Download or read book Zombies in Western Culture written by John Vervaeke and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2017-06-15 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why has the zombie become such a pervasive figure in twenty-first-century popular culture? John Vervaeke, Christopher Mastropietro and Filip Miscevic seek to answer this question by arguing that particular aspects of the zombie, common to a variety of media forms, reflect a crisis in modern Western culture. The authors examine the essential features of the zombie, including mindlessness, ugliness and homelessness, and argue that these reflect the outlook of the contemporary West and its attendant zeitgeists of anxiety, alienation, disconnection and disenfranchisement. They trace the relationship between zombies and the theme of secular apocalypse, demonstrating that the zombie draws its power from being a perversion of the Christian mythos of death and resurrection. Symbolic of a lost Christian worldview, the zombie represents a world that can no longer explain itself, nor provide us with instructions for how to live within it. The concept of 'domicide' or the destruction of home is developed to describe the modern crisis of meaning that the zombie both represents and reflects. This is illustrated using case studies including the relocation of the Anishinaabe of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, and the upheaval of population displacement in the Hellenistic period. Finally, the authors invoke and reformulate symbols of the four horseman of the apocalypse as rhetorical analogues to frame those aspects of contemporary collapse that elucidate the horror of the zombie. Zombies in Western Culture: A Twenty-First Century Crisis is required reading for anyone interested in the phenomenon of zombies in contemporary culture. It will also be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience including students and scholars of culture studies, semiotics, philosophy, religious studies, eschatology, anthropology, Jungian studies, and sociology.
Download or read book The Twenty First Century Western written by Douglas Brode and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-12-12 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focusing on twenty-first century Western films, including all major releases since the turn of the century, the essays in this volume cover a broad range of aesthetic and thematic aspects explored in these films, including gender and race. As diverse contributors focus on the individual subgenres of the traditional Western (the gunfighter, the Cavalry vs. Native American conflict, the role of women in Westerns, etc.), they share an understanding of the twenty-first century Western may be understood as a genre in itself. They argue that the films discussed here reimagine certain aspects of the more conventional Western and often reverse the ideology contained within them while employing certain forms and clichés that have become synonymous internationally with Westerns. The result is a contemporary sensibility that might be referred to as the postmodern Western.
Download or read book Conservation for the Twenty first Century written by David Western and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1989 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is concerned with the future of living nature. Over 30 contributors from fields as diverse as genetics and philosophy, species ecology and zoo management, national park planning and national television broadcasting use their hands-on experience to provide informed speculation on what the future holds for wildlife and wildlands in relation to human needs.
Download or read book Twenty First Century Populism written by D. Albertazzi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2007-12-14 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty-First Century Populism analyses the phenomenon of sustained populist growth in Western Europe by looking at the conditions facilitating populism in specific national contexts and then examining populist fortunes in those countries. The chapters are written by country experts and political scientists from across the continent.
Download or read book Tall Fescue for the Twenty first Century written by Henry A. Fribourg and published by ASA-CSSA-SSSA. This book was released on 2009 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Book and Multimedia Publishing Committee; David Baltensperger, chair ... [et al.]."
Download or read book The American Far West in the Twentieth Century written by Earl Spencer Pomeroy and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A leading western specialist argues that the history of the American West did not end in the year 1900 and was shaped as much by events and innovations in the twentieth century, in a study that describes a modern West." -- annotation from Book Index with Reviews.
Download or read book Late Westerns written by Lee Clark Mitchell and published by University of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2018-12-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a century the cinematic western has been America’s most familiar genre, always teetering on the verge of exhaustion and yet regularly revived in new forms. Why does this outmoded vehicle—with the most narrowly based historical setting of any popular genre—maintain its appeal? In Late Westerns Lee Clark Mitchell takes a position against those critics looking to attach “post” to the all-too-familiar genre. For though the frontier disappeared long ago, though men on horseback have become commonplace, and though films of all sorts have always, necessarily, defied generic patterns, the western continues to enthrall audiences. It does so by engaging narrative expectations stamped on our collective consciousness so firmly as to integrate materials that might not seem obviously “western” at all. Through plot cues, narrative reminders, and even cinematic frameworks, recent films shape interpretive understanding by triggering a long-standing familiarity audiences have with the genre. Mitchell’s critical analysis reveals how these films engage a thematic and cinematic border-crossing in which their formal innovations and odd plots succeed deconstructively, encouraging by allusion, implication, and citation the evocation of generic meaning from ingredients that otherwise might be interpreted quite differently. Applying genre theory with close cinematic readings, Mitchell posits that the western has essentially been “post” all along.
