Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
English Literature
Minor
Legal Studies
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. William "Rusty" Jones
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Works of the Romance genre have long been regarded as “chick flicks” or “chick lit,” leaving scholars to question the long-standing, gendering stereotypes of romances as feminine and action/adventure works as masculine. This paper explores the connection between romances and action/adventure films by applying Northrop Frye’s six phases of romance outlined in his Anatomy of Criticism to the traditional masculine adventure film Die Hard. Not only does this application highlight strong evidence of romantic elements in Die Hard, but also, the analysis reveals a major gender disparity when it comes to feminizing the Romance genre. Why this disparity continues to persist is a question to be answered by future scholarship, but perhaps there is an explanation as to why men prefer Die Hard over other stereotypical Romances, one where the romantic hero, John McClane, represents an ideal of masculinity that acts to fulfill the wishes of a specific male audience.
Fall Scholars Week 2019 Event
Literature Research Presentations
Included in
Die Hard: A Case Study of Masculine Romance
Works of the Romance genre have long been regarded as “chick flicks” or “chick lit,” leaving scholars to question the long-standing, gendering stereotypes of romances as feminine and action/adventure works as masculine. This paper explores the connection between romances and action/adventure films by applying Northrop Frye’s six phases of romance outlined in his Anatomy of Criticism to the traditional masculine adventure film Die Hard. Not only does this application highlight strong evidence of romantic elements in Die Hard, but also, the analysis reveals a major gender disparity when it comes to feminizing the Romance genre. Why this disparity continues to persist is a question to be answered by future scholarship, but perhaps there is an explanation as to why men prefer Die Hard over other stereotypical Romances, one where the romantic hero, John McClane, represents an ideal of masculinity that acts to fulfill the wishes of a specific male audience.