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ABSTRACT
This article explores the representation of youth masculinity in contemporary Hollywood comedy. By focusing on the intersection of gender and generation, it emphasizes the importance of relationality in a consideration of representations of boyhood. Using Superbad as a case study, this article reveals the nuanced ways in which the crisis of masculinity is represented in popular culture in a postfeminist context. Foregrounding issues of homosociality in coming-of-age narratives, it emphasizes the tensions between generational expectations and performances of gender. Themes of loss and nostalgia are explored through analysis of the juxtaposition of adult and adolescent male characters in Superbad, providing insight into and understanding of the complexities of boyhood. Superbad is contextualized in relation to teen comedy more broadly, highlighting the important cultural space that contemporary Hollywood comedies play in (re)constructing discourses of masculinity.
KEYWORDS
adolescence, age, boyhood, comedy, film, gender, temporalities
Introduction
In this article we seek to understand the ways in which youth masculinities and boyhood are constructed and represented in popular teen comedy film by examining the film Superbad (Greg Mottola 2007). We argue that we need to take into account the impact that postfeminism has had on the representation of boyhood because the pervasiveness of postfeminist discourse has rarely been explored in the interrogation of men and masculinity. Given the centrality of male protagonists in contemporary Hollywood film, this is a particularly important endeavor.
We undertake close textual analysis to position the narrative themes and comic motifs of Superbad in both the historical context of Hollywood com- ing-of-age comedies, as well as the post-millennial adult comedies that surrounded its release. Superbads, interception of these two types of comedy film will be analyzed through the film's relational representation of youth and adult masculinities, highlighting a theme common to both the coming-of-age format and comedy of immaturity-the temporal.
The narrative of Superbad follows best friends Seth and Evan and their friend Fogell as they navigate their final weeks of high school. Their journey takes them on a quest for alcohol for a big party, where they hope to lose their virginity with female classmates Becca and Jules. On their way they encounter many hurdles, including a brush with the law, angering jealous drug dealers, and fights. The central role of...