Download or read book Westerns in a Changing America 1955 2000 written by R. Philip Loy and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-07-15 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For many, the Westerns of 1930 to 1955 were a defining part of American culture. Those Westerns were one of the vehicles by which viewers learned the values and norms of a wide range of social relationships and behavior. By 1955, however, Westerns began to include more controversial themes: cowardly citizens, emotionally deranged characters, graphic violence, marital infidelity, racial prejudice, and rape, among other issues. This work examines the manner in which Westerns reflected the substantial social, economic and political changes that shaped American culture in the latter half of the twentieth century. Part One of this work considers shifting themes as the genre reacted to changes unfolding in the broader social landscape of American culture. Part Two examines the manner in which images of cowboys, outlaws, lawmen, American Indians and women changed in Westerns as the viewers were offered new understanding of the frontier experience.
Download or read book Captivating Westerns written by Susan Kollin and published by University of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2019-05-01 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the transnational influences of what has been known as a uniquely American genre, “the Western,” Susan Kollin’s Captivating Westerns analyzes key moments in the history of multicultural encounters between the Middle East and the American West. In particular the book examines how experiences of contact and conflict have played a role in defining the western United States as a crucial American landscape. Kollin interprets the popular Western as a powerful national narrative and presents the cowboy hero as a captivating figure who upholds traditional American notions of freedom and promise, not just in the region but across the globe. Captivating Westerns revisits popular uses of the Western plot and cowboy hero in understanding American global power in the post-9/11 period. Although various attempts to build a case for the war on terror have referenced this quintessential American region, genre, and hero, they have largely overlooked the ways in which these celebrated spaces, icons, and forms, rather than being uniquely American, are instead the result of numerous encounters with and influences from the Middle East. By tracing this history of contact, encounter, and borrowing, this study expands the scope of transnational studies of the cowboy and the Western and in so doing discloses the powerful and productive influence the Middle East has had on the American West.
Download or read book Books and Beyond 4 volumes written by Kenneth Womack and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 1333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There's a strong interest in reading for pleasure or self-improvement in America, as shown by the popularity of Harry Potter, and book clubs, including Oprah Winfrey's. Although recent government reports show a decline in recreational reading, the same reports show a strong correlation between interest in reading and academic acheivement. This set provides a snapshot of the current state of popular American literature, including various types and genres. The volume presents alphabetically arranged entries on more than 70 diverse literary categories, such as cyberpunk, fantasy literature, flash fiction, GLBTQ literature, graphic novels, manga and anime, and zines. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a definition of the genre, an overview of its history, a look at trends and themes, a discussion of how the literary form engages contemporary issues, a review of the genre's reception, a discussion of authors and works, and suggestions for further reading. Sidebars provide fascinating details, and the set closes with a selected, general bibliography. Reading in America for pleasure and knowledge continues to be popular, even while other media compete for attention. While students continue to read many of the standard classics, new genres have emerged. These have captured the attention of general readers and are also playing a critical role in the language arts classroom. This book maps the state of popular literature and reading in America today, including the growth of new genres, such as cyberpunk, zines, flash fiction, GLBTQ literature, and other topics. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a definition of the genre, an overview of its history, a look at trends and themes, a discussion of how the literary form engages contemporary issues, a review of the genre's critical reception, a discussion of authors and works, and suggestions for further reading. Sidebars provide fascinating details, and the set closes with a selected, general bibliography. Students will find this book a valuable guide to what they're reading today and will appreciate its illumination of popular culture and contemporary social issues.
