“Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film
A metaphorical expression of the myth of the American Dream, gambling — institutionalized in casinos or illegal in underground circles — soon became a fixture of masculine film genres such as westerns and gangster films. As a rule, gambling movies, regardless of their genre, are male-driven films, l...
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| Argitaratua izan da: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles, |
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| Egile nagusia: | |
| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Anglais |
| Argitaratua: |
Angles
2020
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_2697 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:angles_2697 https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.2697 urn:doi:10.4000/angles.2697 en https://journals.openedition.org/angles/2697 2020-11-11T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/9n15 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ “Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film Angles Société des Anglicistes de l'Enseignement Supérieur info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2274-2042 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles Assouly, Julie gender risk gambling films female gambler casino addiction poker Hollywood Gambling Lady Lady Gambles (The) Molly’s Game Even Money Play Girl American Dream rêve américain genre risque films de jeux joueuse casino addiction poker Hollywood Gambling Lady Lady Gambles (The) Molly’s Game Even Money Play Girl A metaphorical expression of the myth of the American Dream, gambling — institutionalized in casinos or illegal in underground circles — soon became a fixture of masculine film genres such as westerns and gangster films. As a rule, gambling movies, regardless of their genre, are male-driven films, leaving only secondary parts to female protagonists who usually fall into three categories: good luck charms/helpers (The Cooler, 21), trouble-makers (Casino, Gilda) or purveyors of moral standards (Rounders, The Cincinnati Kid). Conversely, in gambling films featuring women in lead roles, actors are more likely to embody addicts (The Lady Gambles, Even Money), entrepreneurs/professionals (Atlantic City, Molly’s Game) and — more rarely — professional gamblers (Gambling Lady), thus contesting the masculine hegemony usually at play in this type of film. Through a diachronic approach based on sociological and historical facts, this article proposes to consider how female-driven gambling films may offer a possibility for female lead actors to reclaim the ‘male gaze’ and somehow reestablish a form of gender equality by portraying tough, smart, pragmatic women in a traditionally masculine environment. Achieving the American Dream or wasting their lives to addiction, these women contradict enduring clichés conveyed by Hollywood and informed by the Hays code during the classical era. Qu’ils soient légaux dans les casinos ou clandestins dans les tripots, les jeux d’argent sont devenus l’une des métaphores du rêve américain, figurant régulièrement dans des films de genres traditionnellement masculins tels que les westerns ou les films de gangsters. En règle générale, les films de jeux, quel que soit leur genre d’affiliation, ont un premier rôle masculin, les personnages féminins n’occupant que des rôles secondaires que l’on peut classer dans trois catégories : les porte-bonheurs/adjuvants (The Cooler, 21), les scandaleuses (Casino, Gilda) ou les garantes de valeurs morales (Rounders, The Cincinnati Kid). À l’inverse, dans les films de jeux offrant le premier rôle à une femme, les actrices tendent à interpréter des rôles de joueuses compulsives (The Lady Gambles, Even Money), de femmes d’affaires/professionnelles (Atlantic City, Molly’s Game) et (plus rarement) des joueuses professionnelles (Gambling Lady) contestant ainsi l’hégémonie masculine à l’œuvre dans ces films. À travers une approche diachronique fondée sur des faits sociologiques et historiques, cet article propose de s’intéresser à la façon dont les films de jeux incluant un premier rôle féminin, offrent la possibilité aux actrices de se réapproprier le « regard masculin » (male gaze) et d’une certaine manière de rétablir une forme d’égalité des genres en incarnant des femmes fortes, intelligentes et pragmatiques dans un environnement traditionnellement masculin. Qu’elles réalisent leur rêve américain ou succombent à l’addiction, ces femmes contredisent les clichés persistants véhiculés par Hollywood sous l’influence du code Hays pendant la période classique. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
gender risk gambling films female gambler casino addiction poker Hollywood Gambling Lady Lady Gambles (The) Molly’s Game Even Money Play Girl American Dream rêve américain genre risque films de jeux joueuse casino addiction poker Hollywood Gambling Lady Lady Gambles (The) Molly’s Game Even Money Play Girl |
| spellingShingle |
gender risk gambling films female gambler casino addiction poker Hollywood Gambling Lady Lady Gambles (The) Molly’s Game Even Money Play Girl American Dream rêve américain genre risque films de jeux joueuse casino addiction poker Hollywood Gambling Lady Lady Gambles (The) Molly’s Game Even Money Play Girl Assouly, Julie “Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film |
| description |
A metaphorical expression of the myth of the American Dream, gambling — institutionalized in casinos or illegal in underground circles — soon became a fixture of masculine film genres such as westerns and gangster films. As a rule, gambling movies, regardless of their genre, are male-driven films, leaving only secondary parts to female protagonists who usually fall into three categories: good luck charms/helpers (The Cooler, 21), trouble-makers (Casino, Gilda) or purveyors of moral standards (Rounders, The Cincinnati Kid). Conversely, in gambling films featuring women in lead roles, actors are more likely to embody addicts (The Lady Gambles, Even Money), entrepreneurs/professionals (Atlantic City, Molly’s Game) and — more rarely — professional gamblers (Gambling Lady), thus contesting the masculine hegemony usually at play in this type of film. Through a diachronic approach based on sociological and historical facts, this article proposes to consider how female-driven gambling films may offer a possibility for female lead actors to reclaim the ‘male gaze’ and somehow reestablish a form of gender equality by portraying tough, smart, pragmatic women in a traditionally masculine environment. Achieving the American Dream or wasting their lives to addiction, these women contradict enduring clichés conveyed by Hollywood and informed by the Hays code during the classical era. |
| author |
Assouly, Julie |
| author_facet |
Assouly, Julie |
| author_sort |
Assouly, Julie |
| title |
“Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film |
| title_short |
“Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film |
| title_full |
“Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film |
| title_fullStr |
“Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film |
| title_full_unstemmed |
“Gambling and women don’t mix”: Female Gamblers and the American Dream in Film |
| title_sort |
“gambling and women don’t mix”: female gamblers and the american dream in film |
| publisher |
Angles |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/angles.2697 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/angles/2697 |
| _version_ |
1877293836379619328 |