The Last Star In Hollywood

The Last Star In Hollywood


8: Top Gun

November 22, 2023

This week, we could tell you all about Tony Scott’s 1986 military rollercoaster Top Gun, but then we’d have to kill you. Is this film nothing more than a macho fantasy? Is there a queer subtext — or text? Where is the danger zone, and who built this highway?



Content Warnings: militaristic violence, death of a loved one





Unanswered Questions:



  • Does Maverick really change in the course of the film, or does the narrative confirm that he right all along?

  • What are the queer dimensions to the film? What do we make of the exaggerated performance of masculinity?

  • Is Charlie’s independence sufficient? What happens to her after the film?

Further reading:



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Join us next time as we get back to some old-fashioned Hollywood prestige – and the film that gets Paul Newman his Academy Award for Best Actor after being nominated for six previous movies – with Martin Scorsese’s 1986 film The Color Of Money



The Last Star In Hollywood is an independent podcast produced by Elizabeth Rae and Alastair Stephens.

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