merit consideration in a larger context . . . . His argument is clear and concise, leaving room for continuing debate on audience response, criticism, and popular films. Highly recommended for film studies on gay-audience response."

-- Library Journal

"I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in the construction of queer identities, the negotiatory process of fandom and the star's management and negotiation of that fan attention."

-- Kerry Gough Scope

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
One. James Dean and the Fantasy of Rebellion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Two. Stories without Endings: The Emergence of the ‘‘Authentic’’ James Dean Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
Three. Identity Transformations: Mel Gibson’s Sexuality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
Four. Keanu Reeves and the Fantasy of Pansexuality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Afterword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	267
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281

Language: English
Publisher: Duke University Press
Pages
- Main content: 296
Illustrations
- Other: 33 b&w photos

eBook

Published: August 15, 2001
ISBN: 9780822380207