William Beard

Persistence of Double Vision: Essays on Clint Eastwood William Beard

Clint Eastwood represents probably the single strongest icon of heroic masculinity in popular cinema over the past quarter-century. But how odd that, through ironic allusion and gesture, this figure seems continually to deconstruct its own stature. Such problems form the foundation for Bill Beard's examination of Eastwood. Director, producer, and star, Eastwood has become one of the most important figures in American cinema today. This collection of linked essays examines Eastwood's unique position as overpowering cinematic icon and creative filmmaker; as reflector, perpetuator, and even producer of mainstream cultural and ideological values; and as idiosyncratic, complex manipulator of the narrative he inhabits.