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School of Modern Languages & Cultures: Department of Hispanic Studies

Staff in the Department of Hispanic Studies

Go to the MLAC staff pages.

Publication details for Dr Santiago Fouz Hernandez

2005 Fouz-Hernández, Santiago. 'Phallic Matters? Ewan McGregor and the Representation of the Male Body in Peter Greenaway’s The Pillow Book (1996)', Men and Masculinities 8, pp. 133-147

Author(s) from Durham

Abstract

This article is a study of the representation of the male body in contemporary British cinema. It starts with a short exploration of how 1990s representations of masculinity in British cinema differed from those of the previous decade. A brief analysis of Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game and of some of the recent roles of actor Hugh Grant in mainstream cinema leads to a more detailed case study of Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and his role in Peter Greenaway’s film The Pillow Book. Relevant background on both actor and director reveals an overt awareness of and interest in the male body. The film’s approach to masculinity and its focus on the male integral nude question some of the, by now, tired conceptions that have surrounded many debates on male representation, such as the emphasis on the activity/passivity binary, the (male) gaze, or narcissism.

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Notes

50 Most Frequently Read Articles in Men and Masculinities: #6 (April 2006).