María del Mar Azcona, The Multi-Protagonist Film. Oxford and Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010
The Multi-Protagonist Film explores the origins and history of one of the most exciting new developments in contemporary film worldwide. This “new” genre isn’t really new at all; rather, its historical roots run deep in the Hollywood canon – think Grand Hotel – and re-emerge in contemporary iterations in movies such as Singles, American Pie, Short Cuts, and Syriana.
This volume provides elegant analyses of a variety of films to help chart the genre’s evolution and to explore the complexity, mixed messaging, and signal changes that define the multi-protagonist film in the current age. From the impact of globalization on society to shifting morals and aftershocks of the sexual revolution, The Multi-Protagonist Film helps us to understand the genre and the imponderables that define the political, cultural, public and private spheres.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 A Brief History of the Multi-Protagonist Film
2 Theorizing the Multi-Protagonist Film
3 An Early Experiment: Grand Hotel
4 Short Cuts and the Consolidation of a Genre
5 Adolescent Tapestries: American Pie
6 Intimacy Multiplies: Singles
7 Global Thrills: Syriana
Conclusion