Memorializing White Masculinity: the Late 1990s “Crisis of Masculinity” and the “Subversive Performance” of Man on the Moon

Abstract

This article explores the late 1990s biopic Man on the Moon, discussing the ways in which the film's remembrance of Andy Kaufman relates to and negotiates the “crisis of masculinity” that many writers have identified with the 1990s. With a number of voices noting the ways in which contemporary identity politics have troubled traditional white masculinity, this sense of crisis had a profound impact on the masculinities of the 1990s, effectively marking an identity that has traditionally remained unmarked. Many have discussed the liberating possibilities of such marking practices, however, Man on the Moon illustrates a different dimension of these negotiations of identity. Man on the Moon remembers Andy Kaufman as a chaotic, conflicted performance of multiple selves, reflective of the chaotic identities that came to characterize the 1990s. In the process, however, Man on the Moon forgets Andy Kaufman's Jewishness, remembering a more traditional, white masculinity in its place. Owing to this, I argue that the ways in which Man on the Moon memorializes Kaufman's identity serve as an important caveat for discussions of gender and identity “performance.”