Phallic Matters?

Abstract

This article is a study of the representation of the male body in contemporary British cinema. It starts with a short exploration of how 1990s representations of masculinity in British cinema differed from those of the previous decade. A brief analysis of Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game and of some of the recent roles of actor Hugh Grant in mainstream cinema leads to a more detailed case study of Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and his role in Peter Greenaway’s film The Pillow Book. Relevant background on both actor and director reveals an overt awareness of and interest in the male body. The film’s approach to masculinity and its focus on the male integral nude question some of the, by now, tired conceptions that have surrounded many debates on male representation, such as the emphasis on the activity/passivity binary, the (male) gaze, or narcissism.

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