Download or read book Westerns written by Gary R. Edgerton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For nearly two centuries, Americans have embraced the Western like no other artistic genre. Creators and consumers alike have utilized this story form in literature, painting, film, radio and television to explore questions of national identity and purpose. Westerns: The Essential Collection comprises the Journal of Popular Film and Television’s rich and longstanding legacy of scholarship on Westerns with a new special issue devoted exclusively to the genre. This collection examines and analyzes the evolution and significance of the screen Western from its earliest beginnings to its current global reach and relevance in the 21st century. Westerns: The Essential Collection addresses the rise, fall and durability of the genre, and examines its preoccupation with multicultural matters in its organizational structure. Containing eighteen essays published between 1972 and 2011, this seminal work is divided into six sections covering Silent Westerns, Classic Westerns, Race and Westerns, Gender and Westerns, Revisionist Westerns and Westerns in Global Context. A wide range of international contributors offer original critical perspectives on the intricate relationship between American culture and Western films and television series. Westerns: The Essential Collection places the genre squarely within the broader aesthetic, socio-historical, cultural and political dimensions of life in the United States as well as internationally, where the Western has been reinvigorated and reinvented many times. This groundbreaking anthology illustrates how Western films and television series have been used to define the present and discover the future by looking backwards at America’s imagined past.
Download or read book Appalachian Englishes in the Twenty First Century written by Kirk Hazen and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Appalachian Englishes in the Twenty-First Century provides a complete exploration of English in Appalachia for a broad audience of scholars and educators. Starting from the premise that just as there is no single Appalachia, there is no single Appalachian dialect, this essay collection brings together wide-ranging perspectives on language variation in the region. Contributors from the fields of linguistics, education, and folklore debunk myths about the dialect's ancient origins, examine subregional and ethnic differences, and consider the relationships between language and identity--individual and collective--in a variety of settings, including schools. They are attentive to the full range of linguistic expression, from everyday spoken grammar to subversive Dale Earnhardt memes. A portal to the language scholarship of the last thirty years, Appalachian Englishes in the Twenty-First Century translates state-of-the-art research for a nonspecialist audience, while setting the agenda for further study of language in one of America's most recognized regions.
Download or read book Before the West Was West written by Amy T. Hamilton and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before the West Was West examines the extent to which scholars have engaged in-depth with pre-1800 “western” texts and asks what we mean by “western” American literature in the first place and when that designation originated. Calling into question the implicit temporal boundaries of the “American West” in literature, a literature often viewed as having commenced only at the beginning of the 1800s, Before the West Was West explores the concrete, meaningful connections between different texts as well as the development of national ideologies and mythologies. Examining pre-nineteenth-century writings that do not fit conceptions of the Wild West or of cowboys, cattle ranching, and the Pony Express, these thirteen essays demonstrate that no single, unified idea or geography defines the American West. Contributors investigate texts ranging from the Norse Vinland Sagas and Mary Rowlandson’s famous captivity narrative to early Spanish and French exploration narratives, an eighteenth-century English novel, and a play by Aphra Behn. Through its examination of the disparate and multifaceted body of literature that arises from a broad array of cultural backgrounds and influences, Before the West Was West apprehends the literary West in temporal as well as spatial and cultural terms and poses new questions about “westernness” and its literary representation.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns written by Paul Green and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-03-10 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From automatons to zombies, many elements of fantasy and science fiction have been cross-pollinated with the Western movie genre. In its second edition, this encyclopedia of the Weird Western includes many new entries covering film, television, animation, novels, pulp fiction, short stories, comic books, graphic novels and video and role-playing games. Categories include Weird, Weird Menace, Science Fiction, Space, Steampunk and Romance Westerns.
Download or read book Radical Islam in the West written by Brian R. Farmer and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the challenge posed by the immersion of 15 million Muslims in Western democracies and the few, but volatile, terrorists present within the larger body of believers. The fact that immersion in Western culture is insufficient to stem the tide of extremism is discussed, along with the factors that contribute to the growth of radical Islam, such as the presence of charismatic, authoritarian leadership, educational options that downplay critical thinking, and colonialism. Hope that radical Islam can be kept to a minimum in Western societies is provided by the Islamic concept of Ijtihad, through which Muslims reinterpret their own religion. Just as mainstream Mormons have dispensed with polygamy and Christians with witch-hunting, Muslims in Western societies have the potential to minimize the growth of radicalism. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Download or read book Ancient West East written by Gocha R. Tsetskhladze and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2005-06 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published as Volume 4 (2005) of Brill's journal "Ancient West & East,"
Download or read book The Invention of the Western Film written by Scott Simmon and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-06-30 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Table of contents
