Overview

The films of John Hughes (19502009) have enjoyed popular and critical success alike, from his first scripts in the early 1980s through to his celebrated work later in the decade and into the 1990s. While Hughes is best remembered for his stories about teenagers, such as Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), almost all of his films deal with comical conflicts within everyday American families. He directed eight films and wrote over thirty in a career spanning a quarter of a century, and is fondly remembered for influencing American perceptions of and appreciation for the daily lives of (primarily) common citizens. This wide-ranging collection examines the films of John Hughes from diverse angles, considering how he depicted young characters, how he revealed the humour of family life, and how his films subtly critiqued social issues such as class, race, gender, education and domestic relationships.

Full Product Details

Author:   Timothy Shary (Professor, Eastern Florida State College) ,  Frances Smith (Lecturer in Film Studies, University of Sussex)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
Weight:   0.596kg
ISBN:  

9781474449021

ISBN 10:   1474449026
Pages:   296
Publication Date:   13 April 2021
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

List of FiguresAcknowledgements Notes on ContributorsFilm and Television Work by John Hughes 1. Introduction - Timothy Shary and Frances Smith Part I: Hughes in the Industry 2. John Hughes as Auteur: History, Hagiography, Historiography - Elissa H. Nelson 3. ""Becoming John Hughes"": Regional Production, Hyphenate Filmmaking, and Independence Within Hollywood - Yannis Tzioumakis 4. Ferris Bueller vs. Parker Lewis: ""Adapting"" Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for Television - Stephen Tropiano Part II: Reconsidering Youth 5. ""Life moves pretty fast"": Mobility, Power, and Aesthetics in John Hughes’s Teen Films - Christina G. Petersen 6. ""When Cameron Was in Egypt’s Land"": The Queer Child of Neglect in John Hughes’s Films - Barbara Jane Brickman 7. We Need to Talk about Kevin McCallister: John Hughes’s Careless Parents and Abandoned Children - Melissa Oliver-Powell Part III: Family and Fatherhood 8. Brand Name Vision: Props in the Films of John Hughes - Leah R. Shafer 9. Domesticating the Comedian: Comic Performance, Narrative, and the Family in John Hughes’s 1980s Comedian Films - Holly Chard 10. Fatherhood and the Failures of Paternal Authority in the Films of John Hughes - Alice Leppert Part IV: Contested Identities 11. Bizarre Love Triangle: Frankensteinian Masculinities in Weird Science - Andrew Scahill 12. ""You look good wearing my future:"" Social Class and Individualism in the 1980s Teen Films of John Hughes - Robert C. Bulman 13. The Unbearable Whiteness of Being in a John Hughes Movie - Frances Smith BibliographyAppendix: Other Films and Television Shows Cited in this CollectionIndex

Reviews

Refocus: The Films of John Hughes is a fantastic book! This important volume recognises Hughes as a significant and prolific filmmaker, analysing his position in the industry as well as offering insightful critique of his films. The book identifies the limitations of Hughes's films, particularly regarding the treatment of gender, sexuality and race, whilst also acknowledging their lasting appeal.--Claire Jenkins, Lecturer in Film and Television Studies, University of Leicester

Author Information

Timothy Shary is the author of Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen (Wallflower, 2005) and Generation Multiplex: The Image of Youth in American Cinema Since 1980 (Texas, 2014). He teaches at Eastern Florida State College. Frances Smith is Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Sussex. She is the author of 'Rethinking the Hollywood Teen Movie' (Edinburgh University Press, 2017), which combines close textual analysis and critical theory to argue that the genre possesses a distinct narrative and aesthetic.

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