Action figures are more than toys or collectibles - they are statements on race, gender, class, body positivity and more. This collection of nine new essays and one interview argues that action figures should be analyzed in the same light as books, movies, televisions shows and other media. Through an examination of the plastic bodies that fill our shelves and toy boxes, ""action figure studies"" can inform the next generation of toys.
Safety has become one of the fundamental preoccupations of the 1990s. In a world obsessed with abuse, stranger danger, disease and environmental damage, people are constantly told that they are at risk, and urged to take greater precautions and seek more protection. An in-depth consideration of the crime, health and safety scares which have come to dominate people's lives, this text argues that the current preoccupation with safety and survival reflects an outlook of low expectation. The book cr...
This compelling book explores the challenges to theory, politics, and human identity that we face on the threshold of the third millennium. It follows on the successor of Best and Kellner's two previous books, Postmodern Theory, acclaimed as the best critical introduction to the field - and The Postmodern Turn, which provides a powerful mapping of postmodern developments developments in the arts, politics, science, and theory. In The Postmodern Adventure, Best and Kellner analyze a broad array o...
Islands of Eight Million Smiles (Harvard East Asian Monographs)
by Hiroshi Aoyagi
'For days now I have tried to start this diary, but the clatter of my existence has warned me off; the first mark on the page eludes me...' Derek Jarman's Smiling in Slow Motion concludes the journey started in Modern Nature, these previously unpublished journals stretch from May 1991 until a fortnight before his death in February 1994. Part diary, part observation, part memoir, Jarman writes with his familiar honesty, wry humour and acuity. Friends, collaborators and enemies are catalogued as...
This is a unique study of the film musical, a global cinema tradition. The musical is one of cinema's few genuinely international genres but it has never been studied as a global sensation. This book fills this critical gap in film studies as it brings together musicals from 15 nations in order to highlight running themes. Musicals are often studied as part of distinct national traditions that are interpreted as native. However this anthology will dispute previous approaches to reveal the influe...
Keeping Together in Time
by Former Professor of History William H McNeill
In Keeping Together in Time one of the most widely read and respected historians in America pursues the possibility that coordinated rhythmic movement - and the shared feelings it evokes - has been a powerful force in holding human groups together. As he has done for historical phenomena as diverse as warfare, plague, and the pursuit of power, William McNeill brings a dazzling breadth and depth of knowledge to his study of dance and drill in human history. From the records of distant and ancient...
Includes more than 2,700 signed essays ranging from 500 to 2,500 words, written by subject experts and edited to form a consistent, readable, and straightforward reference. Entries include subject-specific bibliographies and, where appropriate, photographs and textual cross-references to related essays.
In the age of digital media, superheroes are no longer confined to comic books and graphic novels. Their stories are now featured in films, video games, digital comics, television programs, and more. In a single year alone, films featuring Batman, Spider-Man, and the Avengers have appeared on the big screen. Popular media no longer exists in isolation, but converges into complex multidimensional entities. As a result, traditional ideas about the relationship between varying media have come under...
Critical Approaches to <i>Anthills of the Savannah</i> (Matatu, #8)
Representations of Political Resistance and Emancipation in Science Fiction
In a world in which political opportunity and liberation seem far away, the genre of science fiction grows in cultural importance and popularity. The contributors to this collection are political and social theorists from a range of disciplines who use science fiction as inspiration for new theories and examples of speculative politics. In dystopian governments, they find locations and forms of resistance. Representations of Political Resistance and Emancipation in Science Fiction explores a ran...
Rolling Stones
by Andrea Baker, Matteo Bortolini, Andrea Cossu, and Marlie Centawer
The Rolling Stones: Sociological Perspectives, edited by Helmut Staubmann, draws from a broad spectrum of sociological perspectives to contribute both to the understanding of the phenomenon Rolling Stones and to an in-depth analysis of contemporary society and culture that takes The Stones a starting point. Contributors approach The Rolling Stones from a range of social science perspectives including cultural studies, communication and film studies, gender studies, and the sociology of popular m...
A Queerly Joyful Noise examines how choral singing can be both personally transformative and politically impactful. As they blend their different voices to create something beautiful, LGBTIQ singers stand together and make themselves heard. Comparing queer choral performances to the uses of group singing within the civil rights and labor movements, Julia "Jules" Balen maps the relationship between different forms of oppression and strategic musical forms of resistance. She also explores the pote...