Incongruous Entertainment: Camp, Cultural Value, and the MGM Musical
by admin on June 10, 2010
Review
“Steven Cohan’s Incongruous Entertainment brings together two fascinating subjects–camp and the musical–that are often casually linked but have never been explored as carefully and usefully as they are here.”–Pamela Robertson Wojcik, author of Guilty Pleasures: Feminist Camp from Mae West to Madonna “Steven Cohan’s scholarship is impeccable and his writing elegant and witty. He pulls together all the previous approaches to camp and uses them to explore the mgm musical and its stars from every angle I could think of–and a few I would never have thought of.”–Alexander Doty, author of Flaming Classics: Queering the Film Canon “Cohan meticulously supports his argument with detailed examples while eloquently and often [Read More...]
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Tagged as:
Camp,
Cultural,
Entertainment,
Incongruous,
Musical,
Value
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
As a whole, the book delves into the idea of “camp” in context of the MGM classic musicals. The Introduction gives the reader a very lengthy definition of “camp” and it’s relation to homosexuality, queerness, and gayness (which he describes as all different ideas).
If you can actually sit down interrupted, the book hits on some unique ideas, including the “butch-ness” of Esther Williams, the sissy, yet heteroerotic Gene Kelly, the cultural value of Judy Garland information on the internet, and an entire chapter devoted to Singin’ in the Rain, by far my favorite chapter.
This chapter felt the least wordy, least academic. It delves into the period of silent movie to talkie transition historically. It also discusses SITR’s reflection and fusion of the most often cited early MGM musicals, “Broadway Melody” and “Hollywood Revue,” as well as why the movie stands the test of time.
I’m not a film student, just a film buff, and I’m glad I read the book. May be a little unaccessible– the author could have easily truncated and simplified his book for a more general, non-academic audience, but you can get through it. Wish the paperback wasn’t so expensive.
Does anybody still eat aspic? No? Then don’t sample this book. It’s dense with the kind of pretentious academic jargon that makes books of this kind unreadable, pretentious, and depressing. One example: academics and others have been hinting for years at the sexual ambiguity of Gene Kelly’s screen persona, but instead of just coming out (pun intended) and saying it, they have to beat around the bush (pun not intended). Cohan does the same dance at such excrutiating length you’ll want to scream, even if you’re not a queen. Please note that all the praise from the official reviews is from other academics. What an industry! What a farce.