Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American Movies
“Menace II Society?” investigates cinematic portrayals of American urban poverty and the urban underclass as part of an ongoing public discourse on the nature of the urban poor, the causes and conditions of their poverty, and the appropriate responses from society. Movies have tended to portray pove...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2013-08-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10062 |
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| author | Thomas Halper and Douglas Muzzio |
| author_facet | Thomas Halper and Douglas Muzzio |
| author_sort | Thomas Halper and Douglas Muzzio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | “Menace II Society?” investigates cinematic portrayals of American urban poverty and the urban underclass as part of an ongoing public discourse on the nature of the urban poor, the causes and conditions of their poverty, and the appropriate responses from society. Movies have tended to portray poverty as environmentally caused and sustained, often directing ambitious characters toward criminality with a to-understand-all-is-to-forgive-all logic. During the silent and Depression eras, movies featured the urban poor prominently, but afterwards their role drastically shrunk and did not regain its place until the black underclass films of the 1990s, which, in a softened version of ‘60s radical critiques, redefined the deserving poor as rejecting the dominant socioeconomic system in favor of an often hedonistic rebellion. Subsequent white underclass movies followed this pattern, but more recently the American Dream has reasserted itself in popular underclass films, sounding a more positive note. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dba992c6431a48168c48940199bb86d7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-08-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-dba992c6431a48168c48940199bb86d72025-01-06T09:10:46ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362013-08-018110.4000/ejas.10062Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American MoviesThomas Halper and Douglas Muzzio“Menace II Society?” investigates cinematic portrayals of American urban poverty and the urban underclass as part of an ongoing public discourse on the nature of the urban poor, the causes and conditions of their poverty, and the appropriate responses from society. Movies have tended to portray poverty as environmentally caused and sustained, often directing ambitious characters toward criminality with a to-understand-all-is-to-forgive-all logic. During the silent and Depression eras, movies featured the urban poor prominently, but afterwards their role drastically shrunk and did not regain its place until the black underclass films of the 1990s, which, in a softened version of ‘60s radical critiques, redefined the deserving poor as rejecting the dominant socioeconomic system in favor of an often hedonistic rebellion. Subsequent white underclass movies followed this pattern, but more recently the American Dream has reasserted itself in popular underclass films, sounding a more positive note.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10062 |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Halper and Douglas Muzzio Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American Movies European Journal of American Studies |
| title | Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American Movies |
| title_full | Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American Movies |
| title_fullStr | Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American Movies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American Movies |
| title_short | Menace II Society? Urban Poverty and Underclass Narratives in American Movies |
| title_sort | menace ii society urban poverty and underclass narratives in american movies |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/10062 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thomashalperanddouglasmuzzio menaceiisocietyurbanpovertyandunderclassnarrativesinamericanmovies |