Failing Masculinity and Consumerism in Abundance: A Comparative Analysis of Identity in Select Works by the Literary Brat Pack
Authors
Larsen, Lise Sverdrup ; Wadmann, Anne Steen
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-05-31
Pages
129
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger i hvilket omfang udvalgte værker af den såkaldte Literary Brat Pack kan sammenlignes i deres skildringer af maskulinitet og forbrug og hvordan disse elementer knyttes til litterære figurers identitetsdannelse. På baggrund af nærlæsninger af Tama Janowitz’ Slaves of New York (1986), Bret Easton Ellis’ Glamorama (1998) og Lunar Park (2005) samt Jay McInerneys The Last Bachelor (2009) kombinerer vi en historisk kontekstualisering af især 1980’ernes yuppiekultur og den postindustrielle storby med sociologiske og kønsteoretiske perspektiver. Forbrug analyseres primært gennem Bourdieu og hans kapitalbegreb, maskulinitet gennem bl.a. hegemonisk og multiple maskuliniteter samt antagelsen om “troubled masculinity” i kølvandet på 80’ernes voksende forbrugskultur, og identitetsdannelse gennem Laschs teori om narcissismekulturen. Vores fund peger på, at Ellis, Janowitz og McInerney deler en intention om at udstille forbrugskulturens absurditeter, skrantende relationer, mænd i dyb maskulinitetskrise og forvirrede identiteter, men at de realiserer dette forskelligt: Janowitz hyperboliserer jagten på ejerskab (særligt lejligheder), Glamorama iscenesætter mærkefiksering, i Lunar Park bliver varer symboler på skyld og ondskab, mens varer spiller en mindre rolle i The Last Bachelor. Disse ligheder og forskelle viser, at værkerne kan sammenlignes på tematiske linjer, men ikke kan betragtes som helt ens i deres behandling af maskulinitet, forbrug og identitet.
This thesis investigates to what extent selected works by the so‑called Literary Brat Pack can be compared in their portrayals of masculinity and consumerism, and how these elements are linked to literary characters’ identity formation. Through close readings of Tama Janowitz’s Slaves of New York (1986), Bret Easton Ellis’s Glamorama (1998) and Lunar Park (2005), and Jay McInerney’s The Last Bachelor (2009), the study combines a historical contextualization of late‑20th‑century U.S. developments—especially 1980s yuppie culture and post‑industrial urban life—with sociological and gender‑theoretical perspectives. Consumerism is examined primarily via Bourdieu’s concept of capital; masculinity through notions of hegemonic and multiple masculinities and the idea of “troubled masculinity” amid rising 1980s consumer culture; and identity formation through Lasch’s theory of the culture of narcissism. The analysis finds that Ellis, Janowitz, and McInerney share an intent to mock consumerism and depict crumbling relationships, men in deep masculinity crises, and confused identities, yet they realize this differently: Janowitz hyperbolically elevates commodity desire (especially apartment ownership), Glamorama centers on brand obsession, Lunar Park casts commodities as symbols of guilt and evil, and The Last Bachelor affords commodities a minor role. These convergences and divergences indicate that the works are comparable along thematic lines but cannot be regarded as wholly alike in their treatment of masculinity, consumerism, and identity.
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