People really seem to like the
term ‘New Perspectives’, I’ve come to realise that of late. But I’m also aware
that a ‘new’ or ‘fresh’ perspective often means approaching a subject from an
entirely different angle or a unique viewpoint.
Clint Eastwood's Cinema of Trauma
(published by McFarland in September, 2017) demonstrated this rather perfectly
by approaching Eastwood’s film from the perspective of PTSD and its association
with social conditions. Sara Anson Vaux’s book of 2012 looked at the films from
an Ethical standpoint. These, for me, are excellent examples of new
perspectives and it’s a term that I believe is being used far too easily these
days.
However, Tough Ain’t Enough (Rutgers
University Press, 231 pages) offers very little in the way of New Perspectives.
Each chapter instead offers an enjoyable enough read, but all of which sounds
very familiar. And familiar it certainly was. Each of the chapters are
concluded with notes and a long list of in-line references. It soon becomes
apparent that a great deal of this material has been collated from previously
published books in order to try and make a ‘new’ point. Vaux, Frayling,
McGilligan and Schickel are just a few names that are used continuously in
order to construct a chapter. There is nothing of course wrong with producing
and citing evidence, but my main objection comes when you try to slap a label
on it and pass it off as something entirely ‘new’ when it simply isn’t.
Be aware also of inaccuracies –
by Chapter 2, ‘I Don’t Want Nobody Belonging To Me’ we are reliably informed
that Eastwood agreed to work under Wolfgang Peterson for In the Line of Fire
(1993). Furthermore, Eastwood (under Peterson) would ‘work under another director for only the
second time in twenty years’ is perhaps somewhat worrying. Taking into consideration
Ted Post in 1973, Michael Cimino in 1974, James Fargo in 1976 and 1978, Don
Siegel in 1979, Buddy Van Horn in 1980, 1988 and 1989, Richard Tuggle in 1984
and Richard Benjamin also in 1984 - then a certain degree of credibility slowly begins to crack and
crumble before your eyes.
Illustrations are all in black
and White and confined overall to the top or bottom two inches of the given page. Some are actually 1”x 2” in size.
This book is readable, especially
for the humble beginner. But for long term Eastwood fans, I doubt very much
that a great deal can be taken from it. With Amazon prices of £23.50 for the
paperback edition and a walloping £82.50 for the Hardback edition, I would certainly
advise you to tread cautiously.
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