Where We (Don't) Belong: "Chasing" Kevin Smith's Male Narratives of Space and Place.

Director Kevin Smith understands guys, particularly the men of Generation X and of the Northeast corridor. In Smith's "View Askewniverse," his canon of films and assorted projects, much attention is given to time and place. Although his first feature, Clerks (1994), remains a critical and pop cultural marker of success, our work looks to review the relationship between gender, time, and physical space that takes place in Chasing Amy. We do this by considering the numerous male narratives that take shape, underscoring traditional notions of masculinity and/or challenging these very perceptions predicated on the settings in which events takes place. For Smith, the age-old adage rings true: location, location, location. Accordingly, masculinity functions in his films not in a sweeping essentialized sense, but rather as an identity marker forged in a distinct place. Smith's approach to navigating his film or helping the viewer to do so is nothing if not overt. Shot in four locales, comic conventions, suburban NJ, urban NYC, and at a nondescript diner along the road of one of the many tributaries that spill in and out of Gotham, gender is brought under scrutiny. Smith notes each location, whether through drastic shifts in scenery, collocating main street USA with Broadway, or by simply opening the scene with text--a stark indicator of the here and now. In these localized vignettes, stories are told--particular narratives uttered--each with a distinct tone, highlighting the plurality of masculinity predicated on distinct moments rather than some overarching gendered script. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]