Gunplay: Men, guns, and action films in the United States

This dissertation considers the relationship between guns, firearms, and masculinity in the United States, especially as revealed in Hollywood action films. Differentiating between “firearms” (material objects) and “guns” (cultural icons) reveals that 90% of the people who kill with firearms are men, and no man in the US can entirely avoid the steady stream of images, stories, and myths that tell him guns are indispensable tools for the violent mediation of homosocial relationships.; The five chapters explore different aspects of men, guns and firearms. Chapter I examines who owns firearms, how they use them, and what actually happens when men (and very occasionally, women) use firearms violently. The results are contrasted with the depictions of guns in gunplay films and other media.; Chapter 2 investigates the gun culture of the United States and describes some of its ideological underpinnings, such as the role of race and homosociality. The masculinist discourse of self-defense receives particular attention.; Chapter 3 begins the study of gunplay films by describing the many ways that guns are used as tools for the violent mediation of the homosocial relationships that structure these films.; Chapters 4 describes the history of gunplay in US film, and investigates the ways that gunplay produces meaning through the use of myth and fantasy. Scenes of gunplay are compared to sex scenes, dance scenes, and martial arts scenes.; Chapter 5 take an in-depth look at the style and logic of the gunplay scene, finding that the overriding logic of these scenes is the “lethal will” of the attacker. This lethal will is expressed through consistent tropes in gunplay films such as the heroic massacre and the final fight.; The conclusion discusses the ways that gunplay reflects the challenges that men in the US face in mediating their relationships with other men. Negotiations of both intimacy and violence rely on the signifying power of the gun, resulting far too often in actual firearms violence.