Making enemies: A theoretical approach to antagonism and emotion in the contemporary American action film

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennart Soberon
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Action Films ◽  
Action Film ◽  
American Action

Conflict and adversity form an essential component of many American action films. Not only are these spectacular blockbuster films often grafted on forms of contemporary geopolitical warfare, moreover, the violent deaths of the film’s villains arguably form one of the genre’s key pleasures. Utilizing Laclau and Mouffe’s concept of antagonism, this article deconstructs how within the action film, discursive articulations of enemyhood attempt to structure heroic violence as just and the lives of villains as ungrievable. The action films Lone Survivor (2015) and London Has Fallen (2017) will operate as case studies in elucidating how antagonistic frontiers between the hero self and the enemy other are cinematically drawn and strengthened.

Writing Politics: Ottoman Governmentality and the Language of Reports

2018 ◽  
pp. 116-145
Author(s):  
M. Safa Saraçoglu
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
The State ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Administration ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Provincial Capital ◽  
False Accusations

This chapter focuses on the official correspondence between Vidin’s administrative council and the provincial capital, Ruse. These reports pertaining to events in Vidin County were a part of the political procedures of the local judicio-administrative sphere. As such, politics of local administration influenced the official correspondence and our understanding of the events in Vidin County. The writing of reports and petitions and other provincial administrative/judicial practices (such as interrogations) constituted a significant part of Ottoman governmentality. Those who could shape how the official correspondence was constructed gained advantage in local political economy. Such correspondence was an essential component of how provincial Ottoman government functioned; therefore, reports, petitions, false accusations, and interrogations became important tools for agents and groups who were engaged in hegemonic negotiations. Both elite and non-elite agents were able to utilize Ottoman governance to pursue their own strategies against other local agents or imperial government. People who refused to use these bureaucratic tools in making claims and negotiating were presented in this correspondence as defiant stubborn and violent. This perspective is critical of the state–society divide, as the case studies reveal a more complex singular government of state and society.

5. Discourse analysis, post-structuralism, and foreign policy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lene Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Foreign Policy Analysis ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Research Designs

This chapter examines the use of discourse analysis in the study of foreign policy. In the study of international relations, discourse analysis is associated with post-structuralism, a theoretical approach that shares realism’s concern with states and power, but differs from realism’s assumption that states are driven by self-interest. It also takes a wider view of power than realists normally do. Post-structuralism draws upon, but also challenges, realism’s three core assumptions: groupism, egoism, and power-centrism. The chapter first considers the theoretical principles that inform post-structuralist discourse analysis before discussing the research designs and methodological techniques employed by discourse analysts. It also offers examples and four learning boxes featuring mini-case studies and locates poststructuralist discourse analysis within the field of foreign policy analysis. Finally, it assesses the strengths and weaknesses of post-structuralist discourse analysis.

Digital divide in light of religion, gender, and women’s digital participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-413
Author(s):  
Ruth Tsuria
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Religious Traditions

Purpose This paper aims to argue for the importance of considering religious and cultural background as informing participant's access and attitudes towards digital media. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes a socio-cultural theoretical approach. In terms of methodology, it refers to case studies based on discourse analysis of online content. Findings The paper argues that the online discourse in the case studies presented discourages women from using digital media for their own empowerment. Research limitations/implications Some limitation include that this research focuses only on a case study from Judaism. Future research should examine how other religious traditions impact internet access and uses. Originality/value The paper's contribution is in its novel inclusion of religion as an element of the digital divide.

Ownership and the Articulation of Slave Status in Greek and Near Eastern Legal Practice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Legal Methodology

This chapter reviews the various approaches scholars have taken to defining slavery in a global perspective. It proceeds to set out a legal methodology for understanding slave status in comparative perspective. It engages with several critiques of this approach, showing how they are misplaced and reaffirming the importance of legal ownership to the definition of slavery. Two case studies are provided to give empirical confirmation of this theoretical approach, showing how this legal methodology aligns with slaving practices in Athens and Babylonia. It finishes with some general remarks on the importance of observing sociolegal practices empirically rather than beginning and ending with abstract definitions and formal statutes.

