Punishing Bodies: British Prison Film and the Spectacle of Masculinity

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Llinares
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Real World ◽  
The Other ◽  
Male Body ◽  
The Social ◽  
British Cinema ◽  
Sociology Of Punishment ◽  
The One

Prison films are beset by a fundamental paradox. Because mainstream film is reliant on a combination of the pleasure of the visual and the dramatic structuring of narrative, institutionalised incarceration based on the loss of liberty, extended temporal control and physical spatial restriction would seem to be fundamentally at odds with ‘the cinematic’. Prison as depicted on-screen is therefore a space in which visibly enacted retribution is foregrounded in a mode much more akin to what Foucault calls the pre-modern ‘theatres of torture’. The routinised banality of day-to-day life behind bars is eschewed in favour of the spectacle of the masculine body punishing or being violently punished. British cinema is replete with films set in prison, however, as the first part of this article explores, and academic analyses of such films are formulated around three discursive strands: debates around the constitution of the prison film as a genre, discussions of the potential relationship between cinematic representations and the ‘real-world’ sociology of punishment, and assertions about how national identity is reflected. The second part of this article deploys a comparative analysis of Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson (2008) and Steve McQueen's Hunger (2008), examining what is often taken for granted in previous work, namely how the environment of incarceration is produced as an aesthetic, social and even ontological space that contextualises and materialises a link between masculinity, violence and spectacle. I argue that the microcosm of the prison, on the one hand, reasserts the male body as the root of physical ‘being-ness’, yet on the other, reveals masculinity as a constructed performance determined by the social context of incarceration and amplified through cinematic aesthetics.

Post-Yugoslav Serbian Literature and Its Roots in the Social and Political Changes

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Milan Orlić
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Discourse ◽  
World Language ◽  
Cultural Paradigms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Post Modernism ◽  
The World ◽  
Socialist Realist ◽  
The One

Post-Yugoslav literature and culture came out of the stylistic formations of Yugoslav modernism and postmodernism, in the context of European cultural discourse. Yugoslav literature, which spans the existence of “two” Yugoslavias, the “first” Yugoslavia (1928–1941) and the “second” socialist Yugoslavia (1945–1990), is the foundation of various national literary and cultural paradigms, which shared the same or similar historical, philosophical and aesthetic roots. These were fed, on the one hand, by a phenomenological understanding of the world, language, style and culture, and on the other, by an acceptance of or resistance to the socialist realist aesthetics and ideological values of socialist Yugoslav society. In selected examples of contemporary Serbian prose, the author explores the social context, which has shaped contemporary Serbian literature, focusing on its roots in Serbian and Yugoslav 20th century (post)modernism.

scholarly journals The man of Ernest J. Gaines' novelistic universe: between emasculation and self-assertion

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 5330-5335
Author(s):  
Touré Bassamanan
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Expectations ◽  
Male Domination ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One

This paper highlights the different layers of meaning that characterize the notion of manhood in Gaines’ fiction. The quest for manhood represents an imperative for the frustrated men in the framework of the social context wherein they are emasculated. Here, manhood should be grasped through a binary paradigm. On the one hand, the expression of manhood equates with male domination and violence. On the other hand, due to social expectations, manhood refers to the struggle for freedom. It undermines the white racial superiority and it claims blacks’ humanity. Manhood fosters humanistic principles. Thus, it takes on a universal dimension.

The Social Context of Luke's Community

1994 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halvor Moxnes
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Urban Culture ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One

Apparently, the social situation in which Luke's community lived was that of an urban setting in the Eastern Mediterranean. This situation was shaped by the honor and patronage culture of the Hellenistic city. At the heart of the Lukan community's ethos lay its common meals. The purpose of these meals was dual: On the one hand, they forged a common identity for a socially and ethnically diverse group of Christians; on the other hand, they functioned as a criticism of urban culture.

scholarly journals Tensiones entre el esencialismo azteca y el universalismo New Age a partir del estudio de las danzas “concheroaztecas”

Revista Trace ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renée De la Torre
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
New Age ◽  
The Other ◽  
Transnational Movements ◽  
Identidad Nacional ◽  
The One ◽  
New Age Religion ◽  
Dance Groups ◽  
Los Grupos

