{"product_id":"contesting-identities","title":"Contesting Identities","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Analysis of race, class and gender in American sports films\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Since the earliest days of the silent era, American filmmakers have been drawn to the visual spectacle of sports and their compelling narratives of conflict, triumph, and individual achievement. In \u003ci\u003eContesting Identities\u003c\/i\u003e Aaron Baker examines how these cinematic representations of sports and athletes have evolved over time--from \u003ci\u003eThe Pinch Hitter\u003c\/i\u003e and Buster Keaton's \u003ci\u003eCollege\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eWhite Men Can't Jump\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eJerry Maguire\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eGirlfight\u003c\/i\u003e. He focuses on how identities have been constructed and transcended in American society since the early twentieth century. \u003cp\u003e Whether depicting team or individual sports, these films return to that most American of themes, the master narrative of self-reliance. Baker shows that even as sports films tackle socially constructed identities like class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender, they ultimately underscore transcendence of these identities through self-reliance. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Looking at films from almost every sporting genre--with a particular focus on movies about boxing, baseball, basketball, and football--\u003ci\u003eContesting Identities\u003c\/i\u003e maps the complex cultural landscape depicted in American sports films and the ways in which stories about \"subaltern\" groups winning acceptance by the mainstream majority can serve to reinforce the values of that majority. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In addition to discussing the genre's recurring dramatic tropes, from the populist prizefighter to the hot-headed rebel to the \"manly\" female athlete, Baker also looks at the social and cinematic impacts of real-life sports figures from Jackie Robinson and Babe Didrikson Zaharias to Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Illinois Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54245051203928,"sku":"9780252073540","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780252073540_c8cbd87e-2bfa-4b6b-96cd-3a5cfbdb0fad.jpg?v=1778594465","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/contesting-identities","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}