Keanu Reeves’ body as battleground

ABSTRACT

Keanu Reeves’ body is the battleground. At every turn in Keanu Reeves’ long career, his body becomes the site of the film’s primary conflict, from the violation of the symbolic rape scene at the heart of the first Matrix to the graphic dismemberment at the climax of John Wick: Parabellum. By utilising masculinity studies, star theory, and haptic, embodied theory, we can begin to understand the complex push and pull of abjection and masochism that spurs our desire to see Keanu’s body – crossed with its own literal scars – as the ultimate battleground of his films.

KEYWORDS:

• Abjection
• embodiment
• gender studies
• masochism
• star theory

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Britta Moline

Britta Moline is an independent scholar living in Paris, France. She has taught Anglophone culture and American film at University Paris Cité, and is currently preparing for her doctoral studies examining the depiction of the male body in contemporary American cinema. Her conference paper on the liminal identities within the film Leaving Las Vegas was presented last year at the 118th PAMLA conference. She is from Mankato, Minnesota