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Book part
Publication date: 13 March 2019

Shellie McMurdo and Wickham Clayton

Roland Joffé, the film-maker behind the significant critical hits The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986), employed a hypnotic aesthetic, which unflinchingly depicted…

Abstract

Roland Joffé, the film-maker behind the significant critical hits The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986), employed a hypnotic aesthetic, which unflinchingly depicted violence and brutality within different cultural contexts. In 2007, he used a no less impressive aesthetic in a similar way, although this film, Captivity, was met with public outcry, including from self-proclaimed feminist film-maker Joss Whedon. This was based upon the depiction, in advertisements, of gendered violence in the popularly termed ‘torture porn’ subgenre, which itself has negative gendered connotations.

We aim to revisit the critical reception of Captivity in light of this public controversy, looking at the gendered tensions within considerations of genre, narration and aesthetics. Critics assumed Captivity was an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the torture horror subgenre, and there is evidence that the film-makers inserted scenes of gore throughout the narrative to encourage this affiliation. However, this chapter will consider how the film works as both an example of post-peak torture horror and an interesting precursor to more overtly feminist horror, such as A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) and Raw (2017). This is seen through the aesthetic and narrative centralizing of a knowing conflict between genders, which, while not entirely successful, does uniquely aim to provide commentary on the gender roles which genre criticism of horror has long considered implicit to the genre’s structures and pleasures.

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Gender and Contemporary Horror in Film
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-898-7

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Handbook of Transport Strategy, Policy and Institutions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-0804-4115-3

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Sensory Penalities: Exploring the Senses in Spaces of Punishment and Social Control
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-727-0

Book part
Publication date: 3 January 2015

S. Lorén Trull and Bruce A. Arrigo

This chapter examines the conundrum of juvenile immigration law and policy and argues that it is a present-day manifestation of “child-saving” in rhetoric, disposition, and human…

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This chapter examines the conundrum of juvenile immigration law and policy and argues that it is a present-day manifestation of “child-saving” in rhetoric, disposition, and human capital harm. In support of this thesis, the chapter reviews the pertinent human rights, law, and social science evidence, and it concludes that the maintenance of the nation’s existing immigration policy only makes sense within the context of the intentions of the 19th century child-saving movement. To substantiate this view, the political-economic drivers of contemporary US immigration policy (i.e., its child-saving dynamics) are explored. The chapter concludes by speculatively addressing the character (i.e., the form and quality) of modern-day juvenile immigration policy as child-saving informed by the philosophy and criticism of Psychological Jurisprudence (PJ).

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Studies in Law, Politics, and Society
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-568-6

Book part
Publication date: 10 June 2015

Brian W. Wojcik

Online communities of practice offer the potential for the development of a shared understanding regarding knowledge and skills related to a particular field or practice. Online…

Abstract

Online communities of practice offer the potential for the development of a shared understanding regarding knowledge and skills related to a particular field or practice. Online communities of practice also offer researchers a means to analyze discussions to determine themes related to practices within a given field. This chapter presents two studies that have examined discussions that have occurred among members of a large assistive technology (AT) Listserv. The purpose of the studies was to identify and examine themes grounded in the conversations and experiences of those individuals actively engaged in AT service delivery. Findings are presented and implications of using online communities of practice within research as well as a means for knowledge and skill development are discussed.

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Efficacy of Assistive Technology Interventions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-641-6

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Book part
Publication date: 13 March 2019

Samantha Holland

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Gender and Contemporary Horror in Film
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-898-7

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Leaders Assemble! Leadership in the MCU
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-673-6

Book part
Publication date: 24 November 2022

Glen Donnar

Since the mid-2000s, there has been a marked resurgence in Hollywood action films featuring older male heroes, predominantly showcasing stars ranging from their mid-fifties into…

