scholarly journals Shape Shifting Masculinities: Accounts of maleness in Indian man-to-animal transformation horror films

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Mithuraaj Dhusiya

University of DelhiUnlike the werewolf myth, on which there is a significant corpus of takes in Hollywood cinema, Indian horror films abound in snake-, tiger- and gorillatransformations. Most of these shape-shifting monsters represent aberrant subjectivities that set in motion a cycle of destruction and redemption within these narratives. This article will explore how the male body in Indian horror films acts as a site of different bodily discourses that permits a reading of socio-cultural crises within the societal framework. Although there are almost a dozen Indian horror films to date that deal with such shape-shifting monsters, this article will limit itself to studying one Hindi film Jaani Dushman (1979, dir. Raj Kumar Kohli) and one Telugu film Punnami Naagu (1980, dir. A. Rajasekhar). The following core questions will be explored: do these narratives challenge the constructions of hegemonic masculinity? What departures from normative masculinity, if such a thing exists at all, take place? How do these narratives use horror codes and conventions to map the emergence of different types of masculinities? How can these bodily discourses be correlated with various contemporary socio-political issues of India?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 518-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Graybill

The body of the prophet Moses is a site of persistent difficulty. To be sure, at birth, Moses’ body is singled out and described as “good”; at death, his eyesight and vigor alike remain undiminished. But between these two moments, the text is filled with references to Moses’ bodily problems, including a “heavy tongue and impure lips” that threaten his prophetic mission and a glowing face that terrifies the Israelite people. Moses’ body is likewise thematized in the battle against Amalek, the prophet’s affliction with “scale disease” or leprosy, and above all the famous “bridegroom of blood” incident (Exod. 4:24–26). Taken together, these incidents offer a pattern of bodily difficulty and material alterity. Moses’ experience of corporeality exposes the demands that prophecy places upon the body. In particular, prophecy displaces hegemonic masculinity and normative practices of male embodiment. Moses represents an alternate “Mosaic masculinity,” organized around an open, fluid, and vulnerable male body.



SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110335
Author(s):  
Tingting Hu ◽  
Tianru Guan

Through an in-depth analysis of gender representation in the box office record-breaking Chinese movie Wolf Warrior II, this study interrogates how the male body is used as a site for the projection of Chinese national power. Furthermore, it illustrates a revival of patriotic pride in China through a contemporary reading of cross-genre action-military films. Developing Shuqin Cui’s notion of “woman-as-nation,” which understands on-screen female victimization in Chinese films as signifying the past suffering of the nation, this study proposes the new concept of “man-as-nation” to explain how the masculine virtues of male protagonists in Chinese films signify the nation’s rejuvenation and strength. Framing male virtue into the paradigms of wu (武), as martial valor, and wen (文), as cultural attainment, this article argues that masculinity has come to symbolize China’s enhanced comprehensive power and to embody its ideological orientation in both global and domestic domains.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Cho Suh

Recent studies of ethnic return migration have explained why (economic, political, and affective) and where (Asia and Europe) this phenomenon has primarily occurred. Of the research available, however, few have examined the manner in which framings and practices of gender impact the experiences of those who participate in these transnational sojourns. This study fills this void by examining how Korean American male ethnic return migrants understand and negotiate their masculine identities, as they “return” to their ancestral homeland of South Korea. Utilizing data from in-depth qualitative interviews, this study finds that respondents initially configure South Korea as a site where they may redeem their marginalized masculine identities by taking advantage of the surplus human capital afforded to them by their American status. Over time, however, “returnees” come to realize the fluidity of masculinity and its ideals, exposing the tenuousness of their claims to hegemonic masculinity even in South Korea.


2017 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
pp. 1313-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reena Singh ◽  
Kathleen R. Cho

Context.— Nonuterine high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs) are believed to arise most often from precursors in the fallopian tube referred to as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STICs). A designation of tubal origin has been suggested for all cases of nonuterine HGSC if a STIC is identified. Objective.— To highlight that many different types of nongynecologic and gynecologic carcinomas, including HGSC, can metastasize to the tubal mucosa and mimic de novo STIC. Data Sources.— A mini-review of several recently published studies that collectively examine STIC-like lesions of the fallopian tube. Conclusions.— The fallopian tube mucosa can be a site of metastasis from carcinomas arising elsewhere, and pathologists should exercise caution in diagnosing STIC without first considering the possibility of metastasis. Routinely used immunohistochemical stains can often be used to determine if a STIC-like lesion is tubal or nongynecologic in origin. In the context of uterine and nonuterine HGSC, STIC may represent a metastasis rather than the site of origin, particularly when widespread disease is present.


1973 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Pemberton ◽  
B. W. Holloway

SUMMARYOf 150 wild-type strains ofPseudomonas aeruginosaexamined, 48 formed recombinants when mated toP. aeruginosastrain PAO FP−and hence presumably possess sex factors. Three different types of sex factor were distinguished by the pattern of transfer of particular markers in different regions of the chromosome and by the ability to confer resistance to mercury in strain PAO. One new sex factor, FP39, was studied in detail, and while similar to the previously studied FP2 in terms of transfer kinetics, natural stability and resistance to curing by acridines, it differed from FP2 in promoting chromosome transfer from a site 10 min to the left of the FP2 origin and in showing apparently aberrant entry kinetics for a leucine marker situated 48 min from the FP2 origin. This was due to FP39 having a genetic determinant either for a structural gene of leucine biosynthesis or a specific suppressor gene for this locus. PAO strains carrying both FP2 and FP39 were unstable for both sex factors, suggesting a relationship between them.


