"Sharply written and eminently accessible, Duncans book brings history and film into dynamic dialogue, using each to illuminate the other. It stands as a spirited contribution to the cultural history of gender and identity in the United States."
Saverio Giovacchini, Professor of US Cultural and Intellectual History, University of Maryland, College Park
"Combining in-depth discussions of key films with broader cultural analysis, Myths of Masculinity and American Film illuminates a long history of cinematic presidential patriarchy from the post-Watergate era to today. Drawing from a wealth of popular film examples, Duncan traces fantasies of male empowerment through redemption, hope, monstrousness, and violence in films as disparate as Star Wars, The Shining, Patriot Games, Forrest Gump, Gladiator, and Iron Man. In casting these films as indicative of larger economic, societal, and political shifts, this book breaks new ground by bringing together disparate eras and films to understand the cultural underpinnings of our current era."
Christina G. Petersen, author of The Freshman: Comedy and Masculinity in 1920s Film and Youth Culture
