Manly Arts – Masculinity and Nation in Early American Cinema

David A. Gerstner

"Through a consideration of such seemingly disparate figures as Edwin Forrest, Theodore Roosevelt, Oscar Micheaux, Paul Strand, and Vincente Minnelli, David A. Gerstner subtly and cogently outlines the complex ways that literature, theater, cinema, and other arts created a fragile definition of nation: one predicated on white, working-class, masculine norms but also inflected by African American masculinities and queer subjectivities. Original and innovative, "Manly Arts" is sure to be a significant and lasting contribution to the fields of gender studies, film studies, and American arts and aesthetics."--Paula J. Massood, author of "Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences in Film"

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
1. Nineteenth-Century Formulations of Masculinity and Realism: The Body of Edwin Forrest 1
2. The Battle Cry of Peace and the Spectacle of Realism 51
3. African American Realism: Oscar Micheaux, Autobiography, and the Ambiguity of Black Male Desire 83
4. Manhatta: A National Self-Portrait 119
5. The Queer Frontier: Vincente Minnelli’s Cabin in the Sky 165
Epilogue 212
Notes 215
Bibliography 281
Index 305