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Imagining “We” in the Age of “I”: Romance and Social Bonding in Contemporary Culture PDF

243 Pages·2021·42.575 MB·English
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IMAGINING “WE” IN THE AGE OF “I” In the early twenty- first century, shifts in gender and sexuality, work and mobility patterns and especially technology have provoked interest in perceived threats to social bonding on a global scale. This edited collection explores the fracturing of couple culture but also its persistence. Looking at a variety of media sites— including film, television, popular print fiction, new media and new technologies— this volume’s diverse range of contributors examine how mediated scenes of intimacy proliferate, while real-l ife experiences are cast in a newly uncertain light. The collection thus challenges a latent but growing tendency towards perceptions of romantic decline, in a variety of cultural contexts and with attention to the impact of COVID- 19. This is an accessible and timely collection suitable for scholars in gender studies, media, cultural studies and communication studies. Mary Harrod is Associate Professor in French Studies at the University of Warwick, UK. She is the author of From France with Love: Gender and Identity in French Romantic Comedy (2015), Heightened Genre and Women’s Filmmaking in Hollywood (2021) and the co- edited collections The Europeanness of European Cinema (2015) and Women Do Genre in Film and Television (2017, winner of the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies Best Edited Collection Prize 2019). Suzanne Leonard is Professor of English and Director of the Master’s Degree in Gender and Cultural Studies at Simmons University in Boston, USA. She is the author of Wife, Inc.: The Business of Marriage in the Twenty-F irst Century (2018) and Fatal Attraction (2009) and co- editor of Fifty Hollywood Directors (2014). Diane Negra is Professor of Film Studies and Screen Culture at University College Dublin, Ireland. A member of the Royal Irish Academy, she is the author, editor or co-editor of 12 books, the most recent of which is Shadow of a Doubt (2021). She is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Television and New Media and Chair of the Irish Fulbright Commission. “The notion of romantic love may be just a few centuries old, but human connections and intimacy in one way or another have always been essential to our existence. This accomplished collection arrives at a historical moment when we have been painfully reminded of all this. With welcome insight and inclusive- ness, and with unimagined timeliness, the writers here bring new and illuminating approaches to bear on the many forms our bonding (and our isolation) take in today’s increasingly networked world.” Deborah Jermyn, Reader in Film & TV, University of Roehampton, UK “A brilliant collection of essays held together by a common thread merging awareness of changing attitudes to gender, social and personal relationships, with analysis of the ever- same, ever- changing creative forms of romantic love and other expressions of intimacy. This is a seminal book for our uncertain times, every chapter addressing with clarity, sharpness and wide-r anging scholarship key questions related to the challenges of life in the shadows of the pandemic.” Peter William Evans, Emeritus Professor of Film, Queen Mary University of London, UK “What perfect timing for an anthology exploring the new technologies and stories of romance! The writers in this collection offer savvy insights into recent cultural remakes of romantic love, shifts that were evident even before the pandemic unrav- eled our emotional lives and relationships. Engaging and surprising, these essays address the transnational scope of these transitions and the impact of both social and fictional media in reshaping the practices and meanings of intimacy.” Linda Mizejewski, Distinguished Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Ohio State University, USA IMAGINING “WE” IN THE AGE OF “I” Romance and Social Bonding in Contemporary Culture Edited by Mary Harrod, Suzanne Leonard and Diane Negra First published 2022 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Mary Harrod, Suzanne Leonard and Diane Negra; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Mary Harrod, Suzanne Leonard and Diane Negra to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Harrod, Mary, editor. | Leonard, Suzanne, editor. | Negra, Diane, 1966– editor. Title: Imagining ‘we’ in the age of ‘I’ : romance and social bonding in contemporary culture / edited by Mary Harrod, Suzanne Leonard, and Diane Negra. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021009966 (print) | LCCN 2021009967 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367483289 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367483272 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003039365 (ebook) | ISBN 9781000404616 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781000404623 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Sex in popular culture. | Sex in mass media. | Intimacy (Psychology) | Sexual attraction. | Couples in literature. | Couples in motion pictures. Classification: LCC HQ23 .I43 2021 (print) | LCC HQ23 (ebook) | DDC 306.7–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009966 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009967 ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 48328- 9 (hbk) ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 48327- 2 (pbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 03936- 5 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Newgen Publishing UK CONTENTS List of figures vii List of contributors x Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Romance and social bonding in contemporary culture – before and after COVID- 19 1 Mary Harrod, Suzanne Leonard and Diane Negra 1 Abject desires in the age of anger: Incels, femcels and the gender politics of unfuckability 29 Jilly Boyce Kay 2 Love technologies: Televisual matchmaking and algorithmic attraction 47 Misha Kavka 3 Negotiating romantic relationships in the cell phone age: The Jamaican context 63 Roxanne Burton and Michael Yee Shui 4 Facing the fig tree: Contemporary intimacy culture in Master of None 