scholarly journals Heroes and Representations of Masculinity in Thai Action Films

MANUSYA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-53
Author(s):  
Natawan Wongchalard
Keyword(s):  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Cultural Construction ◽  
Symbolic Order ◽  
Action Films ◽  
Action Film ◽  
Historical Films ◽  
Social Backgrounds

This paper contextualises a cultural construction of hegemonic masculinity and discusses ways in which Thai action film heroes in historical and Muay Thai films are represented. Traditionally, the quality of nakleng is desirable for Thai action heroes along with having mastery in a particular skill. In the moral realm, the idea of gratitude or khwam-katanyu in Thai, is prioritised and highly regarded to be the inevitable requisite for good men, which includes action heroes. This sense of gratitude extends to one’s ideological obligations to one’s motherland or matuphum, which is often thematically portrayed in Muay Thai and historical films through the struggle of the hero. Based on a reading of the two exemplar films, Ong Bak (Muay Thai Warrior 2003, dir. Prachya Pinkaew) and The Legend of King Naresuan: The Elephant Duel (2014, dir. Chatri Chalerm Yukol), the different social backgrounds of the two heroes, their hegemonic masculinity, autonomy and lack can be explained in relation to the discourse of Buddhist spirituality. In addition, the ways in which the two heroes are differently depicted is a cinematic device with the aid of which, in addition to the observance of filmic verisimilitude, the representations are designed to cater to segmented subject/citizen audiences. In psychoanalytic terms, each hero from the two films is similarly made to acquire autonomy and experience ‘lack’ in different realms of the symbolic order.

Advancing Social Sustainability in Film Tourism

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Buchmann
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Lord Of The Rings ◽  
Tourism Research ◽  
Tourism Studies

Film tourism research has produced numerous case studies but little theoretical development. As an example, many film tourism studies report social impacts and further sustainability issues in a trend mirroring the wider tourism literature. This article presents a theoretical approach analyzing the potential and realization of sustainable film tourism. It introduces the notions of social sustainability and discusses its adaptation, concentrating on the case studies of Whale Rider and Lord of the Rings tourism. For this, the study also refers to literature and previous case studies into organizations demonstrating sustainable vision and/or behavior in the contemporary New Zealand film tourism industry. The article argues the need to adapt currently existing frameworks to film tourism theory and practice.

scholarly journals The Zoom Interference Model of New Media. A Metaphor-Based Dynamic Approach in the Jungle of Concepts

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Katalin Fehér
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
New Media ◽  
Software Development ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Experimental Model ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Interference Model ◽  
Dynamic Approach

<p>The purpose of this paper is to establish an experimental model of new media using theoretical approach. After investigating numerous interpretations of new media, the paper offers a metaphor-based framework to guide you in the jungle of concepts. According to the hypothesis, the metaphor of interference supports the development of a theoretical model including the concepts of crossmedia, transmedia and intermedia. Therefore, the zooming interference model and its illustrating case studies are going to be available to interpret the dimensions of new media also with a visualized version. The model supports a dynamic approach to academic discussions and a software development to study the changing new media.</p>

Reverberations

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Art Music ◽  
Cultural Activity ◽  
Contemporary Culture ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Essential Component ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
To Come ◽  
Aesthetic Expression

Noise permeates our highly mediated and globalised cultures. Noise as art, music, cultural or digital practice is a way of intervening so that it can be harnessed for an aesthetic expression not caught within mainstream styles or distribution. This wide-ranging book examines the concept and practices of noise, treating noise not merely as a sonic phenomenon but as an essential component of all communication and information systems. The book opens with ideas of what noise is, and then works through ideas of how noise works in contemporary media, to conclude by showing potentials within noise for a continuing cultural renovation through experimentation. Considered in this way, noise is seen as an essential yet excluded element of contemporary culture that demands a rigorous engagement. Reverberations brings together a range of perspectives, case studies, critiques and suggestions as to how noise can mobilize thought and cultural activity through a heightening of critical creativity.Written by a strong, international line-up of scholars and artists, Reverberations looks to energize this field of study and initiate debates for years to come.

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