Cinematic Quests for Identity The Hero's Encounter with the Beast [Hardcover]

No stranger to the world of film, Maria Garcia opens Cinematic Quests for Identity: The Hero's Encounter with the Beast with the hefty promise of broadening the definition and the readers understanding of 'the quest' movie genre. Through her analysis of more than 15 films. . . .Garcia delivers on her promise. . . .[The author] approaches the tried-and-true theme of the hero in an innovative way. . . .This focused analysis is highly recommended for anyone looking to delve deeper into the world of film and the psychology behind the internal struggles of our movies heroes.Maria Garcia . . . offers a provocative contribution to the male-dominated field of film theory. . . .Garcia's astute analysis and reformulation of feminist film theory . . . is thought-provoking and illuminating. . . .[This] book . . . should be recognized as an important contribution to feminist film theory. . . .Garcia succeeds in her reframing of the cinematic quest for identity as the lifelong expansion of consciousness and the ability of the personality to reflect the total self.This book examines the narrative and cinematic conventions of movies that are about the quest for identity and individuation. Chapters are devoted to individual films, such as La Belle et la B?te, The Silence of the Lambs, The Searchers, The Deer Hunter, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as considerations of films directed by Catherine Breillat and Robert Bresson.Whether embodied in literature, theater, or film, an enduring theme of many artistic works has been the protagonists search for identity. Such quests are typically psychological or spiritual journeys and depicted on the screen in a variety of manifestationsendeavors embarked upon to address an emotional trauma or to overcome an obstacle in the heros life. Using Jean Cocteaus La Belle et La B?te as a leitmotif, these pursuits are discussed by author Maria Garcia as encounters with the Beast. At the end of their quests, heroes are reborn into their lƒ.