Acknowledgments
1. Introduction: Wes Anderson as Auteur-a History
2. Wes Anderson: His Position in American Cinema and Culture
3. Gender, Youth, and the Explorartion of Masculinity in Bottle Rocket
4. "Sic Transit Gloria": Transgressing the Boundaries of Adolescence in Rushmore
5. The Interplay of Narrative Text, Language, and Film: Literary Influence and Intertextuality in The Royal Tenenbaums
6. Opposition and Resolution: The Dissonance of Celebrity in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
7. Fragmentary Narratives/Incomplete Identities in The Darjeeling Limited
8. Adaptation and Homage: The World of Roald Dahl and Fantastic Mr. Fox
9. Reconstitution of the "Family" and Construction of Normalized Gender in Moonrise Kingdom
10. Literary Influence and Memory: Stefan Zweig and The Grand Budapest Hotel
11. Wes Anderson's Short Films and Commercial Work
Conclusion: Memory and Narrative in the Works of Wes Anderson
Filmography
Bibliography
Index

Wes Anderson is considered one of the most important directors of the post-Baby Boom generation, making films such as Rushmore (1998) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) in a style so distinctive that his films are often recognizable from a single frame. Through the travelogue The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and the stop-motion animation of Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), his films examine issues of gender, race, and class through dysfunctional family dynamics, with particular focus on masculinity and male bonding. Anderson's auteur status is enriched by his fascination with Truffaut and the French New Wave, as well as his authorship of every one of his screenplays, drawing on influences as diverse as Mark Twain, J. D. Salinger, Roald Dahl, and Stefan Zweig. Works such as Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) continue to fascinate with their postmodern, hyper-nostalgic attention to detail. This book explores the filmic and literary influences that have helped make Anderson a major voice in 21st century "indie" culture, and reveals why Wes Anderson is one of the most inventive filmmakers working in cinema today.