77 Beatriz Oria vi Contents 5 Open (to) marriage: Saving sanctioned coupling through consensual nonmonogamy narratives 93 Maria San Filippo 6 Aliens, mermaids and cartoons: Neoliberal gender politics in twenty- first- century South Korean dramas 110 Ji- yoon An 7 Romantic, transnational and messy: Intimate spaces/ cosmopolitan spaces in Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong 127 Celestino Deleyto 8 Mixed feelings: (Inter)raced romance and the post- millennial romantic comedy 142 Jacqueline Ballantine 9 The bittersweet queer romance: Affect and temporality in Weekend and Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo 160 Jonathan Cicoski 10 Plaisirs d’amour: Love and popular fiction in contemporary France 175 Diana Holmes 11 His baby daddy is an alien?!: Mpreg fantasies and queer reproductive intimacies in contemporary M/ M science fiction romance 191 Andrea Wood 12 Bibliographic traces: The material book and the quest for intimacy in Spike Jonze’s Her 208 Gillian Silverman Index 224 FIGURES 0.1 In 2020, masks quickly became the preferred metonym through which to explore and depict the myriad romantic obstacles precipitated by the COVID- 19 pandemic 2 0.2 The contrast between Charlotte’s elegant gown and Fred’s sweatshirt and baseball cap in Long Shot points toward the film’s reliance on the conventions of the “slacker/striver” romance. © Lionsgate Films 4 0.3 Italian fitness trainer Laura Mesi’s lavish 2017 wedding to herself exemplifies (a luxury version of) the recent trend toward self- marriage 9 0.4 Indian Matchmaking matchmaker Sima Taparia typically meets with prospective mates and their eager families to discuss what constitutes a suitable pairing 11 0.5 Run centralizes the premise that digital intimacy culture readily facilitates the revival of previous relationships (with ambivalent results) 18 0.6 The window display of the clothing chain Primark’s store in Hammersmith, London in July 2018 demonstrates Love Island’s cultural visibility beyond television 20 0.7 The lesbian dating app Her was rebranded in 2018 to be more welcoming to trans and non- binary users 22 1.1 The character of Arthur from the 2019 film Joker, whose humiliating experiences of social and sexual exclusion have drawn comparisons with the contemporary plight of incels 33 2.1 Predating online matchmaking cultures, “Operation Match” relied on telephone and postal services 50 viii List of Figures 2.2 An advertisement for eHarmony featured in the London Underground underscores the company’s claims to privilege “science” above all 53 2.3 Press coverage of Are You The One? reiterated a sense that the pleasures of reality TV were tied to experiencing and consuming it as a mathematical puzzle 60 3.1 In the video for “Unanswered” Govana’s distress is obvious, as he pleads for his cell phone call to be answered 70 4.1 Dev’s reverie in Master of None expresses his hesitation and uncertainty about whether he and Rachel have a future 81 4.2 Dev and Rachel literally use pencil and paper to calculate the likely success of their relationship 86 4.3 In a bittersweet ending to an ambiguous love story Dev leaves for Italy alone 90 5.1 In a public service announcement parody, The Freebie’s Dax Shepard and Katie Aselton promote National Freebie Day 100 5.2 Insecure’s Dro makes it hard for Molly to forget she’s the other woman 102 5.3 Joy and Alan meet again, with the church as backdrop to their renewal of vows, in Wanderlust 106 6.1 Legend of the Blue Sea’s mermaid is depicted with dark eyebags, shifting attention from her supernatural intelligence to her appearance 113 6.2 A visual comparison between the mermaid and Bruce Lee uses humor to offset the threat posed by her super- strength 114 6.3 In My Love From the Star, the alien’s theoretical lectures on human emotions are juxtaposed with his vulnerable behavior as he falls in love 119 7.1 In Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong, Josh and Ruby’s exposure to cosmopolitan Hong Kong is as troublesome as it is magical 135 7.2 Romantic intimacy and messy cosmopolitanism in the magic space of contemporary Hong Kong: Ruby and Josh court trouble in the borderlands 139 8.1 What Happened in the Tunnel (1903) staged the first cinematic, interracial kiss, albeit as an intentional deception 143 8.2 The Incredible Jessica James’ use of split screens recalls genre stalwarts such as Pillow Talk (1959) and When Harry Met Sally … (1989) 148 8.3 The romantic reconciliation in Someone Great appears as a wish fulfillment but is instead revealed as a false reverie 152 9.1 In Weekend, the use of a mirror emphasizes the social and public nature of Glen and Russell’s first meeting 168 9.2 (left and right) The “stranger logic” employed by Ducastel and Martineau uses editing to mark the sequence of gazes between members of L’Impact, from the unnamed older man to his love object (Théo), who in turn pairs with Hugo, in Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo 169 List of Figures ix 9.3 (left and right). The “stranger logic” employed by Ducastel and Martineau uses editing to mark the sequence of gazes between members of L’Impact, from the unnamed older man to his love object (Théo), who in turn pairs with Hugo, in Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo 169 10.1 The image of the thin, blonde sun- kissed woman who adorns the cover of Musso’s Girl on Paper exemplifies the physical idealization of white femininity 180 10.2 Ton arrogance, mon insolence’s egalitarian positioning of male and female protagonists and suggestion of mutual sexual pleasure attest to the romance genre's evolution 183 11.1 Pregnant man Thomas Beatie wrote about his pregnancy in The Advocate in 2008, using the opportunity to highlight trans discrimination in health care 197 11.2 The title of Gala’s novel suggests a concerted attempt to interrogate normalized reproductive identity 198 12.1 In Her, the operating system, Samantha, with its hinged opening and privileged place on Theodore’s nightstand, resembles a paperback book 212 12.2 As Theodore reads Catherine’s manuscript the warm sepia- tinted lighting and handmade ceramic objects in the background suggest an older historical moment 213 12.3 Her’s camera lingers on melting icicles, suggesting matter in transition 219

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