Full Product Details
Author: Niall Richardson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
Edition: New edition
Weight: 0.606kg
ISBN: 9780754676225
ISBN 10: 0754676226
Pages: 246
Publication Date: 28 October 2010
Audience:
College/higher education
,
General/trade
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
"'With its refreshingly lucid applications of body theory to popular cultural texts, this is an original, political, unsettling and utterly readable book. It is essential reading for anyone with a body.' Trish Winter, University of Sunderland, UK 'Transgressive Bodies offers scholarly, witty and incisive readings of the body politics of some of contemporary culture’s most unlikely bodies and pleasures and least comfortable spectacles. From mainstream film to feederism and self-demand amputation Richardson’s sensitive, erudite and compelling analyses amply demonstrate the importance of rethinking the politics of representation in the contemporary ""freakshow"".' Sadie Wearing, London School of Economics, UK 'Niall Richardson, a media studies scholar, uses cutting edge interdisciplinary analyses to investigate the transgressive dimensions of these types of bodies. Through the lenses of trans studies, sports studies, fat studies, disability studies, queer theory, and body studies, he performs insightful and strikingly close readings of popular films and videos. Even while attending to the most complex theories and atypical situations, this is an extremely lucid book - a great testament to Richardson’s clear and relatable writing style... Overall, this book offers quite an impressive treatment of social class and how transgression is deeply intertwined with pre-existing layers of stratification... This well-written and timely book is perfect for classroom use especially when used with accompanying videos, films or magazines. I can already imagine the engaged conversations that many of Richardson’s interpretations could inspire: conversations about stratification, embodiment, physicalism, sexual identification, body image, gender, class, race... the very core of the sociological enterprise.' Contemporary Sociology 'Richardson examines the social (re)construction of freaks from the vantage point of representation studies, an ambitious interdisciplinary"
'With its refreshingly lucid applications of body theory to popular cultural texts, this is an original, political, unsettling and utterly readable book. It is essential reading for anyone with a body.' Trish Winter, University of Sunderland, UK 'Transgressive Bodies offers scholarly, witty and incisive readings of the body politics of some of contemporary culture's most unlikely bodies and pleasures and least comfortable spectacles. From mainstream film to feederism and self-demand amputation Richardson's sensitive, erudite and compelling analyses amply demonstrate the importance of rethinking the politics of representation in the contemporary freakshow .' Sadie Wearing, London School of Economics, UK 'Niall Richardson, a media studies scholar, uses cutting edge interdisciplinary analyses to investigate the transgressive dimensions of these types of bodies. Through the lenses of trans studies, sports studies, fat studies, disability studies, queer theory, and body studies, he performs insightful and strikingly close readings of popular films and videos. Even while attending to the most complex theories and atypical situations, this is an extremely lucid book - a great testament to Richardson's clear and relatable writing style... Overall, this book offers quite an impressive treatment of social class and how transgression is deeply intertwined with pre-existing layers of stratification... This well-written and timely book is perfect for classroom use especially when used with accompanying videos, films or magazines. I can already imagine the engaged conversations that many of Richardson's interpretations could inspire: conversations about stratification, embodiment, physicalism, sexual identification, body image, gender, class, race... the very core of the sociological enterprise.' Contemporary Sociology 'Richardson examines the social (re)construction of freaks from the vantage point of representation studies, an ambitious interdisciplinary methodology that examines the politics surrounding representation in popular culture. He finds this approach affords a wide-lens perspective on popular culture, which is instructive in reflecting on the dynamics of representations as freestanding artifacts or culturally mediated interpretations of their intended subjects. In so doing, the author hopes to move beyond debates about which disciplinary framework or approach best encapsulates studies of representation. This flexible interdisciplinary approach permits Richardson to move convincingly between diverse discourses in film and media studies, cultural studies, sports, gender and sexuality, disability studies, queer and crip theory, feminism, and Postmodernism... Transgressive Bodies is a provocative, ambitious, and essential read that successfully demonstrates the merit in undertaking innovative approaches to studies of the body. It encourages readers to consider the relationship between the mainstream and marginal and how these tensions are played out in public discourse. Richardson suggests that analysis of the transposition of normative ideals through popular culture can reveal how normative/transgressive binaries are not such tidy categories. Transgressive Bodies, then, casts new light on the cultural spaces occupied by marginalized bodies as unique places of meaning that invite reflection on the nature of normativity and the politics of representation.' Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies (JLCDS) 'Richardson's containment and (s)exploitation framework provides an excellent foundation to make connections between what are disparate transgressive groups, with seemingly little in common. These connections are important because as Richardson suggests anyone who has felt marginalized by the culture in which they are located can identify with the 'freaks' discussed throughout his book (p. 5)... Richardson's analysis of popular media representations of disability is one of the most up to date I have read... I like this book; the content is important whereas the format offers an innovative and accessible introduction to the topics under discussion. Transgressive Bodies by Niall Richardson examines the way hyper-muscular, fat, transsexed and disabled bodies are represented in film, media and popular culture. This clear and witty analysis of nonnormative bodies reveals the ways we interpret biological signifiers within cultural regimes (p. 38). The book gave a great insight into Richardson's teaching style and while reading it I found myself wanting to attend one of his classes. This is an excellent book for both students and researchers. I will use it in my future teaching and publications.' Continuum
Author Information
Dr Niall Richardson is a lecturer in Film, Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex, UK
