• Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Much ADO about Keanu: A Critical Reeves Theory

Much ADO about Keanu: A Critical Reeves Theory

Hardcover

Entertainment & Performing ArtsFilm StudiesGeneral Sociology

Publisher Price: $28.99

ISBN10: 0913705225
ISBN13: 9780913705223
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: Apr 29 2025
Pages: 320
Weight: 1.37
Height: 1.01 Width: 6.37 Depth: 9.18
Language: English
Thanks to his prolific movie career (seventy-eight movies and counting) and endearing real-life persona, Keanu Reeves has become the universal screen saver of pop culture--nobody can go a few days without some reference to Keanu or his movies popping up. But Reeves is much more than box office receipts and internet memes, and Much Ado About Keanu provides the in-depth look at his art, identity, and ethnicity that this oft-misunderstood cultural icon deserves.

Despite the sometimes-mocking estimations of his acting skills--and his seven Razzie nominations--Keanu Reeves is one of the most thoughtful and talented performers of his generation, and during his forty-year career he has made huge strides for Asian and Indigenous representation in spite of his identity often being whitewashed.

Pop culture sociologist and Reeves devotee Sezin Devi Koehler explores all of this, presenting insightful essays that critically examine Reeves's creative output from an interdisciplinary and intersectional perspective. Those who code Reeves as white miss how his multiracial identity informs so many of his mainstream films, often subverting their most straightforward themes. Criticisms of his acting overlook the popularity and the reach of his work.

Koehler's essays challenge how audiences engage with Keanu's movies, highlighting the importance of Keanu as a multitalented artist and trailblazer, not only for racial representation but for intersectional, queer, and feminist readings of cinema as well.

Much Ado About Keanu connects existing media studies around various themes in Reeves's films--particularly Asian and Indigenous representation, gender studies, philosophy, technology, and sexuality studies--in a Critical Reeves Theory sure to engage not just fans but all of us who live in Keanu's world.

Also in

Film Studies