POINT BLANK: TOUGH GUY FILM & CULTURE

Abe' Mark Nornes amnornes
Thu Dec 23 07:27:08 EST 1999


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The University of Arizona Extended University presents

POINT BLANK: TOUGH GUY FILM & CULTURE

A National Conference

Tucson, Arizona
May 18-20, 2000

http://conferences.arizona.edu/PointBlank

CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION
The "tough guy" persona in film is one that has crossed
genre and generation, leaving a heretofore underappreciated
trail of characters, personalities, and films in its wake.
Edward G. Robinson's middle-class patriarch, the bulldog
attack of Lee Marvin, Ida Lupino's street-smart slap, the
hang-dog down and out determination of Warren Oates ... what
role will these characters serve as the history of film
plays out?  The University of Arizona Extended University
presents Point Blank: Tough Guy Film & Culture, a national
film conference for academics and the general public, May
18-20, 2000 in Tucson, Arizona. The focus of the conference
will be films dealing in such "tough guy" imagery, examining
themes of violence, masculinity, and class in cinema. Areas
of interest include the "tough guy" role in
genre-filmmaking, the B-film, relationships between
hard-boiled fiction and "tough guy" film, women as "tough
guys", the "tough guy"'s influence in foreign popular
culture, an appreciation of the role of the character actor
in "tough guy" cinema, and more. The conference will feature
a dynamic blend of academic discourse and unabashed
cinephilia, scholarly discussions and screenings, bringing
together some of the creators of the genre with the scholars
and public who appreciate them. Individuals of key interest
include (but are in no means limited to) Robert Mitchum,
Donald Siegel, Robert Ryan, Samuel Fuller, David Goodis,
Joan Crawford, Dan Duryea, Fred Williamson, Paul Schrader,
Anthony Mann, Ken Takakura, Ann Sheridan, Ben Johnson, John
Ford, Jean Luc Godard, Patricia Highsmith, Budd Boetticher,
Phil Karlson, Jean-Pierre Melville, Delmer Daves, Jim
Thompson, Gregg Araki, Robert Siodmak, Kinji Fukasaku, Brian
Keith, John Cassavetes and the hundreds of other important
players too often relegated to secondary or diminished
billing.


CALL FOR PAPERS
The conference will feature papers, poster sessions, and
panel discussions. Abstracts are being accepted, with a
target length of 250-500 words  and a deadline of January
15, 1999. Remit abstracts to Noah Lopez  via e-mail at
noahl at u.arizona.edu, or by fax at 520-621-3269. PLEASE NOTE
THAT THE ABSTRACT DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO ACCOMMODATE
A LATE MAILING!!

Themes and topics for exploration will include but are by no
means limited to:

The Role of the Character Actor
Tough Women in a Tough World
Masculinity in Gay Cinema
Tough Guys and the Border
Japanese Cowboys and French Gangsters
Issues of Race in Tough Guy Film
The Tough Guy in Literature and Pulp Fiction
The Tough Guy in Genre Film


SPECIAL GUESTS
Confirmed speakers include Donald Westlake, Monte Hellman,
Alex Cox, Michael Nevins, Tom Thurman, Lawrence Tierney and
Rudy Wurlitzer.


KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Dana Polan, University of Southern California


For more information, please see our website at
http://conferences.arizona.edu/PointBlank, or e-mail Noah
Lopez at noahl at u.arizona.edu




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