El propósito del trabajo es describir y analizar comparativamente dos expresiones contemporáneas de la religiosidad mexhica que se manifiestan en los grupos de danza conocidos como concheros o aztecas. La primera es la versión mexicanista, que se opone al sincretismo con la religión católica y la cultura occidental y que plantea la esencialización de lo “auténticamente” azteca promoviendo la restauración del Anáhuac en el presente; la segunda es una versión sincrética, conocida como neomexicanidad que, aceptando la base de la religiosidad sincrética entre el catolicismo y la cosmovisión indígena, se interconecta en una red mística espiritual Nueva Era. De dicha comparación se pretende calibrar la manera en que se dan las tensiones entre la identidad nacional basada en el pasado indígena que nutre la idea de la mexicanidad y la transversalización de movimientos y redes transnacionales que retoman retazos de “lo mexicano” como una sabiduría universal, capaz de compartir concepciones religiosas y filosóficas con otras culturas dispares.Abstract: This article presents a comparative analysis of two contemporary expressions of Mexhica religiosity performed by the dance groups known as danza de concheros or Aztec dancers. The first one is Mexicanist in essence and opposes any form of religious syncretism that draws on Catholicism or other Western religions, while privileging Aztec essentialism and authenticy, referring to Anahuac’s existence in the present. The second one is syncretic, generally known as Neomexican and stands for its acceptance of syncretic ties between Catholicism and indigenous cosmology.It is associated with spiritual mysticism and New Age religion. The comparison between the two enables us to assess the ways in which current tensions between the national identity (that claims ties to an indigenous past as foundation for Mexicanity) on the one hand, and transnational movements and networks (that take an what is viewed as “authentically Mexican” as a form of universal knowledge that related to other forms of religious and philosophical views of lost cultures) on the other, play out.Résumé : Cet article a pour objet de décrire et d’analyser comparativement deux expressions contemporaines de la religiosité mexhica qui se manifestent dans les groupes de danse connus comme concheros ou aztèques. La première est une version mexicaniste, qui s’oppose à toute forme de syncrétisme avec la religion catholique et la culture occidentale en prônant l’essencialisation de l’authentiquement aztèque, grâce à la restauration de l’Anahuac dans le présent. La seconde est une version syncrétique, connue sous le nom de néomexicanité, qui accepte l’ouverture entre le catholicisme et la cosmovision indienne et qui se trouve connectée avec le réseau spirituel mystique du New Age. Avec cette comparaison, on prétend mesurer la manière selon laquelle se nouent les tensions entre l’identité nationale fondée sur le passé indien –et dont se nourrit l’idéologie de la mexicanité– et la dimension transversale des mouvements et réseaux transnationaux qui reprennent des fragments de l’« authentiquement mexicain » comme un savoir universel, à même de partager les conceptions religieuses et philosophiques d’autres cultures disparues.

scholarly journals Fuck context, czyli splatając architekturę ze społeczeństwem

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-60
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Janas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Social ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
Action Network ◽  
Architecture Theory ◽  
The One ◽  
Human Actors

Fuck context, or interweaving architecture with societyThe majority of architectural studies tends to focus on relationships between architecture and its materiality on the one hand and the society or culture, on the other. In this perspective, buildings and projects, architects and their work can be understood only by placing them within the social context, structures, frames and conditions. Architecture is here and mirrors societal changes and processes, while the explanations are there. Buildings are stable, there is no action, all moves and all flows are outside, behind or hidden and the only thing researchers and designers should do is to unveil them.The ambition of this article is different. Starting from Rem Koolhaas’s well-known phrase — “fuck context” — I argue that the main purpose of studying architecture should not be explaining or interpreting buildings but trying to understand them and to follow, account and examine all human and non-human actors involved in the dynamic architectural network. This is why I propose to apply the Action-Network Theory as a new method of studying and analyzing architecture in the humanities and social sciences but also in architecture theory. If we pay attention to details, to actors and their actions as much as it is possible, to their associations and connections, to what buildings do rather than what they mean, a new and richer version of architecture will appear. And there will be no place, no necessity for context.

Lorenzo at ‘The Theatre’ Meeting actors and audience

2018 ◽  
pp. 13-38
Author(s):  
N. Ceramella
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The One

The article considers two versions of D. H. Lawrence’s essay The Theatre: the one which appeared in the English Review in September 1913 and the other one which Lawrence published in his first travel book Twilight in Italy (1916). The latter, considerably revised and expanded, contains a number of new observations and gives a more detailed account of Lawrence’s ideas.Lawrence brings to life the atmosphere inside and outside the theatre in Gargnano, presenting vividly the social structure of this small northern Italian town. He depicts the theatre as a multi-storey stage, combining the interpretation of the plays by Shakespeare, D’Annunzio and Ibsen with psychological portraits of the actors and a presentation of the spectators and their responses to the plays as distinct social groups.Lawrence’s views on the theatre are contextualised by his insights into cinema and its growing popularity.What makes this research original is the fact that it offers a new perspective, aiming to illustrate the social situation inside and outside the theatre whichLawrenceobserved. The author uses the material that has never been published or discussed before such as the handwritten lists of box-holders in Gargnano Theatre, which was offered to Lawrence and his wife Frieda by Mr. Pietro Comboni, and the photographs of the box-panels that decorated the theatre inLawrence’s time.