Abstract

Since the mid-2000s, there has been a marked resurgence in Hollywood action films featuring older male heroes, predominantly showcasing stars ranging from their mid-fifties into their seventies. This ‘geri-action’ cycle – a less-than-kind label that combines geriatric and action – has revitalised the careers of aged action stars such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. A core element of the cycle, beyond action franchise revivals and all-star ensembles featuring stars from the 1980s and 1990s, has been the emergence of late-career action turns by ageing Hollywood actors in globally successful French-produced, Hollywood-style action films. Part of a larger trend in French cinema towards the production of films in a distinctly commercial register, the ‘globalised’ aesthetic of French action film cannily mimics Hollywood action film style and aesthetics. These French-produced geri-action films are the roots of the cycle, represent some of its biggest box office successes and have transformed the career of several acclaimed recent-to-action Hollywood stars, exemplified by the prolific late action career of Oscar-nominated actor, Liam Neeson, most notably across three Taken films (2008–2014, EuropaCorp). Despite this, these French-produced geri-action films have predominantly been examined as a Hollywood and American phenomenon.

Geri-action quickly became synonymous with 1980s Hollywood action cinema's white male ‘hard bodies’, who are still widely understood to diagnose national anxieties and social ills – and violently embody their so-called “cures”. These French geri-action films similarly feature protagonists who forcefully struggle against perceived threats to the cultural position of traditional (white) masculinities and professional and paternal redundancy. Yet they also showcase deep-seated European anxieties about the threat of porous borders, immigration and social change, presaging a later shift in the cycle in Hollywood. Focusing on films that have received comparatively less scholarly attention, Taken 2 (2012), 3 Days to Kill (2014) and The Commuter (2018), this chapter examines the productive confluence of lower budget French-produced geri-action films and their ageing recent-to-action stars. These films depend on their stars to fortify their globalised Hollywood aesthetic and the stars' personae permit efficiencies such as clipped pacing. At the same time, budget constraints enhance the action performance of recent-to-action stars as unadorned, visceral and authentic-feeling. The films often stage fight sequences in confined, everyday spaces of work and tourism with ageing heroes who must creatively ‘make do’ with objects available to them. Equally, stunt coordination and choreography, editing and sound design make ageing and less experienced action performers appear to move faster and hit harder. Taken together, French-produced geri-action and its recent-to-action stars have transformed not only who stars in ‘Hollywood’ action cinema but who produces it.

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Gender and Action Films 2000 and Beyond
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-518-0

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Book part
Publication date: 25 March 2011

Johan M.G. van der Dennen

In this chapter, I use the term “biopolitics” to mean evolutionarily informed political science. Politics has been characterized as “Who gets what, when, and how” (Lasswell, 1936

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In this chapter, I use the term “biopolitics” to mean evolutionarily informed political science. Politics has been characterized as “Who gets what, when, and how” (Lasswell, 1936), but rather than about material possessions, politics is understood to be about power, more specifically about collective power, especially differential group power competition, hierarchy and stratification in power distribution, and the universal struggle to enhance power, and to maintain or challenge/destroy this status quo. Politics “should be found in any system of nature in which conflicts of interest exist among cooperating organic units” (Johnson, 1995, p. 279). My main focus will be competitive intergroup relations in monkeys and apes, or as I (van der Dennen, 1995) called it “intergroup agonistic behavior” (IAB). I also briefly treat interindividual and intercoalitionary agonistic behavior when relevant.

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Biology and Politics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-580-9

Book part
Publication date: 7 March 2022

Hayley Stainton

Learning about wildlife is an important part of childhood education, but it is yet to be capitalised upon in the context of educational tourism. This chapter considers the…

Abstract

Learning about wildlife is an important part of childhood education, but it is yet to be capitalised upon in the context of educational tourism. This chapter considers the different types of wildlife tourism that are available to children, how wildlife tourism experiences might have educational value and what the benefits of this niche tourism type might be. By providing insight into the educational elements of wildlife tourism, this chapter provokes analytical thinking about how this can be implemented and managed in a sustainable and responsible manner.

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Children in Sustainable and Responsible Tourism
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-657-6

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