knowledge and concepts explained that will be referred to later on in the analytical chapters. This first part focuses on the key terms ‘male’ and ‘antihero’; it gives possible definitions and further elaborates on the social history of white male American masculinity and the male body as well as on the term ‘the hero’s journey’. In terms of film analysis, a semiotic approach to mise-en-scène introduces aspects of composition and colour symbolism. Since masculinity as such and the struggles the characters