Sexualities ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshoula Capous-Desyllas ◽  
Marina Johnson-Rhodes

Rodeos have been an integral part of American cowboy culture since the 1800s, however, it wasn’t until the 1970s when gay rodeos began to form and challenge some of the assumptions about ‘cowboys,’ ‘sexuality,’ and ‘masculinity.’ The purpose of this ethnographic study was to utilize participant-driven photo-elicitation (PDPE) method to understand how individuals who participate in gay rodeos experience their identities and the meanings they attribute to their participation in this queer subculture. The diverse images shared by the participants illustrate their unique identities and the various meanings they attribute to their participation in gay rodeo. The findings from this study serve to highlight various aspects of the gay rodeo subculture and the role of gay rodeo as a site of support and solidarity for LGBTQ communities. In this study, gay rodeo emerges as a space of contestation, resistance and reification of gender norms and heterosexuality. The findings call into question tensions that exist when trying to dismantle sexual minority stereotypes while simultaneously perpetuating white hegemonic masculinity through the pervasive image of the gay cowboy. Interrogating the ways in which gay rodeo participants simultaneously reinforced and challenged hegemonic masculinity helps to understand how the idealized (hetero)sexual images of cowboys connected to symbolic power, strength and self-worth, position gay rodeo participants. This research study also reveals that participants of gay rodeo, who travel within and across the USA in order to participate in rodeo events, experiment with multiple non-heterosexual identities as they search for spaces and communities away from compulsory heterosexuality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa García-Periago

This article aims to explore the appropriation of Othello as a play-within-the-film in three Indian movies: Anbu (Natesan 1953), Saptapadi (Kar 1961) and Ratha Thilagam (Mirasi 1963). Anbu and Ratha Thilagam are Tamil movies, whereas Saptapadi is an example of Bengali cinema. In the three films, the same scene from Shakespeare’s Othello – the murder scene – is performed as part of college theatricals. Although the films immediately associate Shakespeare with education, their appropriation of Othello goes beyond a college performance and provides insight on the main plot. The performance of the murder scene foreshadows the rest of the plot (Anbu and Ratha Thilagam), and explores racial dynamics and miscegenation in relation to the protagonists in Saptapadi. Anbu, Saptapadi and Ratha Thilagam introduce variations to the plot to add new layers of meaning. As the three films are set in postcolonial India, the use of the Shakespearean play inevitably becomes a site of negotiation between colonizers and colonized; the three films negotiate changing controversial political issues across the time period to which they all belong. Anbu, Saptapadi and Ratha Thilagam generate then a new understanding of Othello, which becomes paramount to trace the evolution of Shakespeare in postcolonial India.


Author(s):  
Kelvin Ke

The aging action hero has become an important figure in post-millennial action cinema. Its significance can be seen in how aging heroes can be seen in such franchises like The Expendables (2009 – 2013), Taken (2008 – 2014), The Fast and the Furious (2001 – 2017), Mission Impossible (1995 – 2018), and James Bond (2006 – 2015). In the following chapter, it is argued that the aging action hero and the aging male body is significant because they provide an opportunity to rehabilitate the tropes of hegemonic masculinity and the indestructible male body by emphasizing the benefits of the aging male body and where male toxicity is replaced by wisdom and maturity; egocentricity is replaced by allocentrism. As a result, the presence of the aging hero shows the dynamism of action cinema in offering different and alternative visions of heroism and heroes.


Author(s):  
Gaini Mukhtarova ◽  
Assel Dadyrova ◽  
Mukhtar Baibossyn

The purpose of the article is to study the legacy of the Koyandy fair and its impact on the development of traditional Kazakh culture. The research is based on the scientific expedition results collected by the authors of this work during the field trip to Karkaralinsk (Karaganda region, Kazakhstan). The work studies the history of one of the largest fairs in Kazakhstan - the Koyandy fair, which was functioned from the second half of the XIX- the up to the beginning of the XX century territory Kazakhstan. The Koyandy fair had a significant impact on the spread of the popularity among the broad masses of the works of Kazakh artists. The renowned Kazakh folk composers such as Ukili Ybray, Birzhan sal, Akhan-Sere, Estay, Tattimbet Kazangapuly, performers Amre Kashaubaev, Maira Ualikizi, Isa Bayzakov, wrestlers Kazhymukan Munaitpasov and Balauan Sholak performed at the fair. It is essential to mention that the fair was a trading place and a site for a regional art festival's conduction. The Koyandy fair was a place for exchanging and interacting with different types, genres, and traditions of diverse performing arts schools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-141
Author(s):  
Amanda Sarah Chin

Suits’ evocation of masculinity within the neo-liberal office as a site of gender configuration is plural. Although its male protagonists all possess structural power as white, heterosexual, intelligent men (two are wealthy, and eventually the third comes to be), they each reflect varied and occasionally contrasting forms of masculinity. The article explores how, over the seasons, Suits progresses from breadth to depth, with its male characters threading their way through different types of masculine behaviours in order to succeed. In the face of recurrent challenges, their masculinities must be reconfigured. The article examines the manner in which the self becomes a locus of accountability to situate one’s problem-solving ability and subsequent empowerment through performing multiple masculinities.


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