Postfeminist Whiteness: Problematising Melancholic Burden in Contemporary Hollywood

In the first extended study into the politics of whiteness inherent within postfeminist cinema, Kendra Marston interrogates representations of melancholic white femininity in contemporary Hollywood cinema, arguing that the ‘melancholic white woman’ serves as a vehicle through which to explore the excesses of late capitalism and a crisis of faith in the American dream. This figure may be idealised or scapegoated within these films, yet strategic performances of gendered melancholia may produce benefits for white female directors and stars disadvantaged within a patriarchal industry. Examining film genres including the tourist romance, the fantasy film and the psychological thriller, the book also contains case studies of films like The Virgin Suicides, Blue Jasmine, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.