Dangerous Dames

Names: Hundley, Heather L., author. | Chevrette, Roberta, author. |
Jones, Hillary A., author.
Title: Dangerous dames: representing female empowerment in postfeminist
media / Heather L. Hundley, Roberta Chevrette, & Hillary A. Jones.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2020.
Series: Cultural media studies; vol. 1
ISSN 2641-1415 (print) | ISSN 2577-6231 (online)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018055998 | ISBN 978-1-4331-6301-2 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6302-9 (paperback: alk. paper) | ISBN 978-1-4331-6303-6 (ebook pdf)
ISBN 978-1-4331-6304-3 (epub) | ISBN 978-1-4331-6305-0 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Women heroes in mass media.
Classification: LCC P94.5.W65 H86 2019 | DDC 302.23082—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018055998
DOI 10.3726/b14812

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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.

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

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.