Loading...

Dangerous Dames

Representing Female-Bodied Empowerment in Postfeminist Media

by Heather Hundley (Author) Roberta Chevrette (Author) Hillary A. Jones (Author)
©2020 Textbook XII, 176 Pages
Series: Cultural Media Studies, Volume 1

Summary

This book illuminates the rhetorical work performed by contemporary representations of a specific type of postfeminist hero who has garnered a lot of cultural capital: women who are smart, capable, physically agile and fit, and proficient with weaponry and technology. Employing critical/cultural and feminist approaches, Heather Hundley, Roberta Chevrette, and Hillary Jones engage with a range of theories including intersectionality, critical race theory, postmodernism, and posthumanism to examine a range of contemporary texts, including Kill Bill, Volumes I and II; The Hunger Games films; Wonder Woman; Atomic Blonde; Proud Mary; The Bionic Woman; Deus Ex; Dark Matter; and Caprica. Contributing to a robust existing conversation about postfeminist media as well as tracing how representation has changed in recent years, Hundley, Chevrette, and Jones contend that portrayals of dangerous dames offer limitations and opportunities for audiences. Specifically, should audiences read these characters as evidence of a postfeminist apocalypse, they may heed warnings of the limited interpretations offered. Yet as more women serve as role models and gain public attention, particularly regarding their assets and abilities, they provide important equipment for living for navigating around patriarchal constraints raised by postfeminism, neoliberalism, and humanism.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the author
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction: Paradoxes of Gendered Power Relations and Representations
  • Chapter 1. Superficial Postfeminist and Postmodern Portrayals: Hegemonic and Hypermasculine Ideologies in Kill Bill, Volumes 1 & 2
  • Chapter 2. Appropriating Feminism: The Naturalization of Patriarchal Power Structures in The Hunger Games
  • Chapter 3. Ass-Kicking Women and the Fight for Justice: Constructing a (White) Feminine/ist Icon in Wonder Woman
  • Chapter 4. Visualizing Violent Femininity: Race, Sex and Femmes Fatales in Atomic Blonde and Proud Mary
  • Chapter 5. Hybridizing and Networking Beyond Boundaries: Cyborgs and Cognispheres in the Bionic Woman and Dark Matter
  • Chapter 6. Transcending Boundaries: Posthumanism and Transhumanism in Caprica and Deus Ex
  • Conclusion: Envisioning Feminist Futures
  • Index
  • Series index

cover

About the author

HEATHER L. HUNDLEY (PhD, University of Utah) is Professor and Chair in the Department of Communication Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. She received the College Outstanding Research Award from her former institution. She has co-authored two books, coedited two books, and published in journals including New Media & Society, Communication Quarterly, and Communication Reports.

ROBERTA CHEVRETTE (PhD, Arizona State University) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. She has published in journals such as Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Communication Theory, Feminist Formations, and Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies.

HILLARY A. JONES (PhD, The Pennsylvania State University) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at California State University, Fresno. She has co-edited a book and has published in journals including Critical Studies in Media Communication, Southern Communication Journal, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, and Communication, Culture, and Critique.

About the book

This book illuminates the rhetorical work performed by contemporary representations of a specific type of postfeminist hero who has garnered a lot of cultural capital: women who are smart, capable, physically agile and fit, and proficient with weaponry and technology. Employing critical/cultural and feminist approaches, Heather Hundley, Roberta Chevrette, and Hillary Jones engage with a range of theories including intersectionality, critical race theory, postmodernism, and posthumanism to examine a range of contemporary texts, including Kill Bill, Volumes I and II; The Hunger Games films; Wonder Woman; Atomic Blonde; Proud Mary; The Bionic Woman; Deus Ex; Dark Matter; and Caprica. Contributing to a robust existing conversation about postfeminist media as well as tracing how representation has changed in recent years, Hundley, Chevrette, and Jones contend that portrayals of dangerous dames offer limitations and opportunities for audiences. Specifically, should audiences read these characters as evidence of a postfeminist apocalypse, they may heed warnings of the limited interpretations offered. Yet as more women serve as role models and gain public attention, particularly regarding their assets and abilities, they provide important equipment for living for navigating around patriarchal constraints raised by postfeminism, neoliberalism, and humanism.

This eBook can be cited

This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.

←viii | ix→

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In one way, this project began as an office conversation, and yet it extends Bad Girls: Cultural Politics and Media Representations of Transgressive Women. Therefore, we express our gratitude to its authors A. Susan Owen, Sarah R. Stein, and Leah R. Vande Berg. Their voices from the Mothership, articulating their care and concern for the future, have been heard loud and clear. Our aim was to augment their insightful brilliance.

Although these foremothers provided a model, our professors introduced us to a foundation of knowledge. Hailing from different academic programs enabled us to strengthen our argument, critique texts, and learn from each other. Therefore, we are grateful to the layers of educators, including our professors, colleagues, mentors, and students who ask questions, challenge us, and afford opportunities for thinking about our culture in a variety of ways.

We extend our thanks to the Peter Lang Cultural Media Studies series editors Leandra H. Hernández and Amanda R. Martinez. Their interest in how political, cultural, and media landscapes help shape our society coalesced with ours and created a home for our work. Furthermore, we appreciate the professionals at Peter Lang who were always supportive and responsive. They not only materialized our thoughts but marketed and distributed these ideas, allowing others access. We are also grateful to the Office of Research at Middle Tennessee State University for assisting with some production costs.

Details

Pages
XII, 176
Year
2020
ISBN (PDF)
9781433163036
ISBN (ePUB)
9781433163043
ISBN (MOBI)
9781433163050
ISBN (Softcover)
9781433163029
ISBN (Hardcover)
9781433163012
DOI
10.3726/b14812
Language
English
Publication date
2020 (April)
Published
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Oxford, Wien, 2020. XII, 176 pp.

Biographical notes

Heather Hundley (Author) Roberta Chevrette (Author) Hillary A. Jones (Author)

Heather L. Hundley (PhD, University of Utah) is Professor and Chair in the Department of Communication Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. She received the College Outstanding Research Award from her former institution. She has co-authored two books, coedited two books, and published in journals including New Media & Society, Communication Quarterly, and Communication Reports. Roberta Chevrette (PhD, Arizona State University) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. She has published in journals such as Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Communication Theory, Feminist Formations, and Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies. Hillary A. Jones (PhD, The Pennsylvania State University) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at California State University, Fresno. She has co-edited a book and has published in journals including Critical Studies in Media Communication, Southern Communication Journal, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, and Communication, Culture, and Critique.

Previous

Title: Dangerous Dames
book preview page numper 1
book preview page numper 2
book preview page numper 3
book preview page numper 4
book preview page numper 5
book preview page numper 6
book preview page numper 7
book preview page numper 8
book preview page numper 9
book preview page numper 10
book preview page numper 11
book preview page numper 12
book preview page numper 13
book preview page numper 14
book preview page numper 15
book preview page numper 16
book preview page numper 17
book preview page numper 18
book preview page numper 19
book preview page numper 20
book preview page numper 21
book preview page numper 22
book preview page numper 23
book preview page numper 24
book preview page numper 25
book preview page numper 26
book preview page numper 27
book preview page numper 28
book preview page numper 29
book preview page numper 30
book preview page numper 31
book preview page numper 32
book preview page numper 33
book preview page numper 34
book preview page numper 35
book preview page numper 36
book preview page numper 37
book preview page numper 38
190 pages