edited by Richard T. McClelland and Brian B. Clayton
263 pages ;
24 cm
The philosophy of popular culture
Includes bibliographical references and index
From solitary individualism to post-Christan stoic existentialism : quests for community, moral agency, and transcendence in the films of Clint Eastwood / David H. Calhoun -- Hereafter and the problems of evil : Clint Eastwood as practical philosopher / Brian B. Clayton -- The smile and the spit : the motivational polarity and self-reliance portrayed in The Outlaw Josey Wales and the Dollars trilogy / James R. Couch -- The representation of justic in Eastwood's High Plains Drifter / Erin E. Flynn -- Bad men at play : on the banality of goodness in Unforgiven / Richard Gilmore -- Aristotle, Eastwood, friendship, and death / Jason Grinnell -- Giving up the gun : violence in the films of Clint Eastwood / Karen D. Hoffman -- Eastwood, romance, tragedy / Deborah Knight and George McKnight -- The use of silence in Hereafter : a study in neurocinematics / Richard T. McClelland -- The mortal hero : two inductions on the meaning of loss / Richard T. McClelland -- Eastwood's dream : the philosophy of absence in hereafter / Douglas McFarland -- Desperate times call for existential heroes : Eastwood's Gran Torino and Camus's The Plague / Jennifer L. McMahon
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Clint Eastwood has virtually defined the archetype of the tough lawman. Beginning with his first on-screen appearance in the television series Rawhide (1959-1965) and solidified by his portrayal of the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy (1964-1966), he became one of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood. This book examines the philosophy and psychology behind this versatile and controversial figure, exploring his roles as actor, musician, and director. It looks at Eastwood's critique and revision of the traditional western in films such as Unforgiven (1992), as well as his attitudes toward violence and the associated concept of masculinity from the Dirty Harry movies (starting in 1971) to Gran Torino (2008). The essays also chart a shift in Eastwood's thinking about the value of so-called rugged individualism, an element of many of his early films, already questioned in Play Misty for Me (1971) and decisively rejected in Million Dollar Baby (2004)