Multicultural and Transnational Novels

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Meffan
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
The Other ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Return Home ◽  
Access Rights ◽  
The One

This chapter discusses the history of multicultural and transnational novels in New Zealand. A novel set in New Zealand will have to deal with questions about cultural access rights on the one hand and cultural coverage on the other. The term ‘transnational novel’ gains its relevance from questions about cultural and national identity, questions that have particularly exercised nations formed from colonial history. The chapter considers novels that demonstrate and respond to perceived deficiencies in wider discourses of cultural and national identity by way of comparison between New Zealand and somewhere else. These include Amelia Batistich's Another Mountain, Another Song (1981), Albert Wendt's Sons for the Return Home (1973) and Black Rainbow (1992), James McNeish's Penelope's Island (1990), Stephanie Johnson's The Heart's Wild Surf (2003), and Lloyd Jones's Mister Pip (2006).

scholarly journals Representing the victorious past: Chinese revolutionary TV drama between propaganda and marketization

2021 ◽  
pp. 016344372110227
Author(s):  
Yingzi Wang ◽  
Thoralf Klein
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Market Reforms ◽  
Fictional Characters ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Revolutionary History ◽  
Over Time

This paper examines the changes and continuities in TV representations of Chinese Communist Party’s revolutionary history and interprets them within the broader context of China’s political, economic and cultural transformations since the 1990s. Drawing on a comparative analysis of three state-sponsored TV dramas produced between the late 1990s and mid-2010s, it traces how the state-sanctioned revolutionary narratives have changed over time in response to the Party’s propaganda imperatives on the one hand, and to the market-oriented production environment on the other. The paper argues that while recent TV productions in the new century have made increasing concessions to audience taste by adopting visually stimulating depictions and introducing fictional characters as points of identification for the audience, the revolutionary narratives were still aligned with the Party’s propaganda agenda at different times. This shows the ongoing competition between ideological and commercial interests in Chinese TV production during the era of market reforms.

Interactional means of teaming up: enacting the features of contemporary working life in a theater performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riikka Nissi ◽  
Melisa Stevanovic
Keyword(s):  
Working Life ◽  
Social World ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Setting ◽  
Live Performance ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
Workplace Organization ◽  
The One

Abstract The article examines how the aspects of the social world are enacted in a theater play. The data come from a videotaped performance of a professional theater, portraying a story about a workplace organization going through a personnel training program. The aim of the study is to show how the core theme of the play – the teaming up of the personnel – is constructed in the live performance through a range of interactional means. By focusing on four core episodes of the play, the study on the one hand points out to the multiple changes taking place both within and between the different episodes of the play. On the other hand, the episodes of collective action involving the semiotic resources of singing and dancing are shown to represent the ideals of teamwork in distinct ways. The study contributes to the understanding of socially and politically oriented theater as a distinct, pre-rehearsed social setting and the means and practices that it deploys when enacting the aspects of the contemporary societal issues.

Benson and Miller in Perspective

1979 ◽  
Vol 3 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 242-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Kuklick
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Applied Science ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Knowledge ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Stock Of Knowledge

Despite differences in coloration Miller and Benson are birds of a feather. Although he is no Pollyanna, Miller believes that there has been a modest and decent series of advances in the social sciences and that the most conscientious, diligent, and intelligent researchers will continue to add to this stock of knowledge. Benson is much more pessimistic about the achievements of yesterday and today but, in turn, offers us the hope of a far brighter tomorrow. Miller explains Benson’s hyperbolic views about the past and future by distinguishing between pure and applied science and by pointing out Benson’s naivete about politics: the itch to understand the world is different from the one to make it better; and, Miller says, because Benson sees that we have not made things better, he should not assume we do not know more about them; Benson ought to realize, Miller adds, that the way politicians translate basic social knowledge into social policy need not bring about rational or desirable results. On the other side, Benson sees more clearly than Miller that the development of science has always been intimately intertwined with the control of the environment and the amelioration of